French woman in Thailand may have acquired virus locally

A French woman on the Thai resort island of Samui has tested positive for the coronavirus and probably acquired it after arriving in Thailand in what could be one of few cases of local transmission, health officials said Friday.

The finding was announced the same week that Thailand began allowing some tourists to enter again after banning all commercial flights since early April. On Tuesday, 39 tourists from Shanghai flew into Bangkok under a special tourist visa program that allows in a limited number of visitors under tight restrictions, including a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

The 57-year-old woman arrived in Bangkok with her husband and son on Sept. 30, and all three underwent the mandatory 14-day quarantine, during which they tested negative twice for the disease, said Dr. Sophon Iamsirithaworn, director of the Bureau of General Communicable Diseases

The family flew on Oct. 15 to Samui, where they maintain a residence. The woman went to a hospital on Tuesday after experiencing coronavirus symptoms, and on Wednesday tested positive. Her family has been quarantined again but a new test gave negative results for them.

Also under quarantine were passengers and crew of the flight they took to Samui and 40 workers at the quarantine facility in Bangkok. Those test results are pending.

Thailand has had few cases of local transmission over the past several months. Almost all have been found in Thais or foreign residents returning from abroad.

Earlier this week, the Health Ministry announced that five people in the town of Mae Sot, on the border with Myanmar, tested positive. The five, none of whom exhibited symptoms, were the first locally transmitted cases confirmed in Thailand since early September, when a prison inmate in the Bangkok area tested positive.

All five of the Mae Sot cases are members of a family of Myanmar nationals residing in Thailand. Myanmar has had a serious outbreak that began in August, causing Thai authorities to tighten controls along the border.

Thai health officials on Friday announced eight new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 3,727, including 59 deaths.

Visitors to Thailand who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will no longer need to undergo any test or quarantine on arrival starting May 1, a measure the authorities hope will help rejuvenate the country’s lucrative tourism industry.

“Many countries have already eased their restrictions,” Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Friday. “We are a country that relies on the tourism industry, especially during these times. This will help move the economy forward.”

Under the new rules announced by the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, unvaccinated travelers will still have to provide proof of negative results from a RT-PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival.

All visitors still must register with an online “Thailand Pass” system and provide proof of health insurance with coverage of at least $10,000 for COVID-19 treatment.

Under the current arrival scheme known as “Test and Go,” even fully vaccinated travelers have been required to take RT-PCR tests upon arrival and then stay in a government-approved hotel for one night until the results are known. On the fifth day of their stay. a self-administered rapid antigen test has been required.

The Public Health Ministry on Friday announced 21,808 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 128 related fatalities, bringing the totals since the pandemic began in 2020 to 4,128,038 cases and 27,520 deaths.

The official figures are based on RT-PCR tests, and the new cases do not include 20,635 positive results from antigen tests, which would almost double the number of new cases to 42,443. Many other positive results from self-administered antigen tests may not have been reported to authorities.