This week, the government once again extended quarantine restrictions, this time to July 31. Yet the ban on international flights and most visas could last much longer, according to Vice President Henry Van Thio.

Speaking to the National Tourism Development Central Committee, the vice president said the international flight and visa ban could last until October, Irrawaddy News reported. The statement was grim news for Myanmar tourism, which began to decline as early as January, when the coronavirus began to spread within China. In March, a blanket ban on nearly all international flights and new visas effectively froze the industry. In May, the government outlined a three-phase plan to rebuild the sector, beginning with financial support for affected businesses. According to the plan’s original timeline, the month of June was to mark the beginning of phase 2, during which travel restrictions were to have been lifted for certain ASEAN neighbors. In his recent statement, the vice president discussed potential “travel bubbles” in which Myanmar would partner with countries that effectively managed their COVID-19 outbreaks. He identified Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong and Macao as candidates for this sort of agreement.

Not everyone shares the vice president’s optimism. Myanmar Airways International General Manager U Tin Maung Than told The Irrawaddy that if the restrictions really do last until October, “airlines, airport operators, and all the tour operators would collapse.”