Thai Cabinet approves further funding of state quarantine expenses for repatriated Thais

Bangkok-

The Thai Cabinet has approved further funding of state quarantine expenses for repatriated Thai nationals and also provided some data regarding the number of Thais who entered the country over the past several months through the quarantine program.

The program requires all Thai nationals to enter a state quarantine paid for by the Thai government for fourteen days to prevent against the potential spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in Thailand. Thailand has gone one hundred days as of today without a single confirmed and recorded locally spread case.  Thai nationals can also choose to pay for a more luxury alternative state quarantine at their own expense but only roughly fifteen percent of returnees have done so, say Thai authorities.

From the National Thai News Bureau, quote:

Ms. Traisulee Traisaranakul, Government Deputy Spokesperson, said that the third central budget approved for the Ministry of Defense will cover the cost of preparing private facilities for state quarantine. From March 7 to June 30, two government offices and more than 30 private hotels were used for the quarantine of returnees. The Ministry of Defense had previously been allocated two central budgets: Phase 1 at 95 million baht, and Phase 2 at 97 million baht. 

  There were 22,470 Thais seeking to return to Thailand between July 1st to August 31st, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Defense Ministry has requested an additional budget to support 19,577 people who have not yet been funded. The Prime Minister has approved a central budget for the Ministry of Defense to use in preparing quarantine facilities to accommodate 41,514 people in total. 

The Pattaya News notes that the Thai Government sees state quarantines and strict border control as an essential part of their elimination strategy for the Covid-19 coronavirus. They aim, currently, to keep the virus removed from spreading locally within the country until the situation improves globally and/or a vaccine is found.

Additional state and alternative state quarantines have been approved over the past several weeks as the number of people wanting to return to the country, including foreigners in approved categories, increase.