Phuket officials crack down on hotels that let tourists leave before Covid test results

Officials in Phuket are to get tough on SHA Plus hotels that allow foreign tourists to leave before they’ve received their Covid-19 test results. Deputy governor Phichet Panapong says many properties are openly breaking the rules and officials plan to make an example of 2 hotels known to have broken the law.

According to an ASEAN NOW report, this has been described this as, “slaughtering the chicken in front of the monkey” – a Thai expression for making an example of someone as a warning to others. The report goes on to say that officials are expected to announce a number of punishments depending on the severity of the breach.

For a first-time offence, hotels will be prohibited from accepting bookings for 1 day. After a second offence, they will be unable to accept tourists for a period of a week. A third offence will see their SHA Plus accreditation revoked, meaning they are permanently banned from accepting guests.

Phichet has vowed to strictly enforce the punishments so that locals can remain confident that entry rules for foreign arrivals are being followed.

For more information on how to get into Thailand during the pandemic, CLICK HERE.

SOURCE: ASEAN NOW