Thailand maintains suspension of quarantine-free entry amid new COVID-19 case spike
BANGKOK, Jan. 7– Thailand announced on Friday to maintain the suspension of its quarantine exemption program while upgrading pandemic control measures amid a surge in new COVID-19 cases. Those who have received approvals can still enter Thailand without quarantine until Jan. 15, Taweesin told a press conference. According to the CCSA, from Jan. 11 onwards,…
BANGKOK, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — Thailand announced on Friday to maintain the suspension of its quarantine exemption program while upgrading pandemic control measures amid a surge in new COVID-19 cases.
New applications for Thailand’s Test & Go quarantine exemption scheme will not be approved until further notice, said Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesperson of the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), the country’s COVID-19 task force.
Those who have received approvals can still enter Thailand without quarantine until Jan. 15, Taweesin told a press conference.
On Friday, Thailand reported 7,526 new confirmed cases, the highest daily tally since Nov. 8, 2021, and more than doubled from a daily average of more than 3,000 during the past week. It also reported 19 more deaths during the last 24 hours, according to the CCSA.
Due to concerns about a new wave of COVID-19 outbreak, the Southeast Asian country halted the quarantine-free travel scheme from Dec. 22, 2021 and most of its Sandbox Program, which enables quarantine-free entry while requiring visitors to stay in a specific destination for seven days with free movement during their stay, except for the resort island of Phuket.
According to the CCSA, from Jan. 11 onwards, Thailand will allow quarantine-free entry through the sandbox program to additional destinations, including Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan, Koh Tao as well as the provinces of Krabi and Pang Nga.
On Jan. 11, the country would also lift an entry ban on people traveling from eight African countries that it had designated as high-risk countries.
The CCSA also decided on Friday to halt alcohol consumption at restaurants in eight provinces including the capital Bangkok after 9:00 p.m. local time and ban alcohol consumption in the rest 69 provinces, effective from Sunday.
As of Thursday, 64.6 percent of the country’s whole population have been fully vaccinated, while 10.4 percent have received their third shots, according to the CCSA. Enditem
