Thailand has decided to resume its arrival quarantine waiver after suspending the scheme last month.

The Thai COVID task force announced on Thursday that fully vaccinated travelers from all countries can start applying for entry on February 1st. They will be required to undergo two COVID tests during the first week in addition to a pre-entry test.

The decision came as the country saw a surge in new cases after the New Year Holidays. The daily cases have been hovering around 6 to 8,000 over the past two weeks. But a government spokesperson said the situation has stabilized and that he would like the people's lives to return to normal as soon as possible.

The tourism-reliant country saw nearly 40 million arrivals a year before the pandemic, but last year the figure dropped to around 200 thousand. The quarantine waiver program attracted about 350,000 visitors in the two months before it was suspended.

The Malaysian government also announced an easing of restrictions for the upcoming Chinese New Year to allow family reunion dinners and house visits.