Previously, Thailand's Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) announced that it will apply rapid antigen testing instead of the RT-PCR method starting from December 16, for international arrivals to Thailand by air from 63 countries and territories that have been allowed to enter the country under the "Test and Go" program.
However, the "variant of concern" Omicron has emerged in many countries around the world and has made Thai authorities extremely worried, although the Southeast Asian country has yet to detect any cases of the Omicron variant.
In addition to suspending plans to allow international visitors to undergo antigen testing, Thailand also requires visitors from Africa to undergo a 14-day medical quarantine and be tested for Covid-19 three times. In particular, from December 2, visitors from eight African countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe will not be allowed to enter Thailand.
It is known that Africa is the region that has continuously recorded cases of the Omicron variant. Currently, a number of countries in the world have also restricted entry for people coming from many African countries.
Since Thailand opened its doors to international tourists on November 1, more than 122,000 people have arrived by air and only 16 of them have contracted Covid-19. - Photo: Bangkok Post
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will also consider implementing a new lockdown if cases of the Omicron variant appear in the country.
Deputy Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha called on people not to panic and said Thai security agencies have stepped up border surveillance to prevent illegal border crossings to prevent the spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, the country's Ministry of Health is monitoring all new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and actively testing 4,000-5,000 people per week. Strict measures are still in place to screen travelers entering the country by air, land and sea.
