Thai provinces put on alert to screen anyone travelling from Phuket

Phuket’s on a blacklist of sorts, at least as far as the Interior Ministry is concerned. Thailand’s provincial governors have been put on alert to screen everyone arriving from the island province of Phuket. They also been instructed to quarantine anyone suspected of being infected with Covid-19.

Chalerm Promlet, the Interior Ministry’s permanent secretary, issued the instructions to provincial governors after some people, who had been part of last week’s exodus from Phuket, tested positive for the virus when they arrived in their home provinces.

Chalerm also ordered provincial governors to allow entry of these returnees, saying that many are jobless after the closure of businesses in Phuket. Last week Krabi’s deputy governor told his local media that they would prevent Phuket people from coming to his province. He later apologised for his derisive comments.

50,000+ people from Phuket have now registered to leave the island with their prospects for employment at almost zero whilst tourists aren’t allowed to return at this stage. 4 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Phuket yesterday – one in Cherngtalay, a shopkeeper in a Tesco in Wichit, a student in Wichit, and a ‘public servant’ in Patong.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World