Bangkok, January 9 (EFE).- Thailand began on Monday to require the certificate of vaccination against covid-19 from all travelers entering the country, a restriction approved after China’s reopening and criticized by tourism associations due to unexpected measurement and lack of information.
From today and, at least until January 31, visitors will have to demonstrate at the place of departure that they have been vaccinated with the complete schedule of doses against the coronavirus, while those who are not vaccinated will have to show a medical certificate of exemption or a document certifying that you are recovered from the virus since July.
The policy against the health crisis, announced last Thursday and detailed step by step, coincides with the reopening of China and fears of new outbreaks of covid-19.
On Sunday, Thailand’s Civil Aviation Department changed a point of the measures at the last minute to indicate that passengers who cannot prove their vaccination with documents must undergo a test to detect the virus upon arrival.
Additionally, visitors whose countries require a PCR test to return to their territory, such as in the case of China and India, must also have special covid-19 insurance – with coverage of at least $10,000 – in case they test positive sooner. to take their return flights.
The Phuket Tourism Association, on the Thai tourist island of the same name in the west of the country, criticized in a statement the lack of foresight of the Thai authorities and the confusion in the communication of the provision.
According to the letter from the tour operator group, which is said to have learned of the policy change through the media, many tourists were already traveling to Thailand when the measure was announced.
The Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs do not list the requirements on their internet portals and only the Civil Aviation Authority publishes a document in Thai, while the Thai airline Thai Airways details the requirements on its website.
Thai authorities have insisted the measures do not seek to discriminate against travelers from China, which is experiencing a surge in infections after ending strict covid-zero policies and reopened its borders as of Sunday.
The latter is expected to cause a significant increase in Chinese travel abroad, which, together with the increase in infections in the country, has led some countries such as Spain, Germany, the United States, France, South Korea and Japan to start requesting tests PCR for travelers from China.
Thailand, which welcomed 11 million Chinese tourists in 2019, expects up to 5 million travelers from the Asian giant to arrive this year due to the easing of restrictions. EFE extension
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