The statement of confidence was delivered during Vice Governor Piyapong’s now nightly video posted online updating the people of Phuket with the latest situation regarding COVID-19 on the island.
The Maldives and the Seychelles were both popular island destinations for tourists around the world, “and so is Phuket,” Vice Governor Piyapong explained.
Vice Governor Piyapong pointed out that Phuket had already administered first vaccination injections to “about 100,000” people in 10 days, from Apr 1-10.
“That is about 22.5%,” he noted, referring to the required number of vaccinations in Phuket to achieve the targeted 70% to achieve herd immunity.
“The Maldives has vaccinated 49.07%. The Seychelles, 65.6%. And that is as of April 10,” he added.
“With the rate of vaccinations being carried and the vaccines doses to come from the national government, we can beat the Maldives, we can beat the Seychelles,“ V/Gov Piyapong said.
The second vaccination injections for the first 100,000 people who have already received their first jab is underway, starting on Thursday (Apr 22), and is also expected to be completed within 10 days, V/Gov Piyapong continued.
A separate post online last night by the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) reported that in total 10,047 vaccinations were administered on yesterday (Apr 23), as follows:
- Indoor Sports Stadium in Saphan Hin - 3,643
- Phuket International Airport - 2,067
- Angsana Laguna Phuket resort in Cherng Talay - 1,752
- Phuket Orchid Resort in Karon - 1,079
- Jungceylon shopping mall in Patong - 1,506
Compared with the rest of the country, Phuket is well ahead with its vaccination campaign.
A report posted by the Ministry of Public Health shared yesterday reported that from Feb 28 - Apr 22 a total of 964,825 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered nationwide.
Of those, 834,082 (about 1.19% of the total population) were first injections, and the remaining 130,743 (about 0.187% of the population) were second injections
“Once we have completed the vaccinations, we can receive tourists by land, by air and by sea,” Vice Governor Piyapong said.
“We can do this, if we all work together. The medical teams are working very hard, like they don’t know what tired is, but we need everyone to work together,” he added.
V/Gov Piypapong called on people to arrive for their second injection only if they had received an SMS informing them of the assigned second injection time and date.
People will need to present their certificate confirming they have received their first injection and their ID card.
Making the process run smoothly was key to campaign’s success, he added.