Thailand Resumes The Test&Go Entry Scheme

As Thailand resumes its Test&Go programme, travellers who are vaccinated will be exempt from quarantine upon entry.

According to the Covid Administration Council sources, the programme will be restarted with certain adjustments to the original version, including additional tests (totalling two) and more stringent health monitoring.

Since the Omicron variant and growing doubts about vaccine efficacy spread over the world a month ago, the scheme has been put on hold

Covid has shown that decisions made today can be reversed tomorrow, which gives travellers little trust in prebooking, prepaying, and planning their holidays far in advance as a result.

Here are some of the details reported for the revised Test&Go scheme:

• All countries/nationalities are eligible to participate in Test&Go
• Travellers must prepay for two RT-PCR tests
• Travellers must stay at a hotel on arrival day (0/1) and day 5
• Travellers must remain at the hotel for test results
• The hotels can be different but require specific partner hospitals for PCT Tests.
• Medical Insurance covers up to US$50.000. Travellers will be sent to the hospital if found positive.
• If there is a major outbreak, the scheme could be abandoned and changed to “Sandbox”

The Bangkok Post reported that the programme will be available in early February with a high degree of confidence.

Gen Supoj Malaniyom, head of operations at the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said the Test & Go programme will be reintroduced on 1 February, although admission criteria will be altered to allow for close monitoring of overseas arrivals’ health.

It appears that under the tightening of the programme, arrivals will undergo two RT-PCR tests during their initial seven days, the first upon arrival and the second on the fifth or sixth day.

These changes come in the wake of Thailand’s announcement of a new 300-baht (AU$12) per person tourism tax.

In addition to pre-payment for COVID-19 testing, hotel accommodations or quarantine, and insurance with COVID-19 treatment coverage of at least US$50,000 (AUD$69,393), Thailand now has a long list of criteria for entry into the country.

Almost 22,000 coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded in Thailand, which has 2.3 million COVID infections. Nearly two-thirds of its population have received two shots and 15 per cent have received a booster.

Source: Bangkok Post