At the start of another month, Laos remains in a strong position in the fight against COVID.
As of the 1st of April there are only a handful of reported active cases of COVID, currently being treated in government hospitals. All of Lao’s cases were caught in quarantine, with no reported cases of community transmission.
The outbreak in neighbouring Thailand contains to ravage the country, but has not overly affected Laos. There were reports of Lao migrant workers illegally returning to Laos, and the government has increased efforts to combat this threat. Workers caught entering illegally have been fined and placed in quarantine, but so far no cases have been detected.
The Government Taskforce has placed a temporary ban on all frozen and fresh seafood coming from Thailand in an attempt to stop the virus making its way into the country. While this has put some strain on the restaurant sector, alternative sources have been found via Vietnam.
At present all areas of Laos are open to domestic travel. Unconfirmed reports on social media from Northern provinces neighbouring China suggest that police are being extremely vigilant and many small villages are barring foreigners from entering.
While there is no national lockdown currently in place the National Taskforce reminds all people in Laos to practice good hygiene and to report for testing if they are displaying symptoms.
The Lao Government has also begun the rollout of vaccines, with Sputnik, SinoPharm and Astrazeneca all available in Laos. There are some restrictions on who is able to get which vaccine, and those seeking to get vaccinated should check local government guidelines.
Entry into Laos is still strictly controlled with no new visas being issued, with the exception of essential workers and diplomats. All people coming into Laos must undergo a 14 day quarantine in a government approved facility. Charter flights have resumed, but are extremely limited. With entry being strictly controlled it is unclear how many flights will continue to operate. Some flights are scheduled for mid to late April and likely to go ahead.
For travellers stuck in Laos, the government continues to offer unlimited visa extensions for tourist visas.
New requirements for foreigners entering Laos were announced earlier and continue to be enforced. These include purchasing mandatory COVID insurance at a cost of $100 USD, and a wearable monitoring device at a cost of $6 USD per day.
For anyone wishing to leave Laos it is best to contact your embassy to see what options are available. Most embassies are regularly publishing updates through their social media pages. If you wish to leave, you should contact your embassy. However with the lack of flights, options are extremely limited.
Despite the ongoing pandemic the mood in Laos is positive. The Lao Thiao Lao (Lao Travel Lao) campaign to promote domestic tourism continues to offer great deals for travel around Laos. Bars and restaurants remain open, and people are free to travel around (most) of the country. We hope that Laos is able to maintain its fantastic record in this area and people are able to continue travelling within the country.
