Thailand is barring all Indians and other foreigners arriving from India from entering the country due to the severe coronavirus crisis there.
Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) Taweesilp Visanuyothin spokesman, said yesterday Thailand has postponed the process of issuing certificates of entry for Indian citizens and foreigners arriving from India. The document is compulsory for all people who plan to come to Thailand.
Dr Taweesilp said only Thai returnees from India are still allowed, with at least 130 having registered their intention to come back next month with the Foreign Ministry.
The decision came amid a worsening coronavirus situation in India, with more than 300,000 new cases and thousands of deaths logged every day recently. The country has now surpassed Brazil as the second-worst affected country after the United States in terms of new confirmed cases.
The spokesman denied reports about wealthy Indians fleeing Covid-19 on charter flights to Thailand. "There were no charter flights from India to Thailand," he said.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) yesterday said there is only one commercial flight a week flying from India to Thailand and those on board must be people only entitled to travel to Thailand. When they arrive in the country they must be put into quarantine.
Next month, four repatriation flights from India will fly to Thailand on May 1, 8, 15 and 22 respectively.
One Thai passenger will be on board on May 1, 70 Thais on board on May 8, 60 Thais on board on May 15. No Thais have reported to authorities to return on the May 22 flight.
The Immigration Bureau yesterday reported that 602 Indians entered Thailand via Suvarnabhumi airport from April 1-20.