Thailand Sees an Upsurge in COVID Cases as Songkran 2022 Nears
As of Friday, no pre-travel COVID tests will be required for foreign visitors entering the Kingdom of Thailand. The RT-PCR test will still be required for overseas visitors upon arrival, and a self-administered antigen test will be required on day five.
Thailand has seen a spike in Covid-19 infections ahead of the Songkran festival, the Thai new year celebrations, starting April 13. In an effort to prevent more people from becoming infected with Coronavirus, health officials are urging people to avoid large gatherings and splashing water on each other.
According to Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, Thailand has devised a roadmap for classifying the pandemic as endemic in the coming months, but that will depend on how the current outbreak is controlled first.
During a briefing on Thursday, Sumanee Wacharasin, an assistant spokeswoman for the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said the country plans to keep the daily death count of the disease below 80 to declare the outbreak endemic.
The government has intensified its campaign to immunize vulnerable groups, with most of the deaths during the current omicron outbreak among the unvaccinated, Sumanee said. The Covid restrictions should be maintained despite the increase in new cases, she said.
A virus task force report shows 262,311 foreign arrivals from March 1-30, with only 0.59% of them testing positive for Covid. Travelers from Singapore, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, and the United States led the list.
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