China, HK, Macau and Korea off 'danger' list

China, HK, Macau and Korea off 'danger' list

Arrivals in Thailand from designated countries subjected to extra Covid precautions

A notice requesting customers to wear protective maks is displayed on the door of a Hanaro Mart supermarket in Seoul on Thursday. (Bloomberg photo)
A notice requesting customers to wear protective maks is displayed on the door of a Hanaro Mart supermarket in Seoul on Thursday. (Bloomberg photo)

Thailand will remove China and three other locations from its list of “dangerous disease zones” from Saturday.

The Royal Gazette announced on Friday that China, South Korea, Hong Kong an Macau would be delisted as they had shown their effectiveness in preventing and containing the coronavirus.

The four were on the list first drawn up in March as Thailand began to step up its efforts to fight the virus outbreak.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul lobbied to remove them from the list, according to reports.

When the list was first created, the virus outbreak was peaking in China and some other locations, prompting Thailand and other countries to sharply restrict incoming travel. The list also contained Italy and Iran, which at the time had the most Covid-19 cases outside China.

People arriving from countries and territories defined as “dangerous disease zones” must produce health certificates issued within three days prior to their flight and have health insurance. They must also agree to install and use a mobile monitoring application.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand subsequently added 10 more countries to the list on March 19, reflecting the severity of outbreaks at the time: Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the United States.

The list has largely become moot since all inbound international flights to Thailand have been banned since early April, with the ban expected to continue until May 31 or possibly longer.

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