Tourism
Covid-19 infection rate, totals in international travellers surging

While the government suspended the Test & Go scheme in order to curb the spread of the Omicron variant last month, people who are already approved are still trickling in, and many have come as part of the Sandbox programme. Despite throttling the influx of international travellers, the number of Covid-19 infections brought in from abroad has been steadily rising, and the infection rate among those who arrive has sharply increased, with Russia leading the pack.
In November when the government reopen the borders across Thailand to international travellers with 3 different entry schemes depending on country of origin and vaccination status, out of about 133,000 international arrivals, the rate of infection was just 0.13%. In December as more people began travelling to Thailand, that infection rate tripled to 0.45% with nearly 291,000 arrivals.
But so far in the first half of January, with the highly transmissible Omicron variant surging around the world, infection rates skyrocketed to nearly 8 times higher as infections were found in the approximately 116,000 people who have arrived this year at a rate of 3.42%.
Interestingly, the rate is lowest among those who did the Happy Quarantine programme, with a 2.05% infection rate. The Sandbox scheme and the Test & Go plan were similar in infection rates, with 3.74% and 3.57% respectively.
A total of 282 Covid-19 infections were found in recent international arrivals yesterday from a total 51 different countries. Travellers coming from Russia made up the largest demographic with 59 total infected passengers, 58 of them as part of the Test & Go scheme while one of them was a quarantine traveller.
That’s more than double the country with the second most infections, the US, which had 29 total infections, 10 of which were from the Sandbox, 3 from Test & Go, and 6 from quarantine. Nearly half of those travellers, 14 in total, were returning Thai nationals.
Germany and Sweden followed with 18 and 17 infections respectively and then France and the UK from which 14 Covid-19 infections each were identified. Rounding out the top 10 were the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Denmark, and Australia.
# | COUNTRY | TOTAL INFECTIONS | TEST & GO | SANDBOX | QUARANTINE |
1 | Russia | 59 | 58 | 0 | 1 |
2 | United States | 29 | 2 (1 Thai) | 20 (10 Thai) | 6 (3 Thai) |
3 | Germany | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
4 | Sweden | 17 | 4 | 13 (3 Thai) | 0 |
5 | France | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 (1 Thai) |
6 | United Kingdom | 14 | 5 | 9 (3 Thai) | 0 |
7 | United Arab Emirates | 12 | 0 | 8 (all Thai) | 4 (3 Thai) |
8 | Switzerland | 10 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
9 | Denmark | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 (1 Thai) |
10 | Australia | 8 | 1 | 7 (1 Thai) | 0 |
SOURCE: Ministry of Public Health
For more information on how to get into Thailand during the pandemic, CLICK HERE
Get more from The Thaiger
Join the conversation and have your say on Thailand news published on The Thaiger.
Thaiger Talk is our new Thaiger Community where you can join the discussion on everything happening in Thailand right now.
Please note that articles are not posted to the forum instantly and can take up to 20 min before being visible. Click for more information and the Thaiger Talk Guidelines.
- Bangkok4 days ago
5 countries’ representatives walk out when Russian official speaks in Bangkok
- Best of2 days ago
Siam Paragon wins the Best Luxury Shopping Mall 2022 Award
- Events20 hours ago
“Eat Out with Marriott Bonvoy”: enjoy food discounts all the way
- 360 Reviews2 days ago
The best private villas to rent in Bangkok for 2022
- Thailand4 days ago
Thailand Pass remains, at least until the end of June
- Tourism3 days ago
Thailand tourism authorities expect 1 million arrivals per month starting June
- Bangkok4 days ago
Alcohol ban in Pattaya and Bangkok from 6pm Saturday
- Bangkok3 days ago
Alcohol ban in Pattaya and Bangkok today until 6pm
Recent comments: