Confusion: Thailand designating 11 destinations as ‘high risk’

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Thailand’s Public Health Ministry yesterday designated 8 countries and areas as high risk areas for the Covid-19 virus. He announced that visitors to Thailand from these destination are now subject to 14 day home quarantine and will have to adhere to strict health-related follow-ups.

The official government post, on a Public Health Ministry letterhead, was released to the media and posted on the Minister’s Facebook page. It was later removed from the Facebook page but no announcement was made to either clarify or cancel the earlier announcement.

The 11 locations, now designated by Thailand as “high risk” areas, are Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, Singapore, Italy , Iran, plus China(Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau).

• Visitors and Thai citizens returning from the high risk areas will be subject to 14 days home quarantine, even if they are cleared of the disease, unless they have permission from health officials.

• Those who do not have a permanent residence or lodging in Thailand are required to show officials, upon arrival, evidence of where officials can locate them during the 14 day period.

• Those who have any flu-like symptoms upon their arrival, such as a body temperature exceeding 37.5C, a runny nose, sore throat or breathing difficulties, will be sent to state hospitals for further testing, treatment or quarantine, depending on the seriousness of the illness.

• For those who cannot produce evidence of a formal lodging, such as a hotel or hostel, during their visit in Thailand, immigration officials are authorised to send them back home or to allow them entry subject to 14-days of self-quarantine.

Foreign visitors or Thai returnees from the newly designated high risk areas will have to file a daily report on their health with officials during the 14 day period and, if they become unwell or suspect they may be sick, they must inform health officials within 3 hours so that they can undergo further testing, receive treatment or be isolated.

• All the medical expenses incurred will be borne by the individuals themselves.

Earlier yesterday Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon told reporters there was no law in effect now that could force anyone to isolate themselves, contrary to the intention of the Public Health Minister’s later announcement.

The Thai Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul briefly showed the announcement on his Facebook page yesterday afternoon with a message that all visitors from these countries will be required to quarantine themselves for 14 days with no exceptions. But the post was deleted minutes later without explanations, according to Bangkok Post.

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The arrival area of Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. (Photo by Romeo GACAD / AFP)

If you are booked to travel to Thailand which transits through one of the ‘at risk’ country’s airports, or are travelling from one of the ‘at risk countries, you will need to keep abreast of the latest information as the dust settles on yesterday’s official announcement, and then a social media withdrawal of the post.

Today, right now, there are no restrictions on arrivals. But the situation is very fluid. The Thai PM today released a raft of new edicts relating to Thailand’s response to the virus.

Thai workers returning from South Korea will be quarantined for 14 days

Photo from Thai Government

To allay Thai public concern over COVID-19 being spread by Thai workers returning from South Korea, Thailand’s Prime Minister confirmed today that all the returnees, from the cities of Daegu and Gyeongsang, will quarantined, for a mandatory 14 days, at appropriate facilities near their residences, whether they are infected with the virus or not.

Thai returnees from the other South Korean cities will undergo a 14-day home quarantine if they are not infected and do not exhibit flu-like symptoms upon their arrival at Thai airports.

The Prime Minister stressed that the Government has a duty of care for every Thai citizen, even if some worked illegally abroad, such as in South Korea.

All returnees from Wuhan in China were quarantined for 14 days, at the Sattahip naval base, for observation while the infected were sent to hospital for treatment.

The Prime Minister chaired an emergency meeting with several governmental agencies today, to discuss appropriate measures to cope with the return of Thai workers from South Korea and to allay public concern over a possible COVID-19 outbreak if some of the returnees are not properly quarantined.

At a news conference, after the emergency meeting, the Prime Minister asked the public to have faith in the stringent screening processes adopted in Thailand and overseas, noting that the Thais returning from South Korea were screened prior to boarding their flight, and those with a fever will be seated separately, with their own toilet and will be provided with face masks.

Upon arrival in Thailand, the workers will go through a further and tougher screening process.

Regarding the shortage of face masks, the Prime Minister said that an investigation is under way to find out whether the domestic shortage was caused by hoarding.

Total daily mask production from the existing 11 manufacturers is just over one million, of which 300,000 are allocated to the Public Health Ministry for distribution to medical personnel and the Government Pharmaceutical Organization.

“We are trying to find out where the other 700,000 are going. They may be being hoarded for export, because of the attractive market prices” said General Prayut.

He also hinted that tougher measures might be needed if the virus situation worsens.

SOURCE: https://www.thaipbsworld.com, by The Thaiger;

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