Agencies on high alert as Thailand drops pre-departure Covid-19 test
In response to the dropping of pre-departure tests for visitors as of Friday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said every relevant agency should be ready to contain the spread of Covid-19.
As of April 1, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) lifted the requirement for tourists entering Thailand under the Test & Go, Sandbox and Alternative Quarantine schemes to take an RT-PCR test within 72 before departure.
“CCSA has also reduced the staying period under the Sandbox and Alternative Quarantine schemes to five days and abolished the second RT-PCR test under the Test & Go and Sandbox schemes,” government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said.
He added that Prayut has also urged people to strictly adhere to Covid-19 prevention measures to contain the spread of the virus effectively.
Thailand recorded 28,379 new Covid-19 cases and 92 deaths over 24 hours on Friday. Of the new cases, 62 had arrived from overseas.
The country’s total Covid-19 caseload stands at 3,656,726 – 3,380,290 of whom have recovered, 251,214 are still in hospitals and 25,222 have died.
Separately, another 47,766 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, 17,043 their second shot and 125,629 a booster, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered nationwide to 129,552,466.