Thailand to Extend Emergency Order While Allowing More Foreigners

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Thailand plans to extend its state of emergency by one month, to August 31, while also allowing more foreigners to enter the country in the latest round of coronavirus-control measures.

“Thailand needs emergency rules because the country is starting to reopen its borders for some workers and visitors to boost the economy,” said Somsak Rungsita, secretary-general of the National Security Council. “This is the only tool to control the risks” given the pandemic is spreading around the world, he said.

The Cabinet is due to meet on Tuesday to approve the extension, the fourth since the emergency rules were imposed in March. Critics have said that the measures were meant to curb large anti-government protests, but Somsak said the latest extension won’t include a rule prohibiting them.

Thailand has reopened its economy in several stages, but its borders remain closed to most foreigners. In the next round of easing, more than 100,000 migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos will be allowed to enter. Also, foreign film crews and people involved in trade exhibitions and medical tourists will be granted visas.

At least seven film productions from Netflix Inc. to Universal Studios Inc. have stated intentions to shoot in Thailand, according to the Department of Tourism. A film starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth -- “Mrs. Churchill’s War” -- is among those scheduled in several locations over the next eight months, according to the department. Combined spending for those films could be 1.7 billion baht ($54 million), the department said.

Among the movies shot in Thailand over the years include “The Beach,” “The Hangover Part II,” “Extraction” and “The Man with the Golden Gun” in the James Bond series.

Also, 15 exhibitions are planned in Thailand from September to December, seen attracting 6,524 foreign participants, said Taweesilp Witsanuyotin, a spokesman for the Covid-19 center.

Reliant on tourism and exports, Thailand’s gross domestic product will shrink by a about 8.1%, according to the central bank.

The country hasn’t detected any new coronavirus cases from local transmission for about eight weeks. So far it has reported 3,261 cases and 58 deaths from the virus. But officials remain wary of another wave of outbreak as seen in some countries.

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