PHUKET: People from red-zone provinces will be required to show proof that they have received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine before they will be allowed to enter the resort island, starting from Wednesday until April 30.
Governor Narong Woonciew, in his capacity as chairman of Phuket's communicable diseases committee, yesterday convened a meeting to discuss new measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus disease on the island, after 20 new cases were detected. The island has logged 224 cases since the country's third wave of Covid-19 outbreaks began.
The meeting agreed to further restrict entry into the island, by requiring all visitors from 18 provinces which have been labelled as Covid-19 hotspots, to show evidence that they have completed the required rounds of vaccination -- in addition to having a Covid-free certification following an RT-PCR test, issued within 72 hours of arriving -- upon arriving at the airport or the Chatchai checkpoint.
"Those who haven't received two doses of the vaccine or have yet to have the RT-PCR Covid-19 test will be required to take an antigen rapid test upon arrival," he said.
"The test costs 300 baht each, and the results will be known in 15 minutes."
Those who are visiting Phuket must download the Mor Chana mobile tracking application and share their GPS location throughout their stay on the island. Only logistics workers who do not need to spend a night in Phuket and have a recommendation letter from their companies will be exempted from this requirement, he said.
Meanwhile, Koh Kood in Trat will be closed to tourists until May 1, after two hotel employees on the island were found to be infected.
On April 16, a bartender at Peter Pan Hotel tested positive for the virus. It was suspected that they caught the virus from tourists who visited the island during the Songkran holidays. Health officials then conducted tests on more than 100 hotel staff and at-risk individuals, which revealed another infection among hotel employees.
Dechathorn Chan-ob, chief of the Koh Kood Tambon Administration Organisation, said that local authorities have decided that tourists from Trat and other provinces will not be allowed to enter until May 1 in order to contain the virus.
