Thailand was set to re-institute a vaccine requirement for passengers arriving into the country effective Monday, January 9. When this was first announced, I described it as “confusion reigns.” And in an update that can only be described as ‘very Thai’ this policy was rescinded on.. Monday, January 9. Already the policy had allowed for a doctor’s note for exemption.

Anutin Charnvirakul said requiring visitors to show evidence of vaccination was inconvenient and a panel of experts had resolved that it was unnecessary as enough vaccinations had been administered globally.

Anutin said visitors not vaccinated would also be granted entry without restriction. …Thailand will still require foreigners whose next destination is a country requiring a negative pre-entry COVID-19 test to show they have health insurance covering treatment for the disease, Anutin said.

Since airlines had been told to deny boarding to unvaccinated passengers and those lacking proper documentation who were arriving on January 9th based on this policy there are likely passengers who were denied boarding that ultimately would have been admissible into the country.

For years I’ve gone back and forth between believing that Thailand is one of the most Straussian countries, and believing it’s one of the most chaotically run.

(HT: David H)