Manforallseasons
November 30th, 2021, 01:09
https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/thailand-likely-to-overturn-plan-to-simplify-entry-procedures-381001
The sudden appearance of the Omicron virus variant has dashed expectations that Thailand would ease the health tests conducted on arriving passengers from Test and Go countries which include the US, Australia, parts of the Middle East, the UK and most of Europe.
Currently, they are required to book in advance a government-recognized hotel which picks them up at Bangkok airport, arranges for a RT-PCR virus test and quarantines them in their room for 10-24 hours pending the result. Under a proposal endorsed by ministers last week, use of quick antigen tests (rather than PCR) was designed to reduce waiting time to 20 minutes.
However, officials from the health ministry and the top CCSA committee appear to have reversed that policy on the grounds that antigen testing is not as reliable as PCR. They note that entrants to the UK must now – once again – have a PCR test within 48 hours of arrival for precisely that reason.
The sudden appearance of the Omicron virus variant has dashed expectations that Thailand would ease the health tests conducted on arriving passengers from Test and Go countries which include the US, Australia, parts of the Middle East, the UK and most of Europe.
Currently, they are required to book in advance a government-recognized hotel which picks them up at Bangkok airport, arranges for a RT-PCR virus test and quarantines them in their room for 10-24 hours pending the result. Under a proposal endorsed by ministers last week, use of quick antigen tests (rather than PCR) was designed to reduce waiting time to 20 minutes.
However, officials from the health ministry and the top CCSA committee appear to have reversed that policy on the grounds that antigen testing is not as reliable as PCR. They note that entrants to the UK must now – once again – have a PCR test within 48 hours of arrival for precisely that reason.