Thailand continues to suspend quarantine-free entry, resumes some sandbox schemes

BANGKOK - Thailand's quarantine-free entry scheme, which gave a brief shot in the arm for its tourism sector, will remain on hold as a surge in Covid-19 infections puts the nation on guard against an incoming virus wave.

The scheme, which provides quarantine-free entry for vaccinated travellers after one night in a designated hotel, was suspended on Dec 22 in an attempt to curb the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

"The scheme will continue to be suspended until further notice, most likely until the end of the month," said a spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Friday (Jan 7).

However, those who had already received approval before the suspension can still enter Thailand until Jan 15 without undergoing quarantine.

Other visitors will need to undergo a seven- to 14-day quarantine period, depending on their vaccination status and originating country.

In a slight easing of entry measures, the CCSA said it would be reopening applications for international arrivals to three sandbox destinations - Krabi, Phang Nga and Surat Thani - from next Tuesday.

The programme allows travellers to roam the sandbox area freely, but they must remain there for at least seven days before they travel to the rest of the country.

All sandbox programme applications - with the exception of the one for Phuket - were halted last month.

An entry ban on travellers from eight African countries previously deemed high-risk will be lifted next Tuesday.

Thailand is battling its fifth wave of Covid-19 infections, fuelled by the Omicron variant as well as increased travel and gatherings over the New Year period.

On Friday, the country reported 7,526 new Covid-19 cases with 19 deaths.

The number of new infections has more than doubled since December, which saw the nation logging about 3,000 cases daily.

The authorities predict that infections could soon hit 30,000 a day even if the number of severe cases and deaths remain stable.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been over 2.2 million infections and more than 21,000 related deaths in Thailand.

Following a surge in Covid-19 cases over the past week, the kingdom raised its alert level to the second highest tier.

On Friday, the CCSA said all government agencies will implement work-from-home arrangements until the end of this month and private businesses are encouraged to do the same.

About 65 per cent of the population have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, and the government is urging more people to get a third booster shot to increase protection against the Omicron variant. So far about 10 per cent have received a third shot.