Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) confirmed today (Thursday) there has yet to be a cutoff date set for entry into Thailand under the “Test and Go” scheme, for people who have already been granted their “Thailand Pass”, even though the issuing of new passes has been suspended since December 22nd, 2021.
The confirmation, given in a press briefing by MFA Spokesperson Tanee Sangrat, comes after the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) announced on January 7th that people with the passes only could enter until January 15th after which the decision will be revisited.
Although CCSA Spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin said in a press briefing entries after January 15th would be suspended, the MFA later confirmed the information was not official.
The temporary suspension of processing of new Thailand Pass applications comes amid growing concerns over the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, as infections in Thailand rebounded to over 3,000 per day soon after the New Year, with 8,167 recorded today.
The MFA spokesman made clear that the “Thailand Pass” suspension only applies to the “Test and Go” programme, in which fully vaccinated and COVID-negative people from low-risk countries and territories can enter the country with quarantine of only about a day, while they await for COVID test results taken upon entry.
“Thailand Pass” issuance will proceed for those entering the country through the Alternative Quarantine and “sandbox” programmes. For the latter, no quarantine is required, but arrivals must stay in the province of entry for at least seven days before being allowed to travel elsewhere in the country.
Currently, the sandbox program is being implemented in Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao, Krabi and Phang-nga. The new additions to Phuket came into effect from January 11th.
