The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) is requiring travellers from Covid-19 infected countries and territories to produce medical certificates prior to boarding their flights to Thailand to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said on Monday the CAAT has issued an official announcement, saying travellers from South Korea, China, Italy, Iran, Macau and Hong Kong who fail to show their health certificates to authorities before boarding their flights to Thailand will not be allowed to continue their journey.
The restrictions are in line with Thailand's Communicable Diseases Act (2015), the minister said.
Upon arriving at Thai airports, they must present their health certificate to disease control officials for verification, said Mr Saksayam.
According to the minister, anyone found producing fake certificates to Thai health authorities will face legal action and quarantine.
Mr Saksayam also assured that Suvarnabhumi airport has put strict screening measures in place to help curb the spread of the disease from air travellers.
He also insisted that to date, airport officials assigned to screen passengers have not shown any fever and/or other symptoms.
Withaya Yamuang, director-general of the Marine Department, on Monday also applied similar rules to boat passengers and crews from Covid-19 affected countries and territories.
The necessary documents include the maritime declaration of health, a list of 10 ports they had just visited, crew and passenger manifest and the results of their body temperature checks over the past week. Violators are liable to fines of between 1,000 and 10,000 baht.
