252 travelers who entered Thailand via the Sandbox pathway, regardless of nationality, who arrived in Thailand after departing from the 8 countries where the Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 has emerged are now being asked to report to public health authorities in order to get retested as a precautionary measure.
Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman Dr. Taweesilp Visanuyothin reported that 255 travelers entered Thailand from the 8 high-risk African countries via the Sandbox pathway. Three has already left Thailand and of the 252 that still remain in the Kingdom, 11 have been contacted. All 252 are now asked to report to a public hospital for COVID-19 testing via the RT-PCR method, where all expenses will be covered. For more information, the individuals who must be retested may call the 1422 hotline and check the email they have linked to their Thailand Pass.
Dr. Taweesilp also elaborated on the Department of Disease Control’s report about the characteristics of the Omicron variant, saying that so far no distinguishable differences have been identified. Reports of muscle pain and fatigue have been made by some patients, but no deterioration of olfactory senses has been reported and symptoms have so far not been severe. However, the Omicron variant is expected to spread increasingly quickly as it has demonstrated the ability to rapidly replace the Delta variant in South Africa. Although experts believe current vaccines are able to mitigate severe symptoms from the Omicron variant, there are concerns that the new variant may be able to avoid immune responses to a substantial degree. (NNT)
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