BANGKOK, 16 July 2020: Thailand now requires diplomats and their families to undergo a Covid-19 test at the airport before they are allowed to enter the country.
An urgent letter sent to all diplomatic missions in Thailand, 14 July notified diplomats and their families they will now need to wait at the airport for the test results.
Richard Barrow, a travel blogger resident in Thailand, received a copy of the official letter posting it on Twitter on Wednesday. He warned that more changes are due soon on quarantine procedures.
The Thai government is responding to the case of the nine-year-old daughter of a Sudanese diplomat who tested positive for Covid-19 after she and her family entered the country and started 14 days of self-isolation in a condominium in the Thai capital.
The family is now undergoing a 14-day mandatory quarantine required of other foreign arrivals and repatriated Thai nationals. A similar failure in the system occurred earlier this week when a non-quarantined Egyptian soldier tested positive following a visit to Rayong close to U-Tapao airport during an official military visit.
Shopping malls in Rayong and the hotel where the soldiers stayed have since closed.
It is understood the Sudanese girl was tested for Covid-19 prior to leaving Sudan, and again on arrival in Thailand and tested negative each time. A third test, while she was self-isolating with her family, confirmed she was infected but asymptomatic. Starting with diplomats quarantine rules are now being reviewed.
