Thai government to postpone Test & Go until end of January

Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. (Photo: TNT/VNA)

Bangkok (NNT/VNA) - Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health will recommend that the reopening of the Test & Go quarantine-free travel scheme be postponed until the end of January amid reports of 229 new Omicron COVID-19 cases.

According to Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the Department of Medical Sciences has recorded 229 new Omicron cases, bringing the total to 1,780. Most cases were discovered in Bangkok, Kalasin, Roi Et, Chon Buri and Phuket.

As the Omicron coronavirus variant rapidly spreads throughout the globe, the Ministry of Public Health will propose that the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) consider postponing the reopening of the Test & Go scheme from its original January 4 date to the end of January.

The proposal will be presented to the CCSA at a meeting attended by the permanent secretary to the Ministry of Public Health, the director-general of the Department of Disease Control (DDC) and medical professionals.

Travelers who have already registered with the scheme must arrive in Thailand by January 10. Visitors arriving after the deadline will be required to enter through the Phuket Sandbox programme or Alternative Quarantine (AQ) services./.

VNA