-
✴︎
Covid-19 Creeps into Laos
By Bernie Rosenbloom The Deputy Minister of Health Phouthone Meuangpak confirmed the first two Covid-19 cases in Laos at a press conference on 24 March at 14:00, after several Facebook posts began spreading the unconfirmed news earlier in the day. Treatment in Thailand At about 15:00, the Lao News Agency (KPL) published an article offering some details. The victims include a 36-year-old female tour guide, who had led a group of Europeans earlier in the month. The second is a 28-year-old male staff member at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Vientiane. KPL reported that both were receiving medical treatment at a local hospital using international standards. As earlier reported by We Are Lao, the Lao government has been taking a number of steps to deal with cases and mitigate any potential outbreak. KPL also stated the male is believed to have contracted the virus while attending a workshop in Bangkok, Thailand. Reuters quickly picked up the story, and began spreading it on their newswire. However, they did not mention the hotel by name, and at 16:00, We Are Lao reached out to the Crowne Plaza to confirm the report and ask for more details. The hotel has yet to respond. Xinhua News Agency in China broke the news at 16:10, and provided more details. “The infected female tourist guide went to Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, and Cambodia before showing Covid-19 flu-like symptoms.” They also reported that the two cases are not serious, their treatments are working, and their close contacts have been quarantined. Director-General of the Department of Communicable Disease Control, Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh, said anyone suspected by medical personnel of carrying COVID-19 will be tested free of charge. Others can be tested, but have to pay. In the evening, the Crowne Plaza released a brief statement on Facebook confirming their employee had contracted the virus, and it offered a general overview of the steps the hotels has been taking. The statement did not say if their measures are as strict as their sister hotel, the Crowne Plaza Dublin-Blanchardstown. At 22:00, the Laotian Times offered more information on the ongoing story. They reported that the Crowne staffer returned to Laos from Bangkok on 9 March, but did not start showing symptoms until 23 March. The female patient began showing Covid-19 symptoms on 10 March, but was not found to have the virus, and returned to “a hotel”. However, she began feeling worse and returned to the hospital and tested positive. They also reported that Vice Minister Phouthone said. “Lao health authorities are being assisted by WHO experts as well as coordinating closely with our counterparts in China, who have first-hand experience in defending against Covid-19 and treating infections.” Meanwhile, other tourism stakeholders are taking proactive measures such as closing their offices while continuing to develop new itineraries, or locking their businesses’ doors and selling handicrafts online or delivering meals. Many businesses and hotels have simply closed, and the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry is now doing a survey to uncover exactly which ones. Follow updates on We Are Lao’s Facebook Group.
-
✴︎
Laos Boosts Battle against Covid-19
By Bernie Rosenbloom On Sunday, 22 March, Laos shut down all overland border crossings with Thailand for tourists, the latest in a string of strict measures to keep the country free of Covid-19. ASEAN Covid-19 Outbreak (20 March) The first major call to action came in late January, when Minister of Public Health Dr Bounkong Syhavong announced the National Covid-19 Task Force to tighten screening and add quarantine measures at risky locations. Eyeing China, Lao Airlines followed by indefinitely postponing Vientiane-Shanghai flights on 30 January, and suspending service to Hangzhou and Changzhou a week later. The carrier also halted Luang Prabang-Hainan flights, but kept operating Kunming, Changsha, and Jinghong routes. Empty aircraft sit idle on the tarmac. Meanwhile, Laos temporarily suspended tourist visas at checkpoints bordering China on 2 February, and began quarantining Chinese visitors. However, the pandemic had already impacted the Lao travel trade. On 4 February, Luang Prabang View General Manager John Morris Williams stated, “Hotels in the city are reporting cancellations of up to 40% of their early 2020 bookings, especially from European customers.” Empty streets in Luang Prabang By mid-month, economists were predicting the nation’s tourism sector could lose up to $400 million in first-quarter revenue in 2020. Even with no reported cases, at the end of the month Lao health authorities stepped up their prevention efforts. Visitors from Korea, Italy, Singapore and Thailand joined China on the quarantine list, and the government banned outbound group tours to cities with outbreaks. Lao companies started monitoring Chinese workers, while health authorities began distributing diagnostic equipment to ports of entry. International aid agencies were donating medical equipment, should the pandemic reach Laos. Medical supplies arriving in Vientiane Monday, 9 March, delivered another blow to the airlines. Bangkok Airways indefinitely suspended its two Bangkok-Vientiane flights due to lack of demand. Lao Airlines asked employees to take unpaid leave as reservations took a nosedive and cancellations poured in. February’s numbers showed a 37% y-o-y drop in passengers on international routes, but the carrier started resuming some flights from Vientiane to Kunming and Guangzhou. Further, the number of inbound international flights tanked. “Last year about 848 flights arrived in Laos each month, but starting in January, about 348 flights have been cancelled each month,” Director of the Air Transport Division, Mr Soukkhongthong Voraphet told the Vientiane Times. No action at Vientiane’s Wattay Airport He noted that only South Korea had suspended all flights to Laos, but service from Thailand, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and Malaysia continued, though some had cut their frequency. In mid-March, after a February test session, the Lao Immigration Department launched an advanced passenger processing system (APPS) and passenger name record (PNR) for pre-screening of air passengers at international airports. At the same time, the National Covid-19 Task Force began enforcing tighter regulations, including quarantines at hospitals for travelers arriving in Laos, who showed Covid-19 symptoms, and self-isolation for those arriving from non-bordering nations with more than 100 reported cases. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith stepped in on 18 March, with more firm measures, topped by a halt in issuing tourist visas for 30 days. Those already with a visa required a health certificate and declaration of their recent travel history. Lao people travelling from outbreak countries faced self-isolation for 14 days. The PM also announced the closure of all schools and educational institutions, and entertainment venues. He told citizens to avoid crowded events, including festivities for the upcoming Lao New Year. The government set up isolation facilities at four Vientiane hospitals and provincial hospitals, and began discussing economic stimulus measures. Also on 18 March, a shipment of COVID-19 testing kits provided by the Chinese government arrived in Vientiane. Test kits arrive A series of remote border checkpoint closings with Thailand and Vietnam were being put in place. Savannakhet International Airport shut down. Bangkok Airways and Thai Air Asia suspended all their flights into Laos On Friday 20 March, Lao Airlines published a list of route suspensions and reduced frequencies until late April. (download below). It only shows flights to Chengdu, Changsa, Kunming, and Guangzhou. The carrier is offering full refunds, free date changes, and rerouting subject to fees. (see contacts below) Those who purchased tickets through travel agents must directly contact the agent. We Are Lao has not yet been able to confirm other airlines’ outbound international flights. The hammer fell on 22 March, with the closing of all borders with Thailand including the Nong Khai Bridge to Vientiane, Friendship Bridge 3 between Thakhek-Nakhon Phanom, and the crossing from Pakse to Ubon Ratchathani. Tourists who missed the deadline can extend their T-B3 at Vientiane’s Immigration Department, as can those with an LA-B2 Work Visa. Meanwhile, Laos is basically in lock down to mitigate any emergence of Covid-19. Judging from the social media buzz, most locals agree with the move. For updates, follow We Are Lao’s Facebook group. Lao Airlines Contacts: Email:vtessqv@laoairlines.com, soutchitta@laoairlines.com, onlinebooking@laoairlines.com, soulasack@laoairlines.com Call Center: +856 21212051-54 (International and Domestic) WhatsApp: +856 2055571626
-
✴︎
We Are Lao Opens Online Tourism Library
WeAreLao.com has launched a “Downloads” menu page to provide the travel trade and tourists with a range of useful information they can use and save. The digital library also features a filtered search engine so site visitors can quickly find the information they seek. “People can pinpoint documents in nine categories, from travel guides, brochures and maps to statistics and strategies,” said We Are Lao Co-founder and Content Director Bernie Rosenbloom. “They can further refine their search by provinces.” The shelf in the digital library currently holds 20 documents, though We Are Lao’s file warehouse has stacks more. “We are starting with a selection of the most recent and useful documents over the range of categories, as well as a few from the past that are still viable,” Mr Rosenbloom said. For the WeAreLao.com/downloads launch, the page has included an assortment of publications such as the Mice Guide to Laos, Destination Laos, Dos & Don’ts, the Luang Prabang E-Bus Map, and a guidebook to Salavan. Visitors will also find the Southern Laos tourism booklet, Historic Don Khone brochure, a Thakhek Loop map and the Luang Namtha Valley Route Bike Map. “Moving ahead, we will give priority to We Are Lao publications and those of our members and supporters, brochures and reports hot off the press, and relevant items from our archives,” Mr Rosenbloom said. To visit We Are Lao’s Download page, click here.
