It’s official: Thailand will ban entry to travelers from eight African countries from 1 December. The decision came after the unexpected emergence of a new coronavirus variant, dubbed Omicron, which was allegedly first detected in Africa.
According to Bangkok Post, the countries on the ban list are:
- Botswana
- Eswatini
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- South Africa
- Zimbabwe
The Disease Control Department also asserted that anyone from the aforementioned countries who recently arrived in the Kingdom have to be put in quarantine for 14 days.
In the meantime, authorities have confirmed that, so far, no case of the emerging variant has been found in Thailand. PM Prayuth Chan-o-cha has also ordered stricter screening protocols. “If there’s any urgent need for the government to adjust control measures against this new variant, I will order agencies to act immediately,” he declared. “We will closely monitor how this new strain will impact Thailand.”