Phuket Marine Chief issues COVID, New Year safety order

Phuket Marine Office Chief Nachaphong Pranit explained in his announcement that the Phuket Communicable Disease Committee on Wednesday (Dec 23) had ordered the Phuket Marine Office to notify all port and pier operators on the island of the order.

“Therefore, in order to prevent the spread of Coronavirus 2019, the Phuket Regional Harbor Office asks for cooperation,” Mr Nachapong said.

According to the order, terminal operators and government agencies that supervise the ports [and piers] in the Phuket area do the following:

1. Establish a screening center for COVID-19 by first measuring the temperature of all people who enter the terminal building.
2. Place alcohol gel or handwashing facilities in the terminal area and common use areas. 
3. Regularly clean any exposed risk areas such as handrails, seats, restrooms, toilets, etc. 
4. Only people with face masks or cloth masks are allowed to enter the service areas. 
5. Provide a space of at least 1-2 meters between people in the sitting, waiting and boarding areas. 
6. All personnel at the jetty must wear a face mask or cloth mask at all times, in case of coming into close proximity of service users, and must maintain a distance of at least 1-2 meters between the service users.

Any persons suspected of being infected with COVID-19 are to be reported to health officials immediately, Mr Nacahapong said.

In a separate order, Mr Nachapong ordered all boat operators to observe all standard safety procedures over the New Year holidays to help prevent accidents involving water transport.

All boat operators are required to ensure their boats were safe to put to sea and that all safety equipment on board, including life jackets, is fully operational and are adequate for all passengers on board in case of emergency, Mr Nachapong said.

Captains were asked and to closely follow weather reports. If the weather presented any danger, boat captains were asked to remain ashore.

Boat captains, crew and passengers were also asked to not drink alcohol or take any strong medication before boarding any boats, Mr Nachapong added.

“If there are safety incidents, we ask all passengers to not panic and to follow the instructions of the crew on the boat for your own safety,” he said.