Koh Lan proposes closing to tourists for 15 days from May 5
Koh Lan, off Pattaya, may be closed to tourists for 15 days, starting May 5. The island resort is waiting for the vote to be officially approved but 845 residents and business operators voted on the island’s closing.
420 voted for it to be closed to tourists for at least 15 days, while 306 voted for a complete closing to all incoming travellers. The remainder voted for it to stay open, but under the adherence to current Covid restrictions.
If the island’s closing is approved, operators of resorts and lodging houses are to clear out tourists by May 5, with the reopening of the island to be scheduled for May 21. Lottery vendors and hawkers from Pattaya would also be banned from entering the island. Postal companies and private delivery companies would only be allowed to deliver letters and parcels to the island’s Na Ban boat landing.
The island would only provide 2 boat trips per day for residents between Pattaya and Koh Lan. Boats departing from Pattaya would be scheduled for 7am and 6pm. Those departing from Koh Lan would run at the same times. For those who wish to travel to the island for business, they would be required to get permission from a Covid administration centre at least 1 day in advance.
Although the committee voted to shutter the island to tourists, it is still needing approval by Pattaya City government and the provincial communicable disease committee. The Koh Lan committee first will forward the lockdown proposal to those departments who will then decide the island’s fate.
Chon Buri province is reporting 153 new Covid infections today, and 1 death. The new infections today make a total of 2,764 infections in the province since the latest wave of Covid hit early in April. Thailand, overall, has reported 2,014 new infections today, with 31 deaths.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
