85% of employees complete two vaccine doses as vaccination centre opens for Phuket residents
Central Pattana plc, operator of Central Phuket, has announced success in creating herd immunity for the first time in a shopping centre in Thailand. Over 3,800 or around 85% of employees and shop staff at Central Phuket have received their second vaccine injections by mid-May as part of the push to boost confidence in Phuket’s tourism industry under the government’s ‘Phuket Tourism Sandbox’ strategy.
Central Phuket recently began to host a vaccination centre for the general public on the first level of the Floresta zone, becoming the first business to cooperate with local authorities in Phuket to offer such a service. Working with the Phuket Public Health Department, Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation and Bangkok Hospital Siriroj Phuket, the shopping centre expects to vaccinate 1,500-1,700 individuals per day.
The vaccination centre is managed systematically under strict ‘Central’s Hygiene & Safety’ measures that focus on providing safe and clean space, good air circulation, crowd density control, and social distancing. In so doing, it reinforces the position of Central Pattana as the leader in managing vaccination centres using a model first developed at Central Lardprao, the first shopping centre in Bangkok to host a vaccination centre, as well as Central Rayong and Central Samui, which host provincial centres. Individuals interested in receiving the vaccine at Central Phuket should follow the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CentralPhuketFanpage to receive information on registration.
“Central Phuket has become the first vaccinated shopping centre in Thailand as a result of the cooperation and unity of the people of Phuket and Central Pattana’s implementation of its ‘Central’s Hygiene & Safety’ masterplan which is practical and applicable to any situation,” affirmed Dr. Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Central Pattana Plc. “We are able to ensure the highest level of cleanliness and safety for Central Phuket while supporting the government’s push for tourism in July under the Phuket Tourism Sandbox strategy.”
“Over 85% of Central Phuket employees have received the second dose of the vaccine which is sufficient to create herd immunity,” Dr. Nattakit continued. “This makes Central Phuket the first shopping centre in Thailand to have such protection. The other 15% of the employees are in sensitive groups or exempted from the vaccine for other reasons.”
“We have proactively tested shop staff for the virus and found no infected individual. All results came back negative. As a result, we are launching the I’M VACCINATED campaign, the first of its kind for a shopping centre in Thailand, with specially-designed badges given to employees who have received two vaccine shots. It’s all part of our number tracking system and fully in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Public Health.”
“To boost the confidence of our customers, we are showing our readiness to provide public safety and health as we are prepared to fully service visitors and tourists. In the long run, we will build upon this success and expand the initiative to other provinces in order to drive local economies and tourism sectors in those areas.”
“Central Phuket has coordinated with Phuket Public Health Department, Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation and Bangkok Hospital Siriroj Phuket to carry out proactive COVID-19 screening of employees who provide services to customers and found no infection – all test results were negative,” further explained Wilaiporn Pitimanaaree, Senior Vice President of Central Phuket Shopping Centre of Central Pattana.
“We believe the I’M VACCINATED campaign will boost confidence of customers as they see Central Phuket’s readiness to provide public safety and cleanliness. We are fully prepared to service visitors and tourists in support of the policy of Phuket province to welcome vaccinated foreign tourists without quarantine, which is expected to begin on 1 July 2021.”
Central Phuket has prepared areas of the first level of the Foresta zone as the vaccination centre for the general public, meeting the needs as follows:
1. Large space
The designated area on the first level of the Foresta zone can service 1,500-1,700 individuals per day in accordance with systematic social distancing measures.
2. All staff members and employees are vaccinated
Visitors will see an I’M VACCINATED badge on the uniform of vaccinated staff.
3. Transportation
The shopping centre is in the centre of the Phuket city which is easily accessible.
4. Operating time
Vaccination services are from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm while the shopping centre is open from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm.
5. Proactive and strict measures
Under the masterplan ‘Central’s Hygiene & Safety’, there will be five core measures to ensure public safety and confidence. These are 1) strict screening, 2) strict social distancing measures in all areas and crowd density control, 3) safety tracking measures, 4) deep cleaning with attention to all surface areas, and 5) touchless experience. Furthermore, the shopping centre will carry out a ‘Big Cleaning’ after closing each day and ‘Extra Deep Cleaning’ operations with highly-effective COVID-19 disinfectants certified by international institutions for the whole facilities, all according to the masterplan, in order to ensure highest customer safety and confidence.
From 16 April to 5 May, Central Phuket provided support and supplies of clean food and drinks to COVID-19 patients at the Phuket field hospital and to public health officials in Phuket. The assistance was provided in cooperation with restaurants within the shopping centre, including Zen Restaurant, On The Table, Billion Nail, and DNA Star By Flexifoot, as well as Government Savings Bank.
Central Pattana aims not only to implement its Central’s Hygiene & Safety masterplan in its shopping centres but to offer it to other organisations for public benefit. With the hosting of the vaccination centres, Central Pattana has become the first shopping centre business to work with the authorities in handling the pandemic. The success of its first provincial vaccination centre in Bangkok at Central Ladprao has reinforced the company’s capabilities and efficiencies in this respect.
Eleven Central shopping centres have been selected by the authorities to host vaccination centres. They are Central Ladprao, Central Pinklao, Central Westgate, Central Phuket, Central Korat, Central Mahachai, Central Rayong, Central Samui, Central Suratthani, Central Hatyai and Central Ubonratchathani.