Thailand to implement strict screening to guard coronavirus

The Thai Ministry of Public Health announced that it would step up measures to screen Chinese tourists arriving in Thailand for Lunar New Year celebrations.

Thailand has to implement stricter control measures as China has confirmed that the new coronavirus can be transmitted from person to person, said Dr Tanarak Plipat, deputy director-general of the ministry's Department of Disease Control on Tuesday, reported Xinhua news agency.

Stricter screening has been implemented at immigration checkpoints and airports in Thailand since Monday. Additional screening machines have also been installed at airports where there are direct flights from the Chinese cities of Wuhan, Beijing and Shenzhen to Thailand, said Tanarak.

According to Tanarak, about 16,000 Chinese people arrive in Thailand daily, about 30 of whom have been quarantined for suspected coronavirus infections this month.

Two Chinese people have been detected to be infected with the new coronavirus in Thailand. One of them has recovered and returned home in China after being treated at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute in Thailand.