Thai PM will consider waiving quarantine for vaccinated visitors to Phuket

The Thai PM says he’s willing to consider a call from the Phuket business community to allow vaccinated foreigners to bypass quarantine. Prayut Chan-o-cha says in order to compete with other countries popular with tourists, Phuket plans to re-open fully to vaccinated foreigners from July, meaning the government must make sure the country’s vaccine rollout is on track.

“The point is how we can we ensure the safety (of this re-opening programme). Phuket, for instance, has proposed that vaccinated tourists should be exempted from the mandatory quarantine. Well, if possible, I’m ready to take care of that.”

From tomorrow, the mandatory 14-day quarantine period will be halved for vaccinated foreigners visiting the 6 tourism provinces of Phuket, Krabi, Phangnga, Surat Thani (Koh Samui), Chon Buri (Pattaya) and Chiang Mai. From July, vaccinated tourists visiting Phuket will not have to quarantine at all, provided the government succeeds in its ambition to vaccinate 70% of the island’s population before July 1.

The Bangkok Post reports that the PM has called for a digital platform to be created to register all foreign tourists. Speaking after yesterday’s cabinet meeting, he said such a platform is also being created to manage the country’s vaccine rollout. The Finance Ministry is working with Krungthai Bank to develop a system to record the allocation of vaccines, which is being handled by the Public Health Ministry.

Referring to recent clusters of Covid-19 at wet markets in Bangkok and neighbouring provinces, the PM says every market in Thailand must strictly follow disease prevention measures, including regular temperature checks and the wearing of face masks for both workers and customers.

Meanwhile, Bangkok’s deputy governor, Sophon Phisutthiwong, who heads up the government’s Covid-19 task force, says each district office in the capital has been ordered to check markets to ensure they comply with ventilation and hygiene requirements.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post