As reported in the news, a member of the press traveling with the delegation of Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, tested positive for COVID-19 on 15 December 2021. On that same day, the US delegation contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to consult on this issue and on the possibility of cancelling the visit to Thailand.

Shortly thereafter, in the evening of 15 December 2021, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai to express his deep regret at not being able to travel to Thailand at this time, due to a desire to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19, placing importance on the health and safety of members of the US delegation and of those that the US delegation was scheduled to come into contact with.

The US Secretary of State invited the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs to visit the US at the earliest opportunity and hoped for the opportunity to visit Thailand in the near future, underlining that he would use upcoming engagements to further deepen the Thai-US alliance.