Thai soldiers in state quarantine and 11 with Covid-19 symptoms after return from Hawaii

Thai soldiers in state quarantine and 11 with Covid-19 symptoms after return from Hawaii

Thai soldiers who returned from field training in Hawaii were sent to the state quarantine in Pattaya, eastern Thailand with 11 being monitored for coronavirus.

The 115 troops had spent 20 days in Hawaii before they headed back to Thailand on Wednesday night (July 22) before they were screened and sent to state quarantine.

It was reported that 11 of the troops were suspected to be infected with Covid-19 were sent to the army hospital for further examination.

The rest of the squad will spend their next two weeks in the state quarantine while being monitored by army medics.

Camp commander Colonel Chaianan Chalermpong said the army want to reassure to the people that they will be strictly monitoring the squad.

He said: "We have promised that the soldiers will be treated without any privilege and will be released only after we are sure that they are clean to go." Thailand - which began strict containment and lockdown measures at the start of the pandemic - has not recorded any local transmissions of the coronavirus for two months.

The only cases are from repatriated nationals of overseas residents.

All tourists have been banned from the country since March 22.

The baffling record - which some credit with the genetics of people in countries along the Mekong Delta including Vietnam and Laos - has impressed officials at the World Heath Organisation who have chosen the country to feature in a documentary on the pandemic alongside New Zealand.