Transit flights are now being allowed through Suvarnabhumi airport and crews of visiting yachts may soon be able to complete quarantine aboard their boats, the government's Covid-19 prevention spokesman said on Tuesday.

Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said travellers transitting through Suvarnabhumi airport would have to show fit-to-fly and Covid-free certificates, as well as health insurance documents.

They would be confined to a specific area at the airport terminal, and not be allowed to visit shops there, he said.

Transit passengers would not have to go through Covid-19 screening. They would be required to wear face masks, sanitise their hands and observe social distancing while waiting for connecting flights. Their stay at the airport would be limited at 12 hours.

Dr Taweesilp also said that visiting yacht owners had proposed they be allowed to quarantine aboard their boats for 14 days, instead of having to stay on the boat for 14 days  and then face another 14 days quarantine on land after disembarking. 

They also proposed that yacht service providers be quarantined for 14 days before disembarking.

Yacht owners said the proposal, if accepted, would stimulate interest in visiting Thailand.

The proposal was being considered and a yacht quarantine system could evolve from it, Dr Taweesilp said.

Yacht crews and their passengers might even be allowed to swim in the sea during their  quarantine period. The disease could not be transmitted in seawater, he said.

 

 

Bangkok Post