The new order was issued by Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew yesterday (July 21), and publicly posted by the Phuket Info Center, operated by the Phuket office of the Ministry of Interior, earlier today.
The order explained that the special entry conditions applied to only certain groups who do not spend overnight on the island.
In terms of arrivals being deemed fully vaccinated, arrivals must have received two injections of the Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccines, or at least one injection of the AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least 14 days prior to arriving in the province, the order said.
The negative test results that are to be accepted by officers at the checkpoint must be RT-PCR or rapid antigen test results issued by a medical facility, the order added.
The specific groups of people allowed to enter Phuket under the special conditions were listed as follows:
- Rescue workers in ambulances and their emergency patients
- Drivers delivering necessary medical equipment
- People coming to receive their second vaccination injection, who must also present evidence of their scheduled vaccination appointment.
- Students attending classes at higher education institutions in Phuket, who must also present a document issued by the institution to confirm the student actually attends classes there.
- Passengers boarding flights at Phuket airport, who must also present evidence of their flight booked.
Of note, in answering questions from people wanting to enter Phuket, the Phuket Info Center confirmed that people registered as living in Phuket who wanted to come had to only satisfy one of the three key criteria in order to be allowed onto the island: they must be fully vaccinated at least 14 days before arriving; or they must have been discharged from a medical facility after recovering from COVID-19 not more than 90 days before arriving; or they must presented negative test results issued not more than seven days before arriving.
However, people who have an ID card issued showing the address where they live in Phuket but have not been included on a house registration document (tabien baan) for an abode in Phuket are subject to the now standard rules for all arrivals: they must be fully vaccinated at least 14 days before arriving or they must have been discharged from a medical facility after recovering from COVID-19 not more than 90 days before arriving; but they must also present negative test results issued not more than seven days before arriving.
People who asked whether they could enter Phuket if they were not fully vaccinated and were unable to prove they had tested negative for COVID-19 received a clear answer: “No, if you don’t have all the measures you will be denied entry to Phuket… [You] cannot quarantine in Phuket”.