Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong at the meeting yesterday (May 27). Photo: PR Phuket

 

PHUKET: Phuket officials will relax a wide range of business closures on the island ordered to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and relax measures to allow people to enter the province under a new order yet to be issued, but announced to come into effect on June 1.

 

The Phuket Communicable Disease Committee resolved to allow the relaxation of COVID measures at a meeting held at Phuket Provincial hall yesterday (May 27), said a report by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket).

 

Among the 23 committee members present were Phuket Vice Governors Pichet Panapong and Piyapong Choowong, and Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO, or OrBorJor) President Rewat Areerob.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-to-ease-covid-restrictions-from-june-1-80144.php

 

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Like what? time is ticking ...............LOL

However, instead of the previous requirement that arrivals must have tested negative for the virus within 72 hours of arriving, officials will require that the test has been conducted within seven days of arriving.

 

This all seems wrong I think 7 days is too long.

And it mentions the documents will be checked at the departure airport.  Should be interesting at places like Suvarnabumi how this will work or cause delays.

And the hordes of arrivals are coming from where?

 

Top holiday destination for Brits this year is Cornwall, and chances are people from most other countries will be staycationing.

now when warning was made to foreigners to obey, it's time to open, cause what would go wrong, right?

I expected there to be no logic in this story and i was not disappointed

1 hour ago, Thailand said:

And the hordes of arrivals are coming from where?

 

Top holiday destination for Brits this year is Cornwall, and chances are people from most other countries will be staycationing.

Probably hordes of Chinese scavengers eyeing up all the closed businesses

does this only apply to domestic tourists

Packing my bags not !

In order to have tourists , you need regulations ( we all know it is a difficult time ) but also something to visit .

Regulations meanings : people need to feel safe , but also be safe . Testing and vaccinations should take care of that .

something to visit meaning : open more or less like it used to be .

Nobody wants 100.000 loopholes to get to there , and even then see nothing open . I agree on needing the needed papers , vaccination passports and needed tests , ok , i think most people would agree . So far it is very very hard to get there , visa + coe + insurance + test + vaccination passport + bank balance + .... +...+.... .

Get it down to visa + vaccination passport and test and you will get visitors .

Good news for local businesses and residents after successfully getting a lid on the highly contagious English B117 variant that is devastating other parts of Thailand. 

 

They took the harsh unpopular measures and did very well. 

 

Other measures are still in place. It is a difficult balancing act between saving people's lives while not putting in place unnecessary restrictions that will hurt businesses and livelihoods further.

It looks like they have got the balance spot on, and a measured reopening is happening with the necessary restrictions in place.

 

No doubt we will hear from the complaining whiners who whinge about everything Thai with no plans to visit Phuket anyway and who are irrelevant.

 

The people of Phuket have been doing it hard for 18 months now.

Hopefully other tourist areas in Thailand will soon learn from and replicate Phukets method.

Ok, so we got a 'flavor' of what is to come. Restrictions will be 'eased'.

A few days left before d-day.

And still work to be done to define 'ease'. They did not have enough time?

2 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

However, instead of the previous requirement that arrivals must have tested negative for the virus within 72 hours of arriving, officials will require that the test has been conducted within seven days of arriving.

 

This all seems wrong I think 7 days is too long.

And it mentions the documents will be checked at the departure airport.  Should be interesting at places like Suvarnabumi how this will work or cause delays.

Well, that would certainly have helped me.  My wife and I had to cancel a 4 night holiday in early June to Khao Lak (Phang Nga), because we would have to transit via Phuket airport.  We would have to test negative before leaving Bangkok and again before leaving Khao Lak. The problem was, that we could not be tested in Khao Lak before heading back to Phuket, to catch a plane back to Bangkok. An increase to 7 days would at least make short holidays to Phang Nga possible again.

3 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

However, instead of the previous requirement that arrivals must have tested negative for the virus within 72 hours of arriving, officials will require that the test has been conducted within seven days of arriving.

 

This all seems wrong I think 7 days is too long.

And it mentions the documents will be checked at the departure airport.  Should be interesting at places like Suvarnabumi how this will work or cause delays.

In most places they check your documents as you check in to your flight. It doesn’t take more than a couple of seconds.

Not sure about Phuket, but there have been no new cases on Samui or Phangan in a month. They should be declared safe zones, ALL restricted businesses should be allowed to open by this evening, and all restrictions should be eased. They are draconian, punitive, useless and do nothing but instill fear and stifle business and tourism.

 

Great care is already being taken with regard to tracking people arriving from other provinces. Time to relax. Time to start living again. 

 

This is NOT the Zombie Apocalypse. 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Among the 23 committee members present were Phuket Vice Governors Pichet Panapong and Piyapong Choowong, and Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO, or OrBorJor) President Rewat Areerob.

That's a lot of P's in there...

all except the most important 5 P's.

I can’t believe there isn’t an Essex variant yet, commonly known as the D&T variant (Darren & Tracy, that is – you wot mate, ‘aving a laff?) If Kent have one then the Essex lads and slags (cutting, or better “peroxide hair” – watch it mate, yor asking for a slap), in their drunken haze will want one to. But has Thailand scaled to its pinnacle of fame with our friendly all-knowing (‘onest mate) daily rag announcing “Everything we know about 'Thai' mutant Covid variant as 109 cases detected in UK” I would expect the TAT are running around like the proverbial headless, wetting themselves. No worries, will Phuket soon be rebranding itself as International COVID Island where all variants are catered for, at a price of course? You pays your money you get your variant.  

3 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

However, instead of the previous requirement that arrivals must have tested negative for the virus within 72 hours of arriving, officials will require that the test has been conducted within seven days of arriving.

 

This all seems wrong I think 7 days is too long.

And it mentions the documents will be checked at the departure airport.  Should be interesting at places like Suvarnabumi how this will work or cause delays.

Well, I think the logic is that you can’t catch the virus within 7 days of taking the test.

 

 

I know. Doesn’t make any sense to me either.

9 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Not sure about Phuket, but there have been no new cases on Samui or Phangan in a month. They should be declared safe zones, ALL restricted businesses should be allowed to open by this evening, and all restrictions should be eased. They are draconian, punitive, useless and do nothing but instill fear and stifle business and tourism.

 

Great care is already being taken with regard to tracking people arriving from other provinces. Time to relax. Time to start living again. 

 

This is NOT the Zombie Apocalypse. 

Ah, but Samui and phangan are not a “sandbox”. 
 

if you don’t have a catchy slogan how you expect to be allowed to open?

5 hours ago, webfact said:

"allow people to enter the province under a new order yet to be issued"

 

Do I smell a flip-flop coming?

 

48 minutes ago, RobMuir said:

Good news for local businesses and residents after successfully getting a lid on the highly contagious English B117 variant that is devastating other parts of Thailand. 

 

They took the harsh unpopular measures and did very well. 

 

Other measures are still in place. It is a difficult balancing act between saving people's lives while not putting in place unnecessary restrictions that will hurt businesses and livelihoods further.

It looks like they have got the balance spot on, and a measured reopening is happening with the necessary restrictions in place.

 

No doubt we will hear from the complaining whiners who whinge about everything Thai with no plans to visit Phuket anyway and who are irrelevant.

 

The people of Phuket have been doing it hard for 18 months now.

Hopefully other tourist areas in Thailand will soon learn from and replicate Phukets method.

Flash news they did not take any different measures to anyone else but being an island it was much easier to contain it

I think the Government need to sort out the areas in other provinces first who are suffering the consequences of the failings 

Of government in the Prisons migrant workers accomadation ect 

All these people should getting the vaccine first

Plus the old sick and health workers 

Instead of always on about opening Phuket up first for the

tourist dollar????

1 hour ago, lavender19 said:

Probably hordes of Chinese scavengers eyeing up all the closed businesses

With 3 weeks of quarantine on return to China I don't see many taking that up?

2 minutes ago, shackleton said:

I think the Government need to sort out the areas in other provinces first who are suffering the consequences of the failings 

Of government in the Prisons migrant workers accomadation ect 

All these people should getting the vaccine first

Plus the old sick and health workers 

Instead of always on about opening Phuket up first for the

tourist dollar????

If that was happening you would be straight back here saying why aren't tourist areas getting vaccine first people are starving, country is broke etc etc 

Phuket population is small so its easy and a blip in the grand scale.

 

More to the point what's upsetting TV farang isn't Phuket but the fact they keep getting pushed to the back of the que. Simple and quick solution is go back home. 

Perhaps they will allow 2 members of the same dirty farang family to enjoy a beer together ??

That would be a start

and they think people will want to come on holiday! Personally I would think Saudi miles of sandy beaches wall to wall sun shine or Phuket a few beaches and rainy season. Can't drink in either lets save money and stay nearer to home and save money!

Phuket to ease COVID restrictions from June 1

 

With bars still closed and restaurants banned from selling booze, that's easing?

 

When they open up to tourists, there won't be many bars, restaurants or nightclubs left to go too. 

They are more concerned with getting tourists back than the safety of the people here.

Who is their their economic and advertising strategist?  He's a genius.  Hacking their strategy over the past month, I got this:

Day 1.  Put out a letter blaming foreigners as their cause of covid.  

Day 2. Arrest old foreigners having wine in home during dinner and brag about it in media.

Day 3.  Yell for tourist help and  plea for foreigners to come back and put money back into the economy

Day 4. Arrest new foreigners for unknown emergency law enacted 24 hours ago that is not published

Day 5.  Advertise you are open.  We love you foreigners.  We dooo!  Come baack!

Day 6.  Every problem here is from foreigners who bring the problems.  This place would be perfect if foreigners would stay out.

How is this strategy NOT working??

1 hour ago, BestB said:

Flash news they did not take any different measures to anyone else but being an island it was much easier to contain it

That isn't correct.

 

What about the rapid covid test on arrival? One of the many extra measures taken.