Update: The health ministry published a guideline for quarantine here.
BANGKOK — Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday again revived the possibility of mandatory quarantine for foreign travelers from high-risk countries.
In today’s news conference, PM Prayut said foreigners from China (including Hong Kong and Macau), South Korea, Iran, and Italy will be subject to 14 days of health quarantine, without specifying when or how the measure will be implemented.
“They will be quarantined for 14 days under the state quarantine scheme,” Prayut said. “These measures are enforced at all points of entry, whether land, sea, or air.”
But health ministry spokesman Rungrueng Kitphati said the measure is now being enforced immediately, adding that they will be put in quarantine inside their hotels or other accommodations.
“This is a state-sanctioned self-quarantine,” Rungrueng said. “Officials will contact the foreigners everyday to check their compliance.”
However, an official at Suvarnabhumi Airport immigration control said he is not yet informed of any quarantine measures.
The official referred inquiries to the Disease Control Department instead. Both the chief and the spokesman of the Disease Control Department could not be reached for comment as of publication time.
According to Prayut, any foreign nationals from those destinations are required to present their health certificates and insurances before entering into the kingdom. They must also download an application which will track their movements in the country for 14 days as well, he said.
“The Immigration Bureau will also look into travelers’ passports to see if they are trying to bypass the measures by transiting at another country,” the Prime Minister said.
The government had previously announced a plan to send foreign travelers to a quarantine inside Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport hotel, but the plan was never actually implemented.
