Coronavirus Travel Update: Passengers Arriving to Thailand Must Now Provide More Personal Info
The Department of Disease Control (DDC) in Thailand has issued a mandatory travel order that will require visitors to the Kingdom to submit further personal data and contact information.
The order comes in the wake of increased fears of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak that seems to be spreading faster than ever around the world.
The DDC requirement means that all arriving passengers in Thailand airports will have to submit more information at immigration, including mobile phone numbers and email addresses.
Thai government officials state that the information isn’t mean to track individuals or infringe on their privacy, but is a precautionary measure to get in touch with travelers in case an emergency situation arises.
Officials say that they will only retain the personal data for 14 days after a tourist’s arrival in Thailand.
The contact information can be submitted through a TM8 form at airports or on an app developed by the National Science and Technology Development Agency.
Tourists arriving in Thailand can either opt to continue using their existing SIM card with roaming or purchase a SIM card on arrival.
“Please do not call this a tracking system because the state will track them only when critical situations arise, when they need to be monitored to handle the outbreak,” said Thailand’s digital economy and society (DES) minister.
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