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Previously, Thailand's Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) announced that it would implement rapid antigen testing instead of RT-PCR methods starting December 16th for international travelers arriving in Thailand by air from 63 countries and territories permitted to enter under the "Test and Go" program.
However, the "worrying variant" Omicron has emerged in many countries around the world and is causing great concern among Thai authorities, even though the Southeast Asian nation has not yet detected any cases of infection with the Omicron variant.
Besides halting plans to allow international tourists 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. Specifically, starting December 2nd, 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 a region that has been continuously recording cases of the Omicron variant, and currently some countries around the world have also restricted entry for people coming from many African countries.
Since Thailand opened its doors to international tourists on November 1st, more than 122,000 people have arrived in the country 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 Minister of Public Health Sathit Pitutecha urged people not to panic and said that Thai security agencies have increased border surveillance to prevent illegal border crossings in order 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 conducting proactive testing on 4,000-5,000 people per week. Strict measures remain in place to screen travelers entering the country by air, land, and sea.
