Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul will propose changes to the Covid-19 zoning, while adding more provinces to the sandbox tourism scheme.
Mr Anutin said on Tuesday that the Covid-19 situation would soon be brought under control, with the number of new daily infections and deaths gradually dropping.
Thus, the ministry will propose adjustments to the colour-coded control zones during a meeting of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Thursday.
If the coronavirus outbreak was not severe, the ministry may propose a return of the Test & Go programme next month, said the minister. The government had 13 more days to assess the situation, he added.
Mr Anutin said he may propose adding more provinces, such as Chon Buri, Samut Prakan, Khon Kaen and Chiang Mai, to the sandbox scheme after three provinces had been earlier added.
As for Bangkok, it was within the authority of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to consider, he said.
The ministry would not propose reopening of entertainment venues, pubs and bars at this stage as the places were still deemed at risk of Covid-19 infections, he said.
The minister said that most Covid-19 fatalities were elderly people who had not been vaccinated and people who had not received a full dose.
He urged people to receive vaccine shots as scheduled to boost their immunity and reduce the risk of infection, severe illness or death. He insisted that the ministry had adequate doses for the people.
As for antigen test kits (ATKs), it was necessary for people to take ATK tests during the pandemic. The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) has been assigned to procure ATKs and sell them at prices that people could get access to the test kits, he said.
