British expat one of four in Phuket on Ebola watchlist

PHUKET: A British expat is one of four people still being monitored by the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) for possible signs of Ebola.

Health officials at Phuket International Airport this month added Ebola to their watchlist as a precaution against the deadly virus being carried to the island by visitors (story here).

“We are monitoring all tourists arriving from the West African countries of Nigeria, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia,” said Tassayu Dechachote, chief of Health Control at Phuket International Airport.

So far, seven people, all visiting from Nigeria, have been put on the Phuket watchlist.

“One person has already left Thailand and two others left Phuket, so we are only checking up on four people right now,” Mr Tassayu said.

“None of them have shown any signs of the disease.”

Those on the watchlist must present themselves to a doctor every day for 21 days before they are allowed to leave the country, Mr Tassayu confirmed to the Phuket Gazette.

“There are no direct flights to Phuket from the countries we are concerned about. However, we do have two flights on our watchlist: Qatar Airways from Doha and Emirates Airline from Doha,” Mr Tassayu noted.

— Kritsada Mueanhawong