Thai business leaders urge Digital Health Pass system to speed up reopening
Thai business leaders are urging the government to adopt a Digital Health Pass system to allow reopening of economic activities during the pandemic.
Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) chairman Sanan Angubolkul said digital health passes would enable businesses to reopen safely supported by public health measures.
TCC president Kalin Sarasin added that the universal health pass would allow medium-risk businesses to reopen quickly, adding that high-risk businesses would remain closed under the system.
The proposed Digital Health Pass system would be used to check customers’ immunisation history and Covid test results via Public Health Ministry data to confirm they are not infected.
Studies on easing business restrictions abroad showed it was possible to coexist with the pandemic while keeping the infection and fatality rate low, Kalin said.
The Thai private sector believes this method should be used only for medium-risk businesses, he added.
“Communication and asking for cooperation from people are very important. The approach [for reopening] has to be simple and practical,” he said.
The TCC also recommended that the Digital Health Pass should be able handle foreigners' vaccine certificates and support offline operation to prevent the system from crashing if overwhelmed.