First local Omicron case, officials consider cancelling quarantine exemption Test & Go
Thailand’s first local transmission of the Omicron variant was reported today by public health officials. The confirmed case comes as the government considers cancelling the Test & Go quarantine exemption scheme due to increasing reports of Omicron cases involving those arriving in Thailand from overseas. So far, health officials have reported more than 60 imported Omicron cases.
The first local infection is a woman who contracted the virus from her husband who had travelled from Nigeria. The man had returned home on November 26 and tested negative on arrival in an RT-PCR test. He had entered under the “sandbox” scheme and stayed at an approved hotel, but the Department of Disease Control did not specify which province.
On December 3, the man travelled by a hotel van to his home in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok. He stopped at a convenience store and a shopping mall. He came down with a fever but had tested negative for Covid-19 in a rapid antigen test. His wife took care of him while he felt ill. The man later tested positive for Covid-19 on December 7 and his wife started home quarantine. Three days later, the woman tested positive for Covid-19 and the man’s results were confirmed to be the Omicron strain.
