Virus screening tight as Thai returnees flood southern border checkpoint
No cases of Covid-19 have been discovered at the Padang Besar border checkpoint in Songkhla so far, after the nearby Sadao crossing was closed last week when at least four immigration officials tested positive for the virus.
Thousands of Thais stranded in Malaysia are now been redirected to Padang Besar, with 101 registered to return through the checkpoint on Monday (April 27).
Immigration officials there are screening all returnees for signs of fever or other Covid-19 symptoms. Returnees who show symptoms will be sent to hospital while the rest face mandatory state quarantine for 14 days.
Last week, no confirmed cases of Covid-19 were recorded at Padang Besar, after test results on 15 returnees and 13 immigration officers thought to be at risk of infection came back negative.
The Sadao checkpoint was closed on April 22 after at least four immigration officials there tested positive for coronavirus. Another 42 undocumented migrant workers are being held at the Sadao border detention facility after testing positive for the disease last week.