Phuket officials add new layers of restrictions, Central closed for 7 days

It’s starting to get real in Phuket. New measures have been announced to further restrict the gathering places for people. Meanwhile, for now, the Sandbox continues unabated. The new restrictions are effective until at least August 2. The province has already surpassed its threshold of 90 cases in a week, earlier cited as the upper limit before the government would reconsider the current Sandbox, before the start of the program on July 1.

In fact, Phuket’s Governor Narong Woonciew claimed yesterday that “the numbers are not a factor to discontinue the Sandbox”.

Officials have not declared how many visitors and residents are in quarantine at this time.

Here’s a breakdown of the new restrictions announced from today…

Schools

According to Phuket Provincial Order No. 4158/2564, all educational and teaching institutions on the island will continue to stay close from August 3 – 16. The extension excludes the private schools that are already teaching no more than 5 students.

Central Festival and Central Floresta

Central Festival Phuket and the new Floresta shopping centre over the road, have been closed down for 7 days for “cleaning purposes”. According to a media release today, medical personnel from the Provincial Public Health Office will conduct rapid antigen tests on all employees to determine whether they are infected with Covid.

The vast shopping centre, situated in the middle of the island, was also popular with tourists looking for a bargain, a movie, or just wanting to get out of the heat of the day.

The code here is that there has been some infections or a cluster detected in the shopping centre.

Sports

Sports venues including badminton court, futsal, football fields and artificial turf fields are to be closed.

Gatherings

To further prevent the spread of the virus, the government has restricted gatherings in the following areas such as Fresh markets, flea markets and walking streets to be limited to 1 person every 4 square metres. Events or activities with gatherings of more than 100 people are prohibited.

Restaurants

Restaurants can stay open and serve alcoholic drinks but must close at 9pm.