Thailand has added Taiwan and another 16 countries to its list of places whose residents can enter the Southeast Asian nation without undergoing quarantine, in a bid to revive its important tourism sector.
Starting Monday, travelers from Taiwan will be allowed to enter Thailand without having to undergo mandatory quarantine upon their arrival if they have been fully vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines recognized by Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, at least 14 days before their travel date.
Arriving passengers can enjoy the exemption if they have resided in the eligible countries on the list for at least 21 days prior to their trip, present a negative RT-PCR test result taken within 72 hours before their departure, and have a medical insurance policy with a coverage of at least US$50,000.
Although a 14-day quarantine is not required for such travelers, they must reserve a one-night stay at a SHA+ or Alternative Quarantine (AQ) hotel and take an RT-PCR test upon arrival.
SHA is a certificate given by the Tourism Authority of Thailand to hotels and services that meet pandemic-level safety and health standards.
They must wait for the RT-PCR test result for one night or until they receive a negative result before they can leave the hotel.
The list of coronavirus vaccines approved presently in Thailand are: Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sinopharm and Sputinik V. The Taiwan-developed Medigen vaccine is not on the list.
Currently, travelers from Taiwan who have been fully vaccinated still have to undergo a seven-day quarantine when visiting Thailand.
Beginning Monday, Taiwan will be among 17 countries added to the list, which will then have a total of 63 countries/territories, up from the original 46 when the policy was first announced on Oct. 22, according to the Thai government.
Tourists from countries not on the list, meanwhile, will be able to visit Thailand, but must undergo quarantine.
Travelers who have not been fully vaccinated and do not have a vaccine certificate, or are only partially vaccinated, and who arrive in Thailand by air will be required to undergo a 10-day quarantine. Those who enter the country by land will have to quarantine for 14 days.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel