BREAKING NEWS! India Extends Screening For All Passengers Coming From Thailand and Singapore. Rumours About Travel Restrictions Could Be A Blow For Thailand’s Tourism Industry
Source: Thailand Medical News Feb 10, 2020 4 years, 9 months, 1 week, 4 days, 3 hours, 4 minutes ago
India which is among many countries that have restricted all travel to and from China and has also been screening passengers from Hong Kong and now decided to include all passengers from to Thailand and also Singapore.
As the
coronavirus spread in on the increase in China and now globally, India has decided to take all necessary safeguards to protect its country as a
coronavirus epidemic in India would be difficult to contain.
To date, three Indian students returning from Wuhan tested positive for the virus and are currently in isolation in the southern state of Kerala.
A further 1,700 people were also tested for the
coronavirus as a precaution as they were all returning back from China. All tested negative.
The Indian government decided to extend thermal screening to passengers coming in from Singapore and Thailand after initiating screening for passengers coming in from and Hong Kong last week.
Currently, there are over 500 weekly flights between India and Singapore, according to Indian government information, with direct flights to around 15 cities. For Thailand and India, there are currently about more than 400 weekly flights to and fro.
An official letter from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to the civil aviation and health ministries said all passengers arriving from Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand would be screened by the Airport Health Organisation once they have stepped out of the aerobridge.
The DGCA letter, accessed by most media said passengers would be allowed to move towards immigration after screening and clearance by medical staff.
There are also unconfirmed reports of talks underway by Indian health and foreign affairs officials about plans to restrict travel of it citizens to high risk countries such as Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore. However this is yet to be confirmed as true but such a move could hurt Thailand’s fragile tourism industry.
According to certain sources in India, one of the reasons that Thailand is being ‘targeted’ is because it is still accepting travellers from China which could pose a risk to other travellers including those from India.
Thailand Medical News is only able to confirm the report about the additional screening for all travellers from Thailand but regards to future travel restrictions, we are unable to confirm whether this true or just speculations or mere rumors.
For latest developments and news about coronavirus research, the
coronavirus epidemic or the Thailand Coronavirus scenario, keep on checking at: https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus
