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Phuket wants to be called an ‘endemic’ holiday destination

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Phuket wants to be called an ‘endemic’ holiday destination

This southern island is listing itself as the first province to declare the spread of the Covid19 virus endemic, despite a growing number of infections among tourists, a local official said.

“Phuket would like to be the first province to be nominated,” Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong said yesterday afternoon. “I hope this will allay concerns about the virus and shift the focus to economic recovery instead.”

Endemic status is given if a province’s infection rate does not exceed 10,000 new cases per day, while the death rate does not exceed 0.1%, and more than 80% of patients at risk have received two doses of coronavirus vaccine, he said. citing the publications of the National Committee on Communicable Diseases.

Pichet said the province will also ask the government to shorten the quarantine period from 10 to five days.

In the first five days, an infected person must be quarantined at home, in a hospital or hospital before being allowed to go among people under strict Covid19 prevention measures.

Pichet insisted Phuket is safe because it has adequate resources to look after locals and visitors.

The province has also accelerated the vaccination of young children, along with several measures, including mandating face masks, he said.

However, the infection rate among tourists is still a major concern, as up to 3% of them were found to be infected, while 4% were detected in second tests, he said.

Last Saturday, Phuket registered 549 domestic infections, including 67 from people under the sandbox scheme and 49 from the Test & Go scheme.

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