The re-opening of beaches was approved at today’s meeting of the Phuket Communicable Disease Committee at Phuket Provincial Hall.
The announcement was then posted by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department of Thailand (PR Phuket) on its official Facebook page.
Guidelines for beach-goers and business operators are to follow, but it has already been announced that social distancing will be a must.
Through the same post PR Phuket announced the re-opening of Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO). Limited services will be available from June 8, all services will be available from June 22. Driving schools are to open as well.
Of note, earlier today the Bangkok Post reported that the Department of Health (DOH) is going to push for measures to curb the number of visitors to beaches and other tourist spots.
DOH Director-General Panpimol Wipulakorn said that local organisations should also come up with measures to control the number of visitors to beaches in their respective provinces to prevent overcrowding. Tourists and workers in the service industry should also be required to wear masks while on the beaches, Dr Panpimol said.
Enough hand sanitisers should also be provided for beach-goers while toilets and bathrooms on beachfronts should be cleaned every two hours, she said, adding that visitors must check in and out at beaches so they can be traced, among other measures.