Mr. Tanee Sangrat, Director-General of the Department of Information and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated Thai authorities’ preparedness and rigorous measures to screen inbound travelers to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as the inward travel numbers rose.
The Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson stated that travelers from abroad, Thais and foreign nationals alike, are required to go through rigorous COVID-19 screening procedure. All travelers are requested to obtain a Certificate of Entry (COE) from a Thai embassy or consulate-general, a Fit-to-Fly / Fit-to-Travel Health Certificate, as well as a medical certificate, issued not more than 72 hours before departure, with a laboratory result by RT-PCR technique indicating that COVID-19 is not detected.
All travelers are required to undertake a mandatory government controlled 14 day quarantine period at designated facilities in their port of arrival. Thai nationals are entitled to stay, at no cost, at one of the 27 State Quarantine (SQ) facilities with 2,429 rooms currently available, or at one of the 46 Alternative Local Quarantine (ALQ) facilities located nation-wide with 4,683 rooms available. Foreign nationals are required to reserve an accommodation at their own expense at Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) facilities in one of the 121 hotels, with 15,550 rooms available. Thai nationals who are willing to absorb the cost of quarantine can also opt to stay at the ASQ.
The MFA Spokesperson further elaborated that, during the 14-day quarantine, the travelers are required to undergo COVID-19 diagnostic test by RT-PCR technique twice. The first test shall be taken between Day 3 to 5, and the second test shall be taken between Day 11 to 13 of the period of quarantine. If COVID-19 is not detected, the travelers can be released from quarantine after 14 days. An additional RT-PRC test is required for foreigners who are allowed to enter the kingdom for medical treatment, upon their arrival at the hospital.
Mr. Tanee reiterated that to facilitate travelers who wish to enter the Kingdom, the Royal Thai Government has recently relaxed visa policies and regulations as well as worked with 44 airlines to provide more semi-commercial flights to Thailand. As a result, 145,254 Thais and 54,461 foreigners have entered Thailand. Nevertheless, relevant agencies are well prepared and maintain rigorous public health measures to prevent COVID-19 import cases. Among all Thai returnees, 1,085 infection cases were reported, equaling 0.75 per cent of all inbound travelers. All COVID-19 patients will be treated until they are fully recovered before being discharged. (NNT)
