Thailand is now requiring all Chinese tourists to produce medical certificates on arrival at the nation’s airports and border crossings.
Medical documentation must state they are healthy and not carrying the novel coronavirus.
Thailand decided to implement the measure after the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak a global health emergency.
Thailand now has 11 active cases of coronavirus including one – a taxi driver – who never visited China.
Since China banned outbound tour groups to stem the spread of the virus internationally, Thailand has been hit hard.
It has not opted for a wholesale ban on Chinese visitors due to the sheer size of the China market to its tourism industry.
About one in five of all inbound tourists are from China, bringing in an estimated US$18 billion each year.
The Thai Tourism Ministry expects the coronavirus crisis to cost the country at least US$2 billion.
Meanwhile, doctors at a Bangkok hotel have been administering a combination of HIV and flu medications for coronavirus sufferers, and say it has led to patients’ improvement within 48 hours.
