News brief
Danish family placed in isolation in Thailand after daughter tested positive for covid-19
Joy and Nicolaj Ahlström.
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Emili has been isolated in solitary confinement at the hospital after she tested positive for covid-19.
Danish family was placed in isolation over Christmas in Thailand after their 18-year-old daughter tested positive for covid-19 upon arrival in the country. The news became heavily debated on ScandAsia.com with a German Austrian couple telling a similar story of their situation after testing Covid positive. https://scandasia.com/danishfamily-placed-in-isolation-in-thailand-after-daughter-test-positivefor-covid-19/ The family traveled to Thailand on 20 December for what was supposed to be a Christmas and New Year holiday. According to Danish newspaper BT, they feel they took all precautions before depar ture and
all tested negative before getting on the plane. Upon arrival at Phuket Airport, they were tested again before they were taken to their hotel on Koh Lanta in the province of Krabi five hours away. “When we sat at the hotel, the test results came back. Nicolaj and I tested negative, while Emili tested positive. And then things began to happen,” the mother Joy Ahlström explained to BT. The entire family was transferred to a local hospital in an ambulance. At the hospital, they were greeted by staff in protective gear. Joy and Nicolaj were allowed to be in the same room but Emili was isolated in a room by herself. “Our daughter is 18 years old and thankfully very independent, so we haven’t been worried. But it is
not nice to think that your child is alone in a hospital abroad,” Joy Ahlström says. Joy and Nicolaj were after another negative test on Christmas Eve transferred to an ALQ hotel, where they must stay in isolation until 28 December if they continue to test negative. Emili will be in the hospital alone until 31 December at the earliest where after 11 days in isolation she will be allowed to leave.This means that the family’s Christmas holiday together is reduced to four days before they travel home again on 4 January 2022. During the isolation, the family tried to get help from Tui, but until BT published the story there was little help from the travel agency. January 2022 • ScandAsia 17
