BANGKOK – Thailand will further ease its entry rules, including scrapping the pre-travel Covid-19 test for international travellers starting April 1, in bid to revive its tourism industry that has been hurt by restrictions caused by the pandemic.
Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin said that starting April 1, travellers under “Test & Go”, “Sandbox” and Alternative Quarantine (AQ) programmes will no longer be required to hold a Covid-19-free certification issued within 72 hours of travel.
Instead, they will be tested upon arrival, he said.
For travellers entering the kingdom via the quarantine-free “Test & Go” programme, he said they will undergo a RT-PCR test upon arrival and a self-administered antigen test on day five.
He said that starting April 1, tourists entering the kingdom under “Sandbox” programme will stay for five days within specific destinations before they are allowed to travel to other provinces in the kingdom. The “Sandbox” destinations include Krabi, Phang-Nga, Koh Samui, Koh Chang, Pattaya and Chiang Mai.
Under the AQ scheme, he said the mandatory quarantine will be reduced to five days starting April 1, and travellers will only need to undergo a RT-PCR test on day four or five.
“CCSA will consider reopening more entry points in May if the Covid-19 situation continues to improve,” he said at Covid-19 daily briefing here today.
Taweesin said the travel insurance coverage for visitors is maintained at US$20,000.
The CCSA also extended the state of emergency for two months – from April 1 to to May 31 – to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the kingdom, added Taweesin.
Over the last 24 hours, Thailand recorded 27,071 new Covid-19 cases and 80 deaths, bringing the total infections in the kingdom to 3,303,169 and 24,075 fatalities to date. – Bernama, March 18, 2022
