Phuket's Public Health Office is urging tourism business operators on the island to strictly follow Covid-19 control measures, after 144 Omicron infections were detected in the province.

Koosak Kookiatkul, the island's public health chief, urged businesses to keep their guard up after active case finding on Dec 28 around Soi Bangla, or Bangla Walking Street, near Patong beach found 11 cases of the Omicron variant.

There are currently 144 cases involving the variant among both Thais and foreigners in Phuket, Dr Koosak said.

Dr Koosak urged all tourism business operators, especially those around Soi Bangla, to implement the strictest health and hygiene measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.

He said though businesses on Soi Bangla have set aside 300 ATKs for tourists each week to screen for Covid-19 and pushed to have their employees fully vaccinated, employees and patrons should continue to follow the "DMHTTA" rules -- distancing, mask wearing, handwashing, temperature testing, Covid testing and using a mobile tracing application.

Meanwhile, Bangsaen Beach in Chon Buri went quiet after a number of Omicron infections were reported around Pattaya. The rush to leave the area coincided with the last day of the New Year long holiday.

Chon Buri's governor said many people have lowered their guard as the Omicron variant is perceived to be milder. He urged people to be more careful, noting the number of infections in the province jumped significantly on Sunday and Monday, when 442 and 351 cases were reported respectively.

After further investigation, 80% of the infections were found to involve the Omicron variant, he said.

He said all tourism-related businesses and restaurants must regularly screen their employees and patrons with an ATK prior to entering the venue. If not, they risk being shut down.