The revised conditions came in Phuket Provincial Order No. 5267/2564 issued yesterday (Sept 5). The order is to come into effect this Wednesday (Sept 8) and remain in effect until at least Sept 14.
The confirmation came not from an announcement that the requirement had been removed, but by omitting the requirement from the new order.
“People who come to Phuket for tourism and have proof of hotel or accommodation reservation which must be paid in advance. They must register [their travel details] at www.gophuget.com and show the QR code to officers at the checkpoint,” says the new order.
The critical sentence now missing is, “If tourists stay longer than 7 days, they must be tested for COVID-19 on the 5th day of staying in Phuket”, which was added to the previous order issued only last Tuesday, and came into effect last Wednesday (Sept 1).
To repeat, the new provisions will come into effect this Wednesday (Sept 8).
The new order also added a new group of people under the exemptions allowed to enter Phuket, as “18) Patients who need to see doctor or need to receive medical treatment (must have doctor’s appointment) as well as people who are taking care of patients, doctors, nurses, medical staff and other relevant staff in public health related works.”
All of the exemptions allowed to enter Phuket (see list here) must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by having received two doses of the Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccine, or one injection of the Sinovac vaccine and one injection of the AstraZeneca vaccine, or at least one injection of the AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least 14 days before arriving.
Also, in order to be allowed into Phuket, all arrivals must present results of an RT-PCR test or antigen test performed by a medical facility within 72 hours of arriving proving that they are not infected.
Alternatively, arrivals must have been discharged from medical care for recovering from COVID-19 no more than 90 days before arriving.
The new order also added that Phuket and Phang Nga residents may freely travel between the two provinces as long as the key requirements are met.
“For people who have been registered on house registration documents in Phuket and Phang Nga and enter and leave Phuket regularly, can re-enter Phuket,” the new order says.
“Those people must be fully vaccinated and have tested negative by antigen test kit (ATK) which can be used for confirmation not over seven days,” the order noted.
“They must also register [their travel details] at www.gophuget.com OR have a special permission letter signed by an officer at a District Office in Phuket,” the order said (emphasis on “OR” added by The Phuket News).
The Phuket Check Point at Tha Chatchai, guarding the only road onto Phuket, will now open one hour earlier each day.
“The check point is to remain closed to all traffic except for emergencies from 11pm but open one hour earlier at 3am each night [sic],” the order confirmed.