Thailand bans travel from 8 African countries

Thailand will ban entry of people traveling from eight African countries it designated as high-risk for the new omicron coronavirus variant, a senior health official said on Saturday.

The list of countries is the same as that used by the United States, which announced its ban early on Saturday.

Starting on Dec 1, travel to Thailand from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, will be prohibited, Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Disease Control Department told a news conference.

People already here who recently came from these countries will also be put in 14-day quarantine starting Saturday, he said.

He added that no case of the new variant had been detected in Thailand.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered agencies to step up vigilance against the new variant.

“If there’s any urgent need for the government to adjust control measures against this new variant, I will order agencies to act immediately,” Gen Prayut said in a Facebook post on Saturday morning. “We will closely monitor how this new strain will impact Thailand.”

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES