BANGKOK, 14 May 2021: The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand issued a cautionary note this week to all airlines serving the country to check the Certificate of Entry (CoE) of foreign passengers before they board flights to Thailand.
The National News Bureau of Thailand said the order came after the foreign ministry suspended the issue of CoEs for foreign arrivals from Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan after a Thai returnee from Pakistan contracted the highly contagious Covid-19 strain that is spreading across India.
The CoE is a letter issued by a Thai embassy or consulate that allows a foreign visa holder to enter Thailand aboard a special repatriation flight, chartered flight or semi-commercial flight.
The CAAT said airlines that allow foreigners to travel to Thailand without a CoE would be held responsible for transporting them back to their countries of origin, including any expenses linked to repatriation.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reported that 18 provinces (mainly in North Thailand) reported zero new infections, while 38 provinces have less than 10 confirmed cases.
The government opens a new ‘Bussarakam’ field hospital at Challenger Hall, Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok, today 14 May, with a capacity to accommodate up to 1 200 patients
From 28 February until 13 May, Thailand administered 2,040,363 vaccine shots, while on 6 June, it will roll out a nationwide vaccine programme starting with free shots for citizens and foreign residents 60 years and over. Delivering jabs for Bangkok residents 18 years and over is now a priority in the hope it can slow the dramatic increases in infections across the Thai capital. The aim is to innoculate 5 million residents, approximately 70% of the city’s adult population, over two months.
CCSA, in its 13 May briefing, confirmed a new daily peak in cases of 4,887. That is more than double the average daily cases reported during the last two weeks, caused by the inclusion of 2,835 new cases reported among inmates at Bangkok’s two main prisons — Bangkok Remand Prison and the Central Women’s Correctional Institution. As a result, cumulative cases shot up to 93,774 since records started 12 January 2020. The death toll increased by 32 to 512.
According to the News Bureau of Thailand, mass testing on prison officials and inmates found 1,795 prisoners at Bangkok Remand Prison, and 1,040 at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution had been infected with the coronavirus.
(Source: News Bureau of Thailand)
