New centre proposed to provide ATKs cheap at Phuket entrance
To help aid people who need to travel frequently in and out of Phuket, the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation has approved a plan to create a centre near the Tha Chatchai Check Point that would provide ATKs.
The plan would provide a cheap and easy way for those entering Phuket by land to provide a negative Covid-19 test before entering the province. Many people like delivery drivers have to cross back and forth in and out of Phuket as part of their work or regular schedule, and with Covid-19 restrictions now in place, the formerly routine bridge crossing has become a tedious and costly ordeal.
PPAO President Reway Areerob complained at a meeting of the PPAO Council Wednesday that the burden and repeated cost to people in this category to be constantly tested for Covid-19 was cost-prohibitive for sometimes essential businesses. He proposed this solution of creating a centre near the Phuket checkpoint that would provide antigen test kits at a cheap price that commuters could take on the spot.
The centre he proposed would be established nearby and a 40-metre square area had already been earmarked for the project at the Phuket Gateway. The site would provide cheap Covid-19 antigen test kits as people arrive into the province.
The exact price for tests has not yet been determined, but the goal is for the tests to cost about 200 baht per test. The details of who will provide the tests and operate the testing centre at the Phuket entrance are still being sorted as well, though 3 operators have already thrown their hats in the ring for the job. The PPAO said they would approve a 6-month contract for whoever provides the ATKs and runs the testing site.
SOURCE: The Phuket News
