COVID restrictions for Bangkok travelers eased

KARACHI: Passengers travelling to Bangkok from airports across Pakistan will now be able to travel without submitting a report of COVID-19 test, ARY NEWS reported.

The decision will be implemented from May 01 after Thailand lifted the restriction for travellers to carry COVID test reports. The passengers will however have to carry COVID vaccination certificates along with them while travelling to Bangkok.

Furthermore, those who do not have a COVID vaccination certificate will have to quarantine in a hotel for five days while the passengers will also have to carry health insurance worth US$10,000.

In January this year, it was reported that Thailand is considering bringing back a quarantine waiver for vaccinated visitors.

Thailand reopened to vaccinated foreign visitors in November to help a vital tourism industry that collapsed during nearly 18 months of strict entry policies. It saw about 200,000 arrivals last year, compared to nearly 40 million in 2019.

The ‘Test and Go’ policy, which allows visitors to skip the mandatory quarantine if they test negative on arrival, was suspended late in December over concerns about the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

“We will propose measures that can be done safely and are medically sound,” Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told Reuters. “If approved it can start by Feb. 1,” he said of the quarantine waiver.