Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
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3 deaths and 2 Sandbox Covid-19 infections today in Phuket
Today in Phuket 3 new deaths brought the September total to 23 and the overall total since April to 43, while 2 new Sandbox travellers were infected with Covid-19 and daily infections remain above 200 for the 17th day in a row. There was a slight decrease in hospitalised patients pushing the number of available beds up to 276, just…
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Aunjai Clinic planned to aid newly infected Covid-19 patients
Aunjai is a Thai word that means “peace of mind” and also the name of a new clinic at the centre of Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew and his team’s plan to deal with Covid-19 and the severe hospital bed shortage the island is experiencing, with less than 10% of beds currently available for infected patients. The goal of the new…
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Phuket unveils new strategy for Covid-19, hospital shortages
After the release of official figures showing that Phuket is down to its last 10% of available beds for Covid-19 patients, Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew announced a revamping of the province’s strategy on the pandemic. The governor also insists that there’s plenty of beds in the hospitals and there is no shortage despite what the official numbers and math show.…
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Phuket construction worker drowns after getting stuck under storm drain
A 40-ish year old construction worker was killed in Phuket yesterday after he got stuck under a section of a storm drain; he eventually downed after rescue efforts failed. The man had been working at a construction site for a flood protection project near the Patong Hospital. He has been identified only as “Mr Mahana” and the Pattaya news says…
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Phuket Covid-19 totals: 40 dead, 91 Sandboxers, hospitals 90% full
Phuket has just about hit the 90% hospital bed occupancy rate as infections and hospitalisations climb with new beds not being added quickly enough to keep pace. There were 229 infections today, 20 less than yesterday, and no new deaths reported, though details were released of the 1 death confirmed yesterday. A 63 year old Thai man was the 40th…
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2 new Covid-19 deaths in Phuket, only 15% of hospital beds open
2 new deaths and a reduction in total hospital beds lead the bad news on Covid-19 for Phuket today. The daily infections have held steady with 230 new infections, a few less than yesterday, but marking the 13th day in a row with infections above 200 per day. The total deaths in the last 8 days stands at 19, one…
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Phuket plans to set up 10 more isolation centres as Covid concerns linger
The escalating Covid situation in Phuket has prompted officials to establish 10 more isolation centres. Phuket’s governor, Narong Woonsiew said yesterday that the rise in infections mirrors the Covid situation in Bangkok 2 months ago. Phuket has been averaging 200+ Covid cases a day for the past 13 days (between 206 and 258 new daily infections), which “represents a serious…
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Phuket: Record 4 Covid-19 deaths in 1 day, hospitals nearly full
A record number of Covid-19 fatalities in Phuket today as last night’s Phuket Provincial Public Health Office report confirmed 4 deaths in 1 day. That marks 17 deaths in one week in Phuket, nearly doubling the total of deaths since the third wave of Covid-19 took hold at the beginning of April. In the 5 months since the start of…
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Phuket: 2 deaths, 1 Sandbox infection, bed occupancy passes 80%
In the last week, Phuket has seen 13 fatalities due to Covid-19 with 2 new deaths reported today, as well as one new Phuket Sandbox international traveller infected. The daily infection numbers have declined for the third day in a row to 211, and the rolling 7-day infection numbers also fell slightly despite the island marking its 11th day in…
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Saliva Covid-19 test kits not accepted for entry into Phuket
The Phuket Provincial Public Health Office is warning people arriving in Phuket that any antigen test kit they use as proof they don’t have Covid-19 needs to be a nasal cavity swab, and not merely a saliva test. The health officials warned they will not issue confirmation documents for ATKs that only use saliva and those who arrived with those…
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Phuket officials keeping an eye out for crocodile, possibly a water monitor lizard
Phuket sandboxers have 1 more thing to keep track of as a crocodile may still be on the loose. Officials from the Sirinat National Park are still on the lookout for a crocodile in the region after a search yesterday did not uncover the scaly reptile. Officials speculate that the crocodile may actually be a water monitor lizard. Park officials…
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Phuket police raid gambling den in Wichit, arrest 15 people
In Cape Panwa, Wichit late last night, Phuket police raided and shut down an illegal gambling den and arrested 15 people there. The raid came just after midnight early this morning or late last night as Region 8 Police captured 14 people, all aged between 44 and 58 years old. The police also confiscated hundreds of green cards and orange…
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Officials talk turkey about size of Phuket Vegetarian Festival
With Covid-19 still infecting over 200 people per day in Phuket, organisers of the yearly Phuket Vegetarian Festival are fishing for an answer to how big the event planned for October 6 to 14 can be. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew said the event’s scale will be based on the Covid-19 situation in the days leading up to the festival. If…
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“Green” Covid-19 cases to move to Phuket community isolation centres
The Phuket Provincial Public Health Office Chief Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon has stated the province will deal with the struggle to maintain available hospital beds by moving mildly affected “green” Covid-19 patients into home quarantine and community isolation centres. Phuket has been adding hundreds of hospital beds every week, with 200 beds added yesterday, to keep up with the rising Covid-19…
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Phuket update: 30 total Covid-19 deaths with 10 in the last 4 days.
With 234 new Covid-19 cases reported, the total infections in the Phuket Sandbox inches to nearly 6,000, deaths have seen a sharp rise on the island. 2 new deaths reported last night to bring the total to 30 Covid-19 deaths since April, a jump of 50% since Sunday. Over the last 5 months, 20 people had died of Covid-19 in…
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Survey shows over half of Thai hotels are considering closing due to low demand
A survey conducted by the Bank of Thailand and the Thai Hotels Association shows that 52% of hotels are considering closing temporarily and 9% want to shut down for good. 62% plan to reduce their workforce costs as a result of the financial fallout from Covid-19, while 61% say they will cut expenditure elsewhere. The Bangkok Post reports that the…
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Phuket plans new screening measures for visitors, effective Wednesday
Phuket is planning new screening measures for visitors starting Wednesday. The Phuket communicable disease committee announced the measures yesterday, which will require visitors who wish to see the island to provide evidence of where they are staying in Phuket with payment made in advance. Visitors will also be required to register through this website and show a QR code to…
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No more sandbox: Phuket private sector calls for full re-opening by December 1
The vice-president of the Phuket Tourism Association says businesses on the island need it to fully re-open by December 1 if they are to survive. According to a Bangkok Post report, Nanthida Atiset says fully re-opening the island could generate over 210 billion baht in revenue, adding that the sandbox scheme is simply not enough. “Only over 20,000 tourists have…
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Phuket Sandbox draws 28,000 travellers, 1.634 billion baht
The Phuket Sandbox has been lauded as a success and derided as a failure, but officials have released some raw data over the past few days that indicates the programme falls somewhere in between. Immigration and the Tourism Authority of Thailand have reported on total incoming travellers and their opinions, and the Economics Tourism and Sports Division of the Tourism and…
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Jetstar launches weekly flights between Phuket and Singapore
Now that flight restrictions are finally easing, Jetstar Asia Airways has launched a weekly flight between Singapore and Phuket. The first flight departed Singapore Friday evening and arrived at Phuket International Airport an hour and 40 minutes later. The inaugural Jetstar flight was greeted with fanfare by various airport staff including the Deputy Director of Phuket Airport Operations and Maintenance. The…
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Phuket Covid-19 passes 5,000 infections, bed occupancy up 5%
Covid-19 data for Phuket was fairly stable yesterday with no new deaths, no new international Sandbox travellers infected, and the total daily cases today were 242, just 7 more than yesterday. Those new infections pushed Phuket’s total number of infections since the start of the third wave of Covid-19 to surpass 5,000 today. Statistically, the most drastic Covid-19 figure was…
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Phuket daily Covid-19: 235 infections, no death, no Sandboxers
As Phuket prepares to carefully allow domestic tourists back onto the island, Covid-19 numbers remain relatively stable. Daily infections were 235 today, with 6 of the last 7 days reaching above 200. No new deaths were reported and no new Sandbox infections were identified. With the influx of new hospital beds yesterday, the bed occupancy rate remained around 70% though…
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Vaccinated domestic travellers allowed to enter Phuket starting next week
Domestic travellers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will be allowed to enter Phuket starting on September 8, Phuket Governor Narong Woonsiew announced. Travellers from overseas have been able to enter the island province under the “Sandbox” model, but with the rise of Covid-19 cases, Phuket officials imposed tight restrictions on domestic entry. Travellers will need to book and pay for…
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Phuket entry rules relaxed to allow residents to exit and return
A slight modification to the rules for entering and exiting Phuket will now allow people who live or work in Phuket to exit and re-enter the island more freely. Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong explained that a special permission letter that was previously required in order to leave Phuket and gain re-entry after would no longer be needed. With strict…
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No deaths, 2 Sandboxers with Covid-19 in Phuket
While Thailand has begun to see a downward trend in daily infections that is hoped to continue, Phuket’s infection trend has been rising over recent weeks. A few days this week have dropped to below 200 Covid-19 but today there’s been 238 new infections reported over the past 24 hours. The province extended strict entry requirements in hopes of curbing Covid-19…
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Phuket Fishing Port to reopen tomorrow
The Phuket Fishing Port on Koh Siray will reopen tomorrow. Officials performed a mass cleaning of the port yesterday ahead of the reopening. The port had been closed for 2 weeks after a Covid outbreak from fisherman who had come ashore following a period of weather that rendered them unable to catch fish. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew scrutinised the cleaning…
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Phuket extends tight entry restrictions, vaccine required for most
Tight entry restrictions to Phuket have been extended until at least for the next two weeks, according to a provincial order imposed yesterday. Domestic entry onto the island province by land, water, and air is prohibited, with the exception of essential vehicles, residents returning home, and travellers entering under the “Sandbox” scheme. Those allowed to enter Phuket under the exceptions…
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1 new death, another daily Covid-19 record in Phuket
With one new death and one new Phuket Sandbox traveller infected, Phuket continues its upward climb in Covid-19 infection rates. Yesterday saw a record 257 Covid-19 infections in one day (Monday), one more than the last new record high in Phuket the day before. For Tuesday Phuket has reported 119 new infections. The death from Monday’s totals brought the total…
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UK residents cancel reservations, flee Phuket, following Thailand’s inclusion on the “red list”
Phuket hotels are reporting a rise in cancellations from England, as well as current guests checking out early to eschew expense self-quarantining when they go back to the U.K. Last week, the country famous for James Bond and Jack the Ripper announced its plans to move Thailand from its amber list to its red list, starting tomorrow. The move is…
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Bangkok Hospital Phuket offers expats vaccines including Pfizer
Another round of free Covid-19 vaccinations for expats was announced yesterday, this time with the option of receiving the Pfizer vaccine. Bangkok Hospital in Phuket made the announcement stating that they would be providing expats the free vaccines in partnership with the Department of Disease Control, but they would only be offering inoculation for those who have never received any…
Phuket is a province in the south of Thailand. Phuket's beaches face the Andaman Sea allowing the west coast beaches fantastic sunsets right throughout the year. If you're looking for news in Phuket, go to thethaiger.com/phuket Or follow our instant news in our Facebook pages.
The good news is that Phuket is famous for its foodie scene with an enormously diverse range of local and international foods - Phuket and southern favorites, street food along with international choices catering for the 12 million visitors to the island each year. Thaiger follows Phuket news and information 24 hours a day with regular updates.
Phuket is only 'just' an island with a 300 metre bridge linking it to Thailand's mainland. We're always reporting in the news that the channel beneath is frequently dredged to maintain Phuket's status as an island. On the other side of Sarasin Bridge is the Province of Phang Nga.
Getting to Phuket is easy as the island has land, air and sea connections. Phuket is also used as a take-off point for local island trips as Thailand's largest island is surrounded by over 30 pristine islands. Koh Phi Phi and the famous Maya Bay are always in the news and would be the best known of the island's just off Phuket's shores.
Phuket is an island and a province. It's the largest island in Thailand – 48 km north to south, 21 km east to west.
It's about 20% smaller, in area, than Singapore but much less densely populated. Whilst the island nation of Singapore boasts a population of nearly 6 million, Phuket has a permanent population of around 400-450,000 (but varies a lot with the influx of tourists and a workforce that is always changing). Most of Phuket remains jungle and tropical rainforest despite an acceleration of development over the past 20 years.
Unlike some of Thailand's other popular islands (that are in the Gulf of Thailand), the news is that Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea.
Phuket is 878 km north of the equator.
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