Thailand revises entry rules after new coronavirus cases

Authorities in Thailand have revised rules governing visitors from abroad after a breakdown in screening led to two infected foreigners posing a risk to public health.

The government said Tuesday that diplomats will be asked to stay in state-supervised quarantine for 14 days, instead of self-isolating. And it is postponing the recently allowed entry of three categories of foreign visitors so the procedures for them can be changed.

The categories are VIP guests of the government; diplomats or representatives of international organisations; and businessmen and investors and others with approved missions.

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The cases that caused concern involved a member of an Egyptian military group whose plane made two stopovers in the eastern province of Rayong last week, and the 9-year-old daughter of a foreign diplomat whose family returned from Sudan.

Thai authorities are revoking landing permission for eight Egyptian flights due to a lack of cooperation from last week's visiting military team.

Officials in Rayong also closed some schools and a mall, sealed off part of the hotel where the Egyptian had stayed, and gave coronavirus tests to his potential contacts.

Thailand has not had any locally transmitted cases for seven weeks, with the only people testing positive being travellers coming from abroad.