The Public Health Ministry on Tuesday began a 21-day mandatory quarantine for all arrivals from Ebola-stricken DR Congo and Uganda, amid rising arrivals from the central african countries and lack of cooperation.
Dr Somlerk Jeungsmarn, permanent secretary for public health, said on Tuesday that more people were arriving from the two central african countries. Some failed to report daily to health officials as required of them.
Therefore, the ministry had imposed a 21-day quarantine period for all people coming from DR Congo or Uganda.
He said the number of daily arrivals from DR Congo and Uganda had risen from an average 5-7 a day to more than 10 over the past few days. Most recently, 19 arrived on a single day.
Incoming flights from the two countries can land only at Suvarnabhumi airport, and all people on those flights will be quarantined at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute in Nonthaburi province for 21 days, Dr Somlerk said.
The government would bear the cost of quarantine for visitors who arrive in the next 72 hours. Those arriving later would have to pay for their quarantine. Any visitors with suspicious symptoms would be sent to hospital immediately.
The Public Health Ministry hoped this would reduce arrivals from the two countries.
Dr Yongchuea Laosirithaworn, director-general of communicable diseases at the Department of Disease Control, said about 100 visitors from the two countries had earlier been required to report to daily for observation for symptoms, but some did not cooperate and did not go to their stated hotels.
Officials later sent such visitors directly to their hotels, but the hotel managements did not want to accommodate them.
The number of Ebola infections was growing in DR Congo and Uganda, and therefor so was the risk to Thailand. Compulsory quarantine would effectively prevent transmission of the virus to Thai people, Dr Yongchuea said.
Dr Anek Mungaomklang, deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said officials had difficulty following the movements of five of the visitors, and the search had cost officials time and resources.
The five travellers had been located. They did not pose any risk because they had no fever or sign of any other symptoms, he said.
Dr Anek said that the unusual rise in the number of visitors from DR Congo and Uganda prompted the health ministry to impose mandatory quarantine.
Ebola is a severe viral disease spread through direct contact with blood and bodily fluids of infected individuals. Transmission most commonly occurs among family members, healthcare workers and people handling infected patients or deceased victims. It is a virulent form of haemorrhagic fever, with no vaccine against the latest strain, according to the WHO.
Unlike airborne diseases such as covid-19 or measles, Ebola does not spread easily through the air, making outbreaks more manageable through isolation, contact tracing and infection control measures.
Early symptoms often resemble common illnesses, including high fever, fatigue, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting. Severe cases may involve abnormal bleeding. The disease has a high fatality rate if left untreated.
