Thailand has re-imposed mandatory Covid-19 quarantine for foreign visitors due to concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant.
A quarantine waiver was also scrapped from Tuesday.
The decision to halt Thailand’s ‘Test and Go’ waiver means visitors will have to undergo hotel quarantine, which ranges between seven to 10 days.
The ‘Sandbox’ scheme, which requires visitors to remain in a specific location but allows them free movement outside of their accommodation, will also be suspended in all places except the tourist resort island of Phuket.
Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhanadirek told Reuters: “After December 21, there will be no new registrations for ‘Test and Go’, only quarantine or Phuket sandbox.”
The announcement came a day after Thailand reported the first case of local transmission of the Omicron variant.
It come weeks after Thailand reopened to international arrivals in November, ending nearly 18 months of strict entry policies that contributed to a collapse in tourism, a key industry and economic driver that drew 40 million visitors in 2019.