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Friday, March 29, 2024

Phuket’s “Sandbox” plan threatens to fall apart like loose sand as Covid19 infections there continue to rise

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Phuket tourism organizations have called for the easing of strict Covid19 restrictions to aid in a speedy recovery, despite local authorities reporting many Covid19 infections every day.

Thanet Tantipiriyakit, chairman of Phuket’s Tourism Council called the PTC, said the latest cases were not caused by tourists, but by local residents.

It really is time to relax disease control measures for fully vaccinated visitors, after they pass a covid19 test, to boost economic recovery in the province, he said.

Chernporn Kanchanasaya, chairwoman of the Thai industry federations in Phuket, believes September will be a crucial month. It is essential to vaccinate as many residents as possible to protect them from the virus.

She also said that the Digital Economy Promotion Office is expected to set up smart checkpoints to screen visitors in October.

“The best measures should be taken before people are allowed to enter Phuket,” she said.

Sarayuth Mallam, the PCT’s chief adviser, said a two-month lockdown on the island could spell the demise of the Phuket Sandbox plan.

“Foreign consuls have said that foreign visitors feel taken aback when they arrive in Phuket and experience the situation as it is at the moment. Nothing and therefore nothing is as it is presented in the media.

If the province is shut down again, there will be no visitors at all,” Mallam said. “Tourists from Bangkok and Europe will disappear in high season. We need to find a balance to coexist with COVID-19,” he added.

Tourists from Europe want to dine together and have a beer and a glass of wine together, but at the moment they are not allowed to do that. Many have said that they have felt cheated for three months.

“If Phuket wasn’t ready yet, why reopen it? Without a relaxation of the measures, everything will be ruined,” said Mr Mallam.

Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew said local authorities are stepping up their efforts to stem the wave of infections as quickly as possible. Many of the new cases were detected using antigen test kits, the results of which were reconfirmed for accuracy by RT-PCR, he said.

Transmissions have increased among residents and migrant workers, he added. With the spikes in local infections, the outlook for the Phuket Sandbox scheme may look less so now than when it first started, he said.

“We must do everything we can to get through this difficult situation and hope that the number of cases will decrease.”

“We must join forces and move forward. This is a life and death situation for the future of Phuket Sandbox,” the governor said.

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