Coronavirus in 2 foreign arrivals raises alarm in Thailand

BANGKOK (AP) — Health authorities in Thailand are seeking to trace the contacts of two recent foreign arrivals in the country who were infected with the coronavirus and may have violated quarantine rules.

The two cases, an Egyptian military officer and the 9-year-old child of a diplomat from Africa, surfaced as Thailand marked seven weeks with no local transmissions of the coronavirus. With few foreigners allowed to legally enter the country, all other recent cases have involved Thai nationals repatriated from abroad.

That recently arrived foreigners were cleared for entry despite testing and quarantine procedures meant to keep them isolated has caused concern as Thailand considers how and when to reopen on a larger scale to foreign tourists.

The state Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration announced Monday that a member of an Egyptian military team that made stopovers last week at U-Tapao airport in eastern Thailand tested positive for the disease.

The Egyptian group arrived in Thailand via the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan on the night of July 8 and flew to Chengdu in China and back on July 9.

They were tested for coronavirus on July 10 and that same day members of the group visited several public locations, including a mall, in Rayong, the province where U-Tapao airport is located.

By the time the results of the infected man’s test were processed on July 11, the Egyptian team had departed for home.

Thai health authorities said they are tracing any contacts the Egyptian might have had during the visit, but have not announced any specific locations. The Bangkok Post newspaper reported that Rayong's governor has ordered the floors of the hotel where the Egyptian delegation stayed to be sealed, and two hotel staff who delivered room service to them to be...