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Singapore has contributed 122,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to Thailand on Sep. 27, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

MFA said that Singapore and Thailand are "close friends" with longstanding bilateral ties.

"Our contribution reinforces both countries' mutual commitment to weather this pandemic together," MFA said in the statement.

On his Twitter account, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said that both Singapore and Thailand "share a close friendship and mutual commitment" to overcome the pandemic together.

Singapore's contribution of COVID-19 supplies to Thailand has arrived in Bangkok – 122,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, 200,000 diagnostic tests & 500,000 nasopharyngeal swabs. Our countries share a close friendship and mutual commitment to weather this pandemic together. 🇸🇬🇹🇭 pic.twitter.com/2mqnIW7ZXM

— Vivian Balakrishnan (@VivianBala) September 27, 2021

Other than the AstraZeneca vaccines, other supplies that were given to Thailand include 200,000 diagnostic tests and 500,000 nasopharyngeal swabs.

MFA said the supplies were handed over by Singapore's Ambassador in Bangkok Kevin Cheok to Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Public Health Anutin Charnvirakil on Sep. 27.

According to Thailand's Department of Disease Control, as of Sep. 27, the country has recorded a total of 1,571,926 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

A Covid-19 vaccination tracking website indicated that at the time of writing, about 44 per cent of Thailand's population had been vaccinated against the virus and slightly more than 25 per cent of them are fully vaccinated. 

Bangkok reopening to foreign travellers

From Nov. 1, fully vaccinated foreign travellers will be able to enter Bangkok and nine other regions in Thailand without undergoing quarantine. 

As for other areas in Thailand, the quarantine period for fully vaccinated travellers will be halved -- from 14 days to seven days.

For unvaccinated travellers, the quarantine duration will be reduced to 10 days from 14 days.

Thailand's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said that the latest measures were implemented as part of Thailand's efforts to reopen and revive its economy. 

The country's Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Sep. 25 said that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was confident of achieving a target of 70 per cent of its population vaccinated by the end of 2021.

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Top image via Ministry of Foreign Affairs