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Travellers with Thailand Pass QR code allowed to enter country, skip quarantine with negative COVID-19 test results

Travellers with Thailand Pass QR code allowed to enter country, skip quarantine with negative COVID-19 test results

International visitors await instructions from health officials inside the arrival terminal at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Thailand on Nov 1, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Lillian Suwanrumpha)

SINGAPORE: Travellers who have received their Thailand Pass QR Code will be permitted to enter the country under the existing conditions of the scheme that they have registered for. 

However, they will have to undergo two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said on Tuesday (Dec 21). 

The second test will take place at a government-designated facility at no additional cost. 

Those who have registered for the Thailand Pass, but have yet to receive their QR code, must wait for their pass to be considered or approved. 

"Once approved, they can enter Thailand under the scheme they have registered," said the authority. 

Thailand Pass is a web-based system for citizens and foreign travellers to declare their travel and health information in order to enter the country. 

The announcement comes after Thai authorities on Tuesday said they would reinstate the country's mandatory COVID-19 quarantine for foreign visitors and scrap a quarantine waiver. 

New applicants will also not be able to register to enter Thailand under the Test and Go scheme or Sandbox programme.

Under the current conditions for Thailand's Test and Go scheme, travellers must proceed to their prearranged accommodation or medical facility for an on-arrival COVID-19 test. They must then self-isolate within the hotel while they wait for the results, which can take up to 24 hours. 

Travellers are then free to go anywhere in Thailand upon receiving a negative result, according to guidelines by the tourism authority. 

From Dec 24, Travellers arriving in Thailand under the Test and Go scheme are required to take two PCR tests - one on arrival and the other on Day 6 or Day 7 of their stay, said the Singapore office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. 

"No quarantine is required for the second PCR test on Day 6 or Day 7 (taking arrival day as day 1)," it said.

After the second test, travellers are free to move around in Thailand while waiting for their test results. They will be informed of their test results through the Mor Chana app - Thailand's contact tracing app. 

"If positive, the traveller would need to report to a local hospital (government or private) immediately." 

The decision on Tuesday to halt Thailand's Test and Go waiver means visitors will have to undergo mandatory hotel quarantine, which ranges between seven to 10 days.

Thailand's sandbox programme, which requires visitors to remain in a specific location but allows them free movement outside of their accommodation, will also be suspended in all places with the exception of Phuket.

"Thailand Pass will only accept new applicants seeking to enter Thailand under Alternative Quarantine or Phuket Sandbox only," said the ministry. 

NEW APPLICATIONS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Thailand's Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration had ordered the temporary suspension on Tuesday, citing the rising number of Omicron variant cases in the country.

According to Reuters, Thai government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said about 200,000 visitors who had previously registered for the quarantine waiver and sandbox programme will still be eligible. 

"This is not to shut off tourists but to temporarily suspend arrivals," he said, adding that the decision will be reviewed on Jan 4.

Responding to CNA's queries, the Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore said the new measures will be "officially announced in the Royal Gazette soon". 

Singapore had launched its vaccinated travel lane for Thailand on Dec 14, allowing fully vaccinated passengers on designated flights from Thailand to enter Singapore without having to serve quarantine.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments

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Source: Agencies/lk(zl)

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