quarantine
- China News
China plans to cut mandatory quarantine for foreign travellers
China is reportedly planning to cut mandatory quarantines for foreign travellers as early as next month. According to Bloomberg News, two anonymous sources say that officials are considering a “0+3” policy, which means that arrivals into the country won’t be required to spend time in a quarantine hotel or an isolation facility. China will continue to ease Covid-19 restrictions, according to its ambassador to…
- Covid-19 News
Thai health authorities recommending the re-instatement of mask wearing
The highly contagious BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants are currently causing problems in Thailand, just like they are in other countries – more hospitalisations but no trend of a higher number of deaths. The downward trend, since April 1, has plateaued over the past month and started creeping up again. With statistics from many countries suggesting that BA.4 and BA.5…
- Thailand video news
Thailand News Today | CCSA confirms possible easing of mask mandate
The CCSA has acknowledged that face masks in Bangkok may soon be dropped. Although no date has been announced yet, the CCSA says the easing of mask-wearing in some public locations is on the table, as well as allowing night venues to stay open until 2 am. Nightlife venues were allowed to “officially” open until midnight starting June 1, although…
- Tourism News
Hospitels close the door on Covid and hotels reopen for business as usual
With Covid-19 projected to be labelled as endemic next month, hospitels and alternate quarantine sites have resumed normal operations. Hospitels are hotels that provided rooms for people who had mild Covid symptoms. They helped ease the strain on the kingdom’s hospitals during the peak period of the coronavirus pandemic. But now the service is consigned to history, according to the…
- Covid-19 News
Shorter quarantine times proposed for Thailand. From 7 days down to…?
Starting in May, high risk groups who have been in close contact with Covid 19 will still have to self isolate at home, but the time will be shortened from 7 days to 5 days. While the self isolation period is shorter, they will need to monitor their health for another 5 days, according to the Director-general of the Department…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA delays easing entry restrictions to Thailand… until after Songkran festival
The CCSA has announced today that they will hold off on adjusting the current entry restrictions for foreign travellers to Thailand until after next week’s Songkran festival, as they continue monitoring the spread of Covid-19 in the country. After today’s meeting, CCSA officials said they plan to adjust their measures in May, depending on the Covid situation after Thai New…
- World News
Singapore to end pandemic-era restrictions, embrace ‘living with covid’ strategy
Singapore is set to end most of its Covid-19 restrictions starting next Tuesday, March 29, as the country shifts from a pandemic to an endemic state of mind — learning to live with Covid, instead of trying to eliminate it. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the significant policy changes in a national address on Thursday… “Our fight against COVID-19…
- Thailand Travel
Thailand to scrap pre-arrival Covid-19 tests from April
The CCSA has announced that starting April 1, travellers arriving in Thailand from abroad won’t have to take pre-arrival Covid-19 tests (before they travel to Thailand). The scrapping of pre-arrival tests will also apply to Hat Yai airport, in addition to the current Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, Krabi, Samui, Chiang Mai and U-tapao airports. A CCSA spokesman said the CCSA…
- World News
Malaysian minister announces vaccinated travel lane with Thailand, Cambodia
Malaysia’s Transport Minister announced today that the country’s government is preparing to start a Vaccinated Travel Lane with Thailand and Cambodia as early as the middle of this month. The minister said the VTL will follow the same model as the VTL between Singapore’s Changi International Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport. In the VTL, travellers who enter Malaysia take…
- World News
Bali reopens to international tourists after almost 2 years
Yesterday, Bali reopened to foreign tourists with its first international flight in almost two years. The flight was with Singapore airlines, with 109 foreign travellers, and 47 Indonesians. The foreign travellers are required to quarantine in a designated hotel for three to seven days. There are 27 designated hotels for them to choose from. The governor said he hopes in…
- World News
It’s official: Vietnam will reopen to tourists on March 15
In a move made three months earlier than planned, Vietnam will completely reopen to tourists starting March 15. Visitors to the country will still have to quarantine for 24 hours, and test negative for Covid-19 before departure and upon arrival. The Vietnamese government said in a statement that the reopening is part of its new response to controlling Covid-19, which…
- World News
Taiwan to ease entry restrictions, cut quarantine to 10 days in March
Taiwan plans to relax its strict COVID-19 quarantine policy beginning in March, in order to reopen to the world and gradually resume normal life, the government said on Tuesday. Since the start of the pandemic, Taiwan has enforced a blanket two-week quarantine on everyone arriving to the island, even while its neighbours in Asia began implementing reopening strategies last year,…
- World News
UPDATE: Indonesia welcomes fully vaxxed travellers with 5 day quarantine from today
Fully vaxxed and dreaming of white beaches? Starting from today, Indonesia welcomes you with a reduced quarantine of 5 days. You might even be able to book a direct flight to Bali this month, if you’re traveling from select countries. For those with a single jab, the duration of quarantine is reduced from 10 to 7 days. Ministry of Coordinating…
- Thailand News
Inmate with Covid-19 escapes from Koh Samui Hospital, officials set 20,000 baht bounty
There’s a 20,000 baht bounty for those who have information that will lead to the arrest of a Covid-infected inmate who escaped from Koh Samui Hospital. The news follows a statement from Thailand’s Justice Minister on an uptick of inmate escapes, particularly involving those who were in quarantine before being released into the prison population or at a hospital being…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya discusses “hotel isolation” for Test & Go, Sandbox travellers with Covid-19
After hundreds of horror stories of foreign tourists being required to stay in a quarantine hotels around Thailand after testing positive for Covid-19, officials in Pattaya discussed a so-called “hotel isolation” to allow travellers to continue staying at their hotel or resort if they test positive for the virus and have mild or no symptoms. The idea is not to…
- Phuket News
British journalist documents beer-fuelled parties with Covid patients at Phuket quarantine hotel
British journalist Jonathan Miller was declared to be at high risk of Covid-19 after entering Thailand and ended up in a quarantine hotel in Phuket… which he says was more like an “Asian Hotel California” with “late-night discos fuelled by local beer.” Miller, known in Thailand as the first foreign reporter to interview King Vajiralongkorn after his coronation, wrote a…
- Thailand video news
Thailand News Today | New Requirements for Resumed Test & Go Program
Test & Go is back on, and vaccinated travelers will be able to register for (almost) quarantine-free entry to Thailand starting February 1. There have been slight revisions to the rules, now requiring travelers to have proof of their hotel booking on the first and fifth day of their stay in Thailand when they undergo RT-PCR tests. At its general…
- World News
13-day quarantine enacted for travellers from Thailand to Japan
Japan has announced new restrictions for travellers from Thailand entering the country, who must now undergo a 13-day quarantine on arrival. The new restriction will go into effect tomorrow and will affect travellers coming from Thailand and 4 other countries. The new restrictions follow a farther-reaching announcement on January 15 easing restrictions for the rest of the world, replacing the…
- Tourism News
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,…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 exposure quarantine may be reduced to 7 days
As officials reevaluate the Covid-19 restrictions piled on with the outbreak of the Omicron variant, the current directive of 14-day quarantine for groups who are considered at risk with Covid-19 infections may be reduced to just 7 days. The Permanent Secretary for Public Health said that the Ministry of Public Health is considering reducing the time that people are kept…
- Thailand News
Travellers from Africa told to re-register for Thailand Pass to change entry scheme
Starting tomorrow, some entry restrictions lift for those travelling to Thailand from countries in Africa. Those from nations in Africa who have been approved to enter through the Alternative Quarantine scheme can now apply to enter under the more relaxed Sandbox entry scheme, which allows travellers to roam freely in a designated province or district rather than undergoing isolation at…
- Phuket News
Have a Test & Go QR code to enter Thailand? Read this.
Details emerging from last Friday’s deliberations by the CCSA have now been published in the Royal Gazette, enacting them into law. Missing from the published guidelines about changes to the Thailand Pass, is any reference to a cut-off date which was both stated and then published by government representatives on Friday following a meeting of the CCSA. Speaking to the…
- Covid-19 News
Two foreign travellers wanted by Phuket authorities, Covid-positive and left hotel quarantine
Two French travellers are wanted by Phuket authorities leaving their hotel quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19. Thai media used a word meaning “escape” and posted mugshots of the man and woman like suspects on a wanted criminal poster. Authorities have asked those who have seen the travellers, who are both around 35 years old, to contact the Patong Police…
- Covid-19 News
Restaurant alcohol sales, tightening quarantine on CCSA agenda today
It’s an all-too familiar scenario at this stage, and one that will have restaurateurs and others in the hospitality and tourism sectors putting their heads in their hands. While we must emphasise that nothing is confirmed yet, the CCSA meets today to consider a number of tough curbs proposed by the Public Health Ministry. Based on Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s…
- Phuket News
Phuket hotels to offer isolation rooms for asymptomatic guests who refuse hospital
Phuket hoteliers have come up with a solution for asymptomatic guests who test positive for the Omicron variant but refuse to be transferred to hospital. Kongsak Khoopongsakorn from the Thai Hotels Association says in order to keep Phuket’s re-opening going, tourists who test positive but have no symptoms should be offered isolation facilities at their hotel instead of having to…
- World News
Travellers who break Philippines quarantine rules face US$1,000 fine or 6 months in jail
The Philippines has issued a warning to incoming travellers that those who break quarantine rules might face fines of up to 50,000 Philippine pesos (US$1,000) or six months in prison as it prepares to deal with the new strain of Omicron in the wake of a spike in Covid-19 cases. During a television interview yesterday, President Duterte’s spokesperson, Karlos Nograles,…
- Covid-19 News
UPDATE: Tourist who left quarantine, tested positive for Covid-19, turns himself in
UPDATE: Thai media reports that the traveller who tested positive for Covid-19 and left his quarantine hotel without permission has contacted the Embassy of Israel in Thailand to turn himself in to police in Koh Samui. The Royal Thai Police deputy spokesperson for told Thai media the travellers could face criminal charges for violating the Emergency Decree. Officials are still looking…
- Thailand News
UPDATE: Registration closes for Test & Go and Sandbox, except Phuket
Registration is closing today for travellers wishing to enter Thailand under the Test & Go quarantine exemption programme and the Sandbox entry scheme, with the exception of Phuket. In an urgent meeting this afternoon, chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration decided to stop accepting new tourists under the entry schemes starting at midnight. The government…
- World News
Travelling to the UK? Order a PCR test early, high demand slams provider
Travelling back to the UK? Make sure to get your hands on a PCR test ahead of time, or at least from a reliable provider. Many customers who ordered a PCR test from a company recommended on the UK government’s official website say the deliveries, which were promised to within the next working day, were delayed. Fully vaccinated travellers entering…
- Thailand News
“Sandbox” entry scheme to remain at 7 days, CCSA reverses move to cut down stay
The period of stay under the “sandbox” entry scheme will continue to be seven days. The CCSA approved to cut the period down to five days but tightened measures after the emergence of the Omicron variant. Under the entry scheme, travellers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can enter and roam freely in a designated province or area, such as…
