The Ministry of Public Health will ask the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) to defer the entry of British visitors to the country after the fast-spreading B117 strain of Covid-19 was found in four British nationals entering Thailand on Dec 21.
Department of Disease Control chief Opas Karnkawinpong said on Sunday all passengers who were on board the same flight as the four and anyone who had come into contact with them had been located, tested and found to be clear of the virus.
Dr Opas urged the public not to panic as Thailand is familiar with the fast-spreading Covid-19 strain -- known as G-strain -- found in Myanmar migrant workers. "B117 is similar to the G-strain from Myanmar in terms of it being fast-spreading," Dr Opas said.
The four English patients are family members -- parents and two children -- from Kent. They have been placed in a hospital and will not be released until medical officials test and clear them of Covid-19 risk.
B117 has already been found in several countries, including a few in Asia, including Singapore and Taiwan, a country with very low infection cases.
