THE PUBLIC Health Ministry said today (Nov. 27) that Thailand is imposing a travel ban on travellers from eight southern Africa countries from Wednesday Dec. 1 onwards to prevent the new Covid-19 variant Omicron from spreading here, TV Channel 7 said.
Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, head of the Disease Control department, and Dr. Supakit Sirilak, head of the Medical Sciences department, said travellers from these eight countries, Botswana, Estwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, had already been barred from registering at the Thailand Pass system from today onwards.
They added that it was also decided at yesterday’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) executive committee meeting presided over by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to adjust control measures for travellers coming from high-risk countries where there is an outbreak of this new strain with a 14-day quarantine period to be imposed.
They added that the latest study from the examination of 4,500 samples showed that the Delta variant is still the most prevalent in the country.
After the reopening of the country around 1,000 people from Africa travelled here but intensive examination of the tests they underwent showed none were infected.
The public was urged to continue following preventive measures including wearing face masks, washing hands often, maintaining social distance while they are also able to detect infection through standard tests.
Meanwhile the ministry had said early this morning that there were 6,073 Covid cases and 32 deaths over the past 24 hours taking the cumulative confirmed total to 2,072,096.
Of the new batch of cases 5,904 emerged among the general public while 169 fell sick in prisons and detention centres.
Another 6,538 patients were cured but today’s 32 fatalities raised the death toll from April 1 to 20,583.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Only about 24 percent of South Africans have been fully vaccinated so far. Photo: Reuters and published by BBC
Home Page: A Thai medic performing a Covid test. Photo: NNT
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