UPDATE: Phuket extends current Covid restrictions from June 1 “until further notice”
UPDATE: Today’s planned vaccination of foreign staff and teachers at Phuket Headstart International School was cancelled last night at 9pm without explanation. Also information about kids travelling to Phuket with parent from July 1 HERE.
ORIGINAL STORY: On one hand Phuket officials are extending restrictions to control the Covid situation, and on the other hand the TAT is talking up the July reopening of the southern Thai island. On Friday the CCSA and PM gave permission for the island’s “no quarantine” reopening to go ahead. The plan has not yet been included in the Royal Gazette.
But, as the Thai government and local hospitality providers start to get ready for the much-needed arrival of world travellers, Phuket’s Governor has signed an extension to the current restrictions from June 1 “until further notice”. But he’s also announced the relaxation of some of the restrictions.
The announcement of an extension of the restrictions is also accompanied by some relaxation of the current stringent regulations. We can expect further relaxation over the next 4 weeks approaching the July 1 deadline to reopen to international travel. Here are some of the relaxtions announced by Phuket Provincial office on Friday…
- Spa business establishments, massage businesses for health or beauty
- Venues for providing tattoos or piercing any parts of the body
- Venues for fortune telling or other similar activities
- Amulet sales
- Venues where customers can fish for shrimp or fish
- Scuba diving businesses, including tourism-related businesses, as well as businesses that operate snorkelling activities
- Walking street markets, flea markets, retail stores, wholesaler venues, community malls and markets may open but the consumption of liquor or alcoholic beverages at the venues remains prohibited
- All private nurseries and kindergartens may reopen
- Food or beverage shops that allow customers to consume food or beverages at the venue may reopen within their normal permitted hours
- Stadiums or venues for outdoor exercise, such as parks, courtyards and open-air public activity areas, may open but there must be no spectators or congregation
- Venues for indoor exercise, such as sports courts, gymnasiums, fitness centres, badminton courts are allowed to reopen
- Golf courses or golf driving ranges are allowed to reopen without crowds or competitions
- Beauty clinics, centres, salons or places that provide specialised services for beauty treatments, including nail salons and venues selling slimming products may reopen
- Beauty salons, hair cutting and styling shops for men and women can open but only for hair cutting and hairdressing activities
- Pet care and grooming venues can reopen.
(SOURCE: The Phuket News)
For people older than 5 years old, you will need to be fully vaccinated, or have recovered from a bout of Covid-19 (but no more than 90 days). Or you will have to produce a Covid-free test from a PCR or Rapid Test. Those tests will need to be no more than 7 days old.. Or will need to do a full 14 day quarantine.
Everyone is required to have the Mor Chana or Thailand Plus application tracking apps on their phone during this time .
With a month left to the official reopening of Phuket (it’s technically been ‘open’ already but with restrictions, insurance requirements and red-tape to sort through) the island of Phuket has much to sort out…
• There are restrictions on opening and closing times for shops, shopping centres and convenience stores. Cinemas and gyms are also closed at this time (full list below)
• Groups of people gathering (more than 30) is still not permitted. Recently, the provincial government has tightened that restriction to stop people inviting friends around to their homes for ‘gatherings’, specifically aimed at foreigners after a few highly publicised raids on private homes and private businesses. Specifically ‘no parties’
• Alcohol cannot be served in restaurants and bars are closed
• Restrictions remain for people arriving on the island, by road, air or sea
• Officials have maintained that 70% of the local population must be vaccinated before the reopening but only around 25% have been fully vaccinated whilst the flow of vaccines promised for the island appear to have been diverted to current ‘hot spots’ (Bangkok) at this time
• Expats and other foreigners on the island still have no concrete measures to register for a vaccine and private hospitals are still being refused permission to import vaccines-for-sale
• Specific details and restrictions, if any, are still not clear about people arriving in Phuket post-July 1.
Here are the restrictions that were in place until the ned of May, but set to be modified (loosening some restrictions) from tomorrow…
SOURCE: FRB
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Recent comments:
Hard to imagine a trip to Phuket in July being anything other than misery. Honestly I have serious doubts Thailand even drops the quarantine then. I think I would be better off planning a trip to Europe for the fall and wait for Thailand until the winter.
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these romans are crazy.
do they want an extra bribe to permit hospitals to buy vaccine for foreigners?
clear as mud as ever.what a fiasco this has turned into.it appears that there is zero dialogue between central and local government.throw in a flight on an airline that can be described as a bit dodgy at best and this could very well turn into the holiday of a lifetime for anybody brave enough to sign up for it.
If anybody actually shows up it would be well worth the press interviewing them as I for one and suspect quite a few others would be interested to know who would actually put them self’s through all this for a fortnight in the sun.
We are watching Phuket melt down like a castle made of sand
It will not work out at all.
There will be NO or little tourists, domestic or international anyway with those restrictions…it will take years to recover. Sad it is for Phuket people.
Morons…Not any international tourist will visit Phuket under this circumstances.
Sounds perfect.
I can see teetotal tourists vaccinated no more than three months ago, with kids under five and over 16, who want to go fishing and diving (including “golf diving”) and to get a haircut, some tattoos and a nipple ring, who don’t mind wearing a face mask outdoors and on the beach, who don’t want to visit any friends, queueing up by the planeload – particularly if they want to get their pooch pampered.
Why would they even consider going anywhere else?
Pools are closed, no vaccines avaiable yet in the hospitals, no bars and many other restrictions.And with a atmosphere that they not want foreigners. Which tourists will go there if they can go already to mexico playa del carmen cancun in the caribic with no restriction, bars open, clubs open, pools open, high quality food and no hoops to jump through and much cheaper than Thailand. I think they lost any logic, reality and living in theor own bubble or universe. Oh and by the way USA open to normality and everybody get free high quality vaccine when arriving and Europe open up to normal, too and with clean beaches and higher standards than Thailand. The karma hits them already for their former ignorance and arrogance.
I know it all seems a bit ridiculous. But there has been a real effort to line things up in Phuket. The diversion of vaccines to the province. A better than average attempt to limit the spread. Even if it doesn’t materialise, the people of Phuket have had an opportunity to eliminate the virus and hope for a better future. Sure there needs to be a lot of other work to convince the workers to return. July isn’t exactly high season. But high season is coming. Reduce the outbreaks. Get the population vaccinated. Get the workers back and by October/ November, things are looking good again. So I thumb my nose to all the nay Sayers! In reality, we all want Phuket to return to being a place of happy memories.
They will open if they are vaccinated but there are no vaccines. If I don’t understand something, does it mean I just don’t understand Thai specifics?
Phuket is a basket case within a basket case LOL. Psst Phuket, nobody is coming in 2021, no matter how you tweak it.
ROTFL, nobody is going to Phuket in those circumstances.
Meanwhile, I’m back in the U.S. Everything open, no masks, no social distancing, no restrictions. Life as normal. Oh and I live near a beach — no masks, no restrictions and everyone barbecuing this weekend for Memorial Day.
Nope, I won’t be coming back to Thailand for at least another year as, let’s face it, with these insane restrictions what a miserable vacation that would be 🙂
The military dictatorship is one of the best sit coms on TV
They couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery, it’s pathetic
@Robin – U.S. normal? You must be watching a different movie.
Prayut’s obsession with Phuket is bordering on him becoming certifiable. No sane, right minded people are likely to visit the chan-0-cha test tube for some time to come. Get the Kingdom vaccinated Prayut.
hard to beleive TAT saying they will open up on lst july, then saying phuket in lockdown until further notice,how are they going to vaccine 70% of phuket in a month ? this mast roll out aint happening too many spin doctors and few policy makers
Any bets on the July 1 opening.
If watching the Thais wasn’t so sad it would be funny.
How do you thing the Military dictator party would go if they held elections now?
Poor thai people. Not their fault. All the rich Thais are happy as.
Robin:- Meanwhile, I’m back in the U.S. Everything open, no masks, no social distancing, no restrictions. Life as normal. Oh and I live near a beach — no masks, no restrictions and everyone barbecuing this weekend for Memorial Day.
Sounds great, so how about letting fully vaccinated people like me into USA? I have a flight booked on July 2nd and still don’t have a clue whether or not I can go.
Meltdown for Thailand. Thankyou @general’ Prayut Chan -o cha. Sad excuse for a leader.
Thailand deserves better.
Bill Heinecke’s letter to the PM dated 27th may tells everybody everything they need to know.
I am amazed the thaiger has not published it
We have the letter, we’re hoping to get Bill on video asap. We’ve published his last 2 letters, which have contradicted each other, so just a few questions for Bill before we publish his latest missive.
@Ben Sanders – Drama Queen !
Best get Covid under control and vaccine roll out for all of Thailand expedited. Regretfuy cannot foresee many tourists wanting to come to Phuket or anywhere else until all restrictions lifted.