TCEB Situation Update COVID-19 Virus on 6 October 2021

In response to the improving COVID-19 situation in Thailand, the government has announced new relaxed regulations, the key of which is the introduction of new mandatory quarantine requirements. Fully vaccinated travellers will now spend only 7 days in quarantine, while the period for those without full vaccination certificate will be either 10 or 14 days, depending on the mode of transport. The new requirements are effective from 1 October 2021 onwards. The details are as follows;

1. The following travellers and passengers arriving in Thailand including;

- Incoming passengers with permission to enter designated pilot areas for tourism for the benefits of the economy, tourism or other activities in accordance with the government’s policies

- Diplomatic corps, consular corps, international organisation officers, or representatives of foreign governments or foreign government organisations working in Thailand or personnel of international organisations permitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including their spouses, parents, and off-springs.

- Supervisors and operators of vehicles with pre-scheduled missions and designated time of arrival and departure through land, sea and air

- Non-Thai nationals who are spouses, parents, or off-springs of Thai citizens and aliens with residence permits, including their spouses and off-springs

- Non-Thai citizens with work permits or legal permission to work in Thailand, including their spouses and off-springs

- Foreign workers with temporary residence and work permits granted to their employers or licensed labour agencies

- Students of education institutions registered as private international schools or universities with international or general courses, including their parents or their guardians

- Non-Thai nationals with requirements for medical treatment and accompanying persons (maximum 3), but not for COVID-19 medication. The accompanying persons must be quarantined in the same medical facilities and must stay in Thailand for no less than 14 days.

The aforementioned groups of persons must be quarantined and follow the directions of disease control officers at the designated venues under the following regulations and conditions:

1.1 They must be quarantined for 7 days and follow the directions of disease control officers in case they have documents or certificates showing their full vaccination no less than 14 days as prescribed by vaccine manufacturers. The vaccine must be legally registered in accordance with pharmaceutical laws or approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) or by the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand.

1.2 Those without documents or certificates of full vaccination as prescribed by vaccine manufacturers or receiving full vaccination less than 14 days before arrival must be quarantined and follow the directions of disease control officers under the following regulations and conditions:

1) For air and sea arrival, they must be quarantined for at least 10 days.

2) For land arrival, they must be quarantined for at least 14 days.

1.3 For sea arrival, should all passengers in the same vehicle obtain the certificates showing full vaccination no less than 14 days before arrival, they must be quarantined for at least 7 days and follow the directions of disease control officers. The vaccine must be prescribed by vaccine manufacturers or approved by the World Health Organisation or Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health. In case one of the passengers cannot produce certificate of vaccination, all passengers must be quarantined and follow the directions of disease control officers for at least 10 days.

1.4 Travellers under 18 years of age and travelling with parents or guardians must be quarantined within the same period as the parents or guardians.

2. Travellers must be quarantined at designated venues and tested for COVID-19 by RT-PCR under the following regulations and conditions:

2.1 Travellers in (1):

1) In case of 7-day quarantine requirement, test on the arrival day (day 1 of quarantine) and test again on day 6 or 7, or follow the guidance of the Ministry of Public Health

2) In case of 10-day quarantine requirement, test on the arrival day (day 1 of quarantine) and test again on day 8 or 9, or follow the guidance of the Ministry of Public Health

3) In case of 14-day quarantine requirement, test on the arrival day (day 1 of quarantine) and test again on day 12 or 13, or follow the guidance of the Ministry of Public Health

2.2 Travellers who are students of schools or education institutes under the Office of the Basic Education Commission or other government agencies, and the students of Border Patrol Police Schools or similar schools with the same missions must be tested for COVID-19 by RT-PCR in accordance with the criteria and guidelines of the Ministry of Public Health. Their parents or guardians are, however, not included.

3. Measures and regulations stated in (1) and (2) will not be enforced with the following groups of persons;

3.1 Exempted persons or those who are deemed necessary and, thus, are identified, permitted or invited by the Prime Minister or Chief of Staff in charge of emergency. They can be, however, subject to certain terms and duration. Other persons include goods transporters who must depart immediately after delivery /vehicle supervisors, operators, or staff travelling with the vehicles in entering and leaving the country by sea (exclusively for non-Thai registered ships) who are to operate petroleum-related missions or other missions on the vehicles or on off-shore petroleum sites or other establishments in the sea or conduct related missions as specified by the Ministry of Transport (Marine Department).

3.2 Vehicle supervisors or staff stationed in the vehicles who need to enter and leave the country through land, air, or sea and stay in Thailand no longer than 7 days. In case of air travel, this regulation is applicable only to those without operation base in Thailand.

3.3 Vehicle supervisors or staff stationed in the vehicles, who need to enter and leave the country by air. This is applicable only to those running an operation base in Thailand. Vehicle supervisors or staff stationed in the vehicles, who need to enter and leave the country by sea. This is applicable only to Thai-registered ships, such as Near Coastal Voyage, or similar vessels or others as specified by the Ministry of Transport (Marine Department). Vehicle supervisors or staff stationed in the vehicles, who are not disembarking the aircraft or ship, or making not over 12-hour disembarkation, and vehicle supervisors or staff stationed in the vehicles, who are properly wearing Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) as determined in the criteria and guidelines of the Ministry of Public Health.

4. Persons or groups of persons with entry permit issued with the purpose of boosting the economy, sports, tourism, education or other activities as specified by the Ministry of Public Health. Persons or groups of persons permitted by the Prime Minister in accordance with the suggestions of relaxed control measures for them made by the special committee.

These persons and groups of persons must, however, follow the directions of disease control officers and must be quarantined and tested for COVID-19 by RT-PCR as specified in the criteria and guidelines of the Ministry of Public Health.

5. Travellers arriving before the effective date of this announcement (1 October 2021) and being currently under the quarantine must follow the criteria and conditions of disease control officers for a particular period as stated in (1.2) They must undergo COVID-19 test by RT-PCR as stated in (2), depending on each case.

References

http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2564/E/239/T_0125.PDF (TH Version)

http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2564/E/143/T_0076.PDF (TH Version)

http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2564/E/144/T_0042.PDF (TH Version)

http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2564/E/200/T_0006.PDF (TH Version)

https://www.facebook.com/thailandprd/posts/4680425505314160

https://www.facebook.com/thailandprd/posts/4673338962689481

https://thailand.prd.go.th/ewt_news.php?nid=11879&filename=index

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Further information about COVID-19 outbreak from WHO

https://www.who.int/thailand/emergencies/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports

Department of Disease Control Contact Centre (Call 1422 24/7)