A Thai soldier escorts stranded Thai citizens leaving Malaysian territory as they walk to the Thai customs checkpoint in Sungai Kolok in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat on the Thailand-Malaysia border on April 18, 2020. (MADAREE TOHLALA / AFP)

Thailand plans to create so-called “travel bubbles” through bilateral agreements designed to keep the novel coronavirus in check when the country’s borders are reopened.

Officials are easing a lockdown after coronavirus cases dwindled, and mulling how to restart the crucial tourism sector to help counter a recession

“Once the situation improves, we’ll allow travel between countries that we have an agreement with,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said in a briefing in Bangkok on Tuesday, adding no such pacts have reached the Cabinet yet.

READ MORE: Thailand had no foreign tourists in April after closing borders

Thailand’s borders are restricted under a state of emergency that lasts until June 30, and most incoming international flights are banned. At the same time, officials are easing a lockdown after coronavirus cases dwindled, and mulling how to restart the crucial tourism sector to help counter a recession.

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“There won’t be free movement because we don’t want another outbreak that could hurt both the origin and the destination,” Prayuth said.