Thailand News - Corona - By Ola J. - Palmtree

Thailand's once-mandatory Covid-19 tracking application "Mor Chana", or Doctor Wins, will be discontinued from June 1. Mor Chana was once commonly used to track coronavirus cases and notify people if they had been exposed to Covid-19.

Mor Chana, which was launched on April 29 2020, used GPS and Bluetooth to track the movement of users, who were expected to use the application to scan a barcode to "check in" to venues during the height of the pandemic.

In January 2021, health minister Anutin Charnvirakul said anyone who contracted Covid-19 without having previously downloaded and used the app would be subject to up to two years imprisonment and a fine of up to ฿40,000. The threat was criticised as unfair on people without smartphones.

However, over time, use of the Mor Chana fell out of use and many venues no longer expected attendees to "check in" using the app.

Yesterday, Mor Chana made an announcement via Facebook that the application will be discontinued from June 1. Mor Chana didn't provide reasoning, but the move is thought to have something to do with Thailand moving towards declaring Covid-19 as an endemic disease. The Thailand Pass is also expected to be discontinued from June 1.

"The application service will be terminated from June 1 onward. We'd like to thank everyone who helped control the Covid-19 pandemic in Thailand."

SOURCE: MorChana

Bangkok –

Chairman of Minor International PCL., William E. Heinecke, yesterday, May 9th, has submitted another open letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O'Cha to insist on the cancellation of the 'Thailand Pass' registration.

The open letter said that the Prime Minister should urgently agree upon the proposal of the entry registration removal, starting June 1st, that would be introduced by the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports at the next meeting of the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

He also restated from his previous letter how the existence of the 'Thailand Pass' system registration has resulted in a negative rather than positive impact on tourism and the economic recovery of Thailand. Its elimination will not only provide travelers with the flexibility and convenience they expect and demand, but it will also help in attracting foreign tourists back to the country.

Part of the letter reads: "The cancellation [of 'Thailand Pass'] will bring the pre-pandemic travel regulations and standards back for foreign tourists, where they only need to book a flight before traveling. During the pandemic, all tourists, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, travel-insured or not, are already aware of the health risks and increasing costs that could occur since they decided to travel internationally. They have always known that they are responsible for their own health, globally,"

"The Covid-19 situation in Thailand has started to show a strong sign of improvement. It has been three weeks after Songkran and the number of daily infections of critical patients has gradually subsided. Tourism plays a very important role in the country's economy and it is time for us to accelerate the cancellation of all restrictions. Scrapping  'Thailand Pass' is the most necessary last step."