Thailand reinstated a mandatory quarantine for all travelers on Tuesday due to the risk of the spread of the Omicron variant, the government said, halting its reopening to tourism, a vital sector for the kingdom.
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Vaccinated travelers will now have to spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel or take advantage of the "
sandbox
" model
in Phuket (south), which allows free movement on the island for 7 days before being able to travel to the rest of the country. country.
These changes, implemented until January 4 at first, will not affect the 200,000 travelers who have already submitted their applications to enter the country for the coming weeks, said Tanakorn Wangboonkongchana, government spokesman. .
40 million tourists in 2019
"
This group can enter Thailand as planned, but there will be strengthened measures, including a second PCR test
," he told reporters on Tuesday, and added that the government would cover the cost of this additional test.
After 18 months of closure, Bangkok reopened its borders in early November to vaccinated tourists from more than 60 countries on presentation of a simple negative PCR test.
The Southeast Asian country, which is emerging from a strong wave due to the Delta variant, has so far recorded 63 cases of the Omicron variant in its territory, including one transmitted locally.
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Thailand had its worst economic performance since 1997 due to the pandemic last year and needs to revive its tourism sector, which accounts for around 20% of its wealth.
In 2019, the country welcomed nearly 40 million international tourists.
