End of airport thermoscans mooted as Covid fades

End of airport thermoscans mooted as Covid fades

A thermoscan displays temperatures of passengers after arrving at Suvarnabhumi airport on March 12, 2020. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)
A thermoscan displays temperatures of passengers after arrving at Suvarnabhumi airport on March 12, 2020. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)

The Public Health Ministry is planning to propose the end of the body temperature scan for air travellers at airports due to the improving Covid-19 situation.

Rungrueng Kitphati, chairman of the ministry's committee assessing the coronavirus situation, said on Monday the panel would propose that the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) drop the requirement for airports to use thermoscan infrared cameras to detect temperatures of passengers.

The proposed end of the thermoscans will be applied to public places, the official said, without going into details.

The latest move came amid the relaxation of restrictions after the number of new cases and deaths dropped sharply.

On Monday, the country registered the lowest number of new infections in 13 months and the fewest fatalities since February.

Dr Rungrueng said the coronavirus was inching towards the final stage of the pandemic, at which point it will be declared an endemic disease, while more people had been jabbed with booster shots. Most new cases were asymptomatic, making the devices less effective, he added.

Thermoscans were installed at airports to screen passengers after Covid-19 began spreading in the country.

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