So long. It was meh to meet you.
Two years and six months – 188 days to be exact – after Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha declared a state of emergency in the face of growing public and political crises, the COVID-19 task force said it will cease to be after Sept. 30.
The COVID-19 task force itself, which has held broad powers to impose measures touching on nearly every facet of public life, will also dissolve on the same date, it announced today.
Udom Kachintorn, adviser to the task force, said that after Oct. 1, no one is required to take an ATK test nor show vaccination certification. Confirmed COVID-19 infections nationwide have been significantly low in the past few weeks with around 800 to 1,000 cases reported per day.
The Emergency Decree was introduced for the first time on March 26, 2020, weeks after the first COVID-19 case was reported in Thailand and amid large-scale protests against both the military-backed government and royal status quo.
The decree has since been extended on a nearly monthly basis.
Government critics and activists criticized the decree for granting the junta-backed government sweeping powers to enact curfews, limit travel and censor the media.
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