Thailand’s DDC to reduce quarantine for high-risk cases from 7 days after Songkran

Thailand’s Department of Disease Control, or DDC, has agreed to reduce the quarantine period for people residing in the kingdom who are at “high-risk” of infection after being in contact with confirmed cases of Covid-19. Starting after the Songkran festival, the quarantine period for high-risk people in Thailand will be reduced from 7 days to “5+5” days.

This means those who report themselves — either at hospitals or via a hotline — and are found to be at high-risk of contracting the virus, will be required to quarantine for five days, then self-observe their symptoms for another five days.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, Dr. Opas Kankawinpong, reported that the department had already agreed on the measure and expected to enact it after the Thai New Year. He said the next step was to inform the CCSA and the Centre of Disease Control for further announcements and official operation.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, also urged the elderly group to get vaccinated. He added that vaccines could help prevent severe symptoms and death, while the number of new cases during Songkran has been estimated to possibly reach 100 thousand per day, in a “worse case scenario”.

The Minister’s remarks are in line with the government’s push to administer booster shots to the nation’s elderly population, and those at risk, in order to bolster their immunity to Covid-19 ahead of the Songkran festival, which will officially begin on Wednesday, April 13.

SOURCE: Bangkokbiznews | Khaosod

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Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.

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