ABOVE: A group of tourists wear masks as they arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Sunday. Photo: Kerek Wongsa/ Reuters
A 4-year-old girl from Chaiyaphum province who returned from South Korea with her mother on June 9 is being held in medical quarantine despite testing negative for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS.
The girl, whose identity was withheld, was found not to have the virus which has had health officials on alert, but is expected to be kept at a provincial hospital until Friday as the virus can take up to 14 days to develop, according to doctor Somkuan Harnpattanachaikul.
The girl was initially sent to Kaeng Kraw district hospital last Friday by her parents after she began showing symptoms associated with MERS. Doctors at the hospital decided to transfer her to the provincial hospital, Thai PBS reported.
Thailand has been on alert for possible MERS, which has become an epidemic in South Korea, where it has killed 27 people. On Thursday the kingdom confirmed its first case discovered in a medical tourist from Oman.
