Public Health Ministry reports a total of 8 confirmed Omicron cases in Thailand

Thailand has recorded eight Omicron cases since the country reported the first Omicron infection on December 1. While it’s not a lot, the emergence of the variant has led the Thai government to tighten travel restrictions and disease control measures for entry to prevent Omicron from being imported into the country.

According to the Public Health Ministry, all Omicron cases that have been reported have been imported into the kingdom, with three samples pending confirmation today. Some entered under the Test & Go quarantine exemption scheme or “sandbox” scheme, which are both entry options for vaccinated visitors, and test positive for Covid upon arrival.

No hybrid variants have been found in Thailand, according to the director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences, Dr Suppakit Sirilak. He added that the spread of the Delta variant, which is the dominant strain in Thailand, has slowed down in Bangkok.

Others who tested positive for the Omicron variant include…

• A 40 year old American man who arrived in Bangkok from South Korea.
• A 35 year old American man who travelled from Spain and entered Thailand under the Test & Go scheme.
• A 51 year old Belarusian tourist who travelled from the United Arab Emirates to Bangkok under the Test & Go programme also tested positive.
• A 51 year old British man who travelled from the UK and entered Chon Buri under the Test & Go and another Thai man.
• A 37 year old Thai man who tested positive at an ASQ facility.
• Two Thai women, ages 46 and 36, who tested positive in an ASQ facility after arriving to Thailand from Nigeria.
• A 39 year old Thai man who travelled from Nigeria and entered Bangkok under the “sandbox” scheme.

Those three cases that are still pending are tourists from the UK, Nigeria, and Congo, two of whom arrived in Thailand under the Bangkok sandbox scheme and one under the Test & Go scheme.

SOURCE: The Nation Thailand