3 passengers test positive for Omicron when they arrive on Koh Samui

Three recent arrivals on the Gulf island of Koh Samui have been detected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 – 2 British citizens and 1 Belgian.

The 3 include a 54 year old British woman, a 55 year old Belgian man and a 56 year old British man. The 3 new cases are the first, not only for the holiday island, but also the first for the province of Surat Thani. The trio arrived last Thursday on separate flights.

Case 1: The 54 year old British woman arrived with her husband. He has so far tested negative. They arrived via BKK and Singapore Airport, from the UK

Case 2: The 55 year old Belgian man also arrived from BKK from Belgium, via the UAE and Singapore.

Case 3: The 56 year old British man was from the UK and arrived on Koh Samui from a direct flight from Singapore.

All 3 arrived in Koh Samui on the Test and Go program. All 3 were reported with “mild” symptoms when they arrived. A total of 49 crew and other passengers have since been tested after being assessed as at high-risk from the flights to the island. A further 8 people staying at the same hotels as the infected passengers when they arrived have also been tested.

Health officials say they will retest the high-risk people again in the next few days.

Meanwhile, discussion are now underway to discuss the possibility of cancelling Thailand’s Test & Go (almost) quarantine-free scheme, due to the uptick in Covid Omicron cases. But, as a minimum, the CCSA say they are looking to review the list of countries considered to be at “low risk” for Covid-19 and consider whether to ban travellers from “high risk” countries. At the moment, travellers from 63 low risk countries are allowed to enter Thailand on the Test and Go program with a one night stay in an approved SHA+ hotel.

Thailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told Thai media today that his ministry is making a proposal to the CCSA to cancel the program, which allows vaccinated travellers from approved countries to enter Thailand, with just a one night isolation when they arrive while waiting for test results.