The Department of Disease Control, or DDC, has agreed to reduce the quarantine period for international travellers who are at high-risk from being in contact with infected people. Starting after the Songkran festival, the quarantine period for high-risk travellers from abroad will be reduced from 7 days to “5+5” days. This means such travellers will be required to quarantine for five days, then self-observe their symptoms for another five days.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, Opas Kankawinpong, shared that the department had already agreed on the measure and expected to enact it after the Thai New Year. He said the next step was to inform the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration and the Centre of Disease Control for further announcements and official operation.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, also urged the elderly group to get vaccinated. He added that vaccines could help prevent severe symptoms and death, while the number of new cases during Songkran is estimated to reach 100 thousand per day. His remarks are in line with the government’s push to administer booster shots to the nation’s elderly population, in order to bolster their immunity to Covid-19 ahead of the Songkran festival, which will officially begin on Wednesday, April 13.
SOURCE: Bangkokbiznews | Khaosod