How our countries in Southeast Asia have managed Covid so far

While travel may still have an unpredictable timeline, we’d like to give you a general update and summary on how our destinations have fared since the Covid outbreak.

For this purpose, the term “lockdown” refers to when governments required social distancing, and requested people stay at home with most non-essential businesses requested to close, and/or domestic travel prohibited.

Vietnam

Visa suspensions began: 01 February
Total confirmed cases*: 326
Total cured cases*: 272 (zero fatalities)
Consecutive days without new (community transmitted) cases: 34 days
Nationwide “lockdown” ended: 23 April

Current status:

• Government will review visa regulations for foreign visitors in July 2020
• Domestic travel markets open
• The wearing of face masks in public is mandatory
•  Public gatherings of more than 30 individuals are prohibited
•  As of 6 May, Vietnam had tested over 213,000 people, which at the time was the highest test-per-confirmed-case ratio of any country in the world
•  The government also promoted a public information campaign featuring viral handwashing songs and propaganda-style art to help spread the message

Thailand

Visa suspensions began: 26 March
Total confirmed cases*: 3,042
Total cured cases*: 2,928
Nationwide “lockdown” ended: 1st Phase “easing” began 17 May

Current status:

• Domestic travel markets open
• The government have extended the restrictions on inbound international flights until 30 June – assessments to relax inbound travel restrictions will be made in late May/early June

Cambodia

Visa suspensions began: 14 March
Total confirmed cases*: 124
Total cured cases*: 122
Nationwide “lockdown”: No restrictions enforced

Current status:

• Domestic travel markets open
• Until further notice, requirements to enter in Cambodia (all nationalities) are:
  • COVID-19 test with negative result within 72 hours prior of travel
  • Proof of insurance with $50,000 in medical coverage
  • Visa must be procured in advance from an Embassy or Consulate before travel
  • Mandatory 14 days quarantine in a Government facility or 14 days self-isolation required – decision made pending risk assessment upon arrival

Laos

Visa suspensions began: 20 March
Total confirmed cases*: 19
Total cured cases*: 14
Consecutive days without new (community transmitted) cases: 44
Nationwide “lockdown” ended: 1st Phase “easing” began 04 May

Current status:

• Domestic travel between provinces prohibited
• Public gatherings of more than 30 individuals are prohibited

Myanmar

Visa suspensions began: 15 March
Total confirmed cases*: 203
Total cured cases*: 123

Current status:

• The wearing of face masks in public is mandatory
• Nationwide curfew still enforced, domestic travel still limited
• Public gatherings of more than 5 individuals are prohibited

In summary, with under 4,000 cases across five nations and a recovery rate of 93%, we hope that our destinations’ excellent preventative measures and diligent management of the initial outbreaks have put our countries in a very strong position for recovery.

Total cases: 3,714
Total cured: 3,459
Cure %: 93.13%

As a reminder, our parent company Easia Travel is still keeping their blog updated daily with new information and announcements, so please refer to it for information when required: Easia Travel – Coronavirus (Covid-19) Updates.

Stay strong, hopeful and resilient, Asia is getting ready for you!

* correct as of the time of writing (26.05.2020)