Thailand’s Ministry of Public Well being on Monday introduced the nation’s first case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, in a U.S. citizen who entered Thailand practically every week in the past.
The 35-year-old American had been dwelling in Spain for a yr, officers mentioned, and was inoculated in June with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Dr. Suphakit Sirilak, director common of the Division of Medical Sciences, advised reporters that the person, who was not recognized, was first examined for the virus on Nov. 30 and acquired a constructive end result the next day, with a powerful indication that the an infection had been attributable to the variant.
He was examined once more on Dec. 3, and the outcomes confirmed that it was Omicron.
Final month, Thailand grew to become one of many first Southeast Asian nations to reopen its borders to fully vaccinated tourists, permitting arrivals by air from 63 nations, together with the USA, China, India, Southeast Asia and far of Europe. Totally vaccinated guests from these areas should take a P.C.R. take a look at on arrival and keep one evening in an authorized lodge whereas awaiting the end result.
The nation pushed to reopen in an try to revive its financial system, even because it struggled to scale back Covid-19 case numbers. About one-fifth of Thailand’s financial system depends upon tourism, and earlier than the pandemic it was one of many world’s prime vacationer locations, drawing practically 40 million guests in 2019.
Thailand reported greater than 4,000 new circumstances of the virus on Monday, for a complete of two.1 million.
