Thai health authorities guarantee the safety of a decision to shorten COVID-19 quarantine from 14 days to 10 days while warning of COVID-19 transmission risks from illegal migrants.
Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha said the government decision to shorten quarantine from 14 days to 10 days would be implemented with people from countries posing low risks of COVID-19 transmission.
The measure to gradually welcome arrivals was aimed at supporting national economy, he said.
He assured that officials were seriously sealing the border to block illegal migrants who might otherwise bring in the novel coronavirus.
Prof Yong Poovorawan, chief of the Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University, said he was worried that after the end of the monsoon season in the next few months, it would be easier for migrants to reach Thailand and Malaysia.
Therefore, officials would have to seriously block illegal migrants at natural border crossings. He recommended such efforts focus on Ranong among provinces bordering neighboring countries.
If officials are able to limit the number of COVID-19 patients, they can cope with the second wave of the outbreak in the country, he said.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Friday reported 12 new cases of novel coronavirus disease, all quarantined arrivals from Ethiopia, India, Jordan, Myanmar, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates or the United States.
The Centre said four new cases were from the UAE, three from India and one each from Ethiopia, Jordan, Myanmar, the Philippines and the US.
The four cases from the UAE are Thais, two men and two women. (TNA)
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