Thailand prepares measures to prevent influx of Covid-19 cases from China

As China prepares to open the floodgates on Sunday, Thai government officials are discussing measures to prevent Covid-19 outbreaks from the upcoming influx of Chinese tourists, given the prevalence of the virus in the People’s Republic of China at present.

The virus spread rapidly in China after Beijing dropped three-year-long stringent Covid measures last month. Then, Beijing dropped mandatory quarantine on arrival and announced the reopening of the borders on Sunday, January 8, spurring budding Chinese travellers to book trips abroad.

Measures to protect Thailand from imported coronavirus cases from China will be finalised in a meeting tomorrow between officials from the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and the Ministry of Transport, said Public Health Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

“We expect some 300,000 Chinese tourists to come in the first quarter of this year,” said Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Yuthasak Supasorn.

Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday that Thailand will not implement a lockdown or “strict regulations” in response to the easing of travel restrictions in China.

At the meeting tomorrow, government officials are expected to discuss vaccine requirements for Chinese tourists. According to Komchadluek, vaccine documents will be checked and the ministry will propose that Chinese tourists should have received at least four doses of the Covid vaccination.

Measures are subject to change in relation to Covid-19 caseload data and developments in China, added the ministry.

Agencies