10 tourists test positive in first 4 days of Thailand’s reopening

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 06, 2021
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Of the 13,129 foreigners landing in Thailand between November 1 and 4, 10 have tested positive for Covid-19, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) reported on Friday.

Under the plan, visitors travelling by air from 63 low-risk countries do not have to quarantine provided they have received both jabs of an approved Covid-19 vaccine at least 14 days before flying and can produce a negative RT-PCR test result taken no more than 72 hours before boarding the flight.

“So far, 10 foreign visitors have tested positive upon arrival, or 0.075 per cent of all visitors,” said Dr Sumanee Watcharasin, director of DDC’s Risk Communication and Health Behaviour Development Office. “Most of the arrivals were via Suvarnabhumi Airport, followed by Phuket and Samui airports.”

The highest number of tourists landing in Thailand since it opened on November 1 hail from the United States (1,593) followed by Germany (1,592), the United Kingdom (1,006), Japan (935), Switzerland (624), Sweden (511), South Korea (499), Netherlands (363), UAE (350) and China (345).

“As of November 4, the vaccination rate in 17 tourist provinces stood at 80.9 per cent for the first jab and 62 per cent for the second jab,” Sumanee added.

“The rate of vaccination among people in high-risk groups [aged over 60 and/or suffering chronic conditions] in the 17 provinces stands at 77.4 per cent for the first jab and 64 per cent for the second jab.”