All domestic travellers entering Phuket need to be vaccinated against Covid-19

[Thaiger]

All domestic travellers entering Phuket must be vaccinated against Covid-19 and also test negative for the virus. The new rules imposed by Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew go into effect today and will be in place until at least August 2. The island province reopened to foreign tourists who are vaccinated against the coronavirus on July 1, amid the most severe wave of the virus in Thailand. Many people have been leaving “dark red” provinces, like Bangkok, to avoid tight restrictions including curfews, work at home requests and business closures. Narong says many of those people from high risk areas are […]

The post All domestic travellers entering Phuket need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 appeared first on Thaiger News.

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[Graham]

But surely this rule should have been in place since 1st July as per the requirements for international tourists entry to Phuket, or was this not the case ?

[KAP]

'Children under 6 years old who are travelling with their parents are exempt from the rule'

Could you confirm, if the child is over 6 years old they are required to have been vaccinated?

[Slacker77]

About time that everybody "including Thai's " should be vaccinated ,of course .

[Soidog]

This sort of makes sense if viewed from the perspective of protecting the vaccinated individual from death after contracting anything while visiting Phuket. It doesn’t however mean that the vaccinated person can’t either bring the virus in to Phuket, or take it out to other parts of Thailand. Only testing can do that, which is why tourists need so many PCR tests. 
 

I get the reason and if nothing else, it will help the person infected to recover having only suffered mild symptoms.

[PJM]

Yep should have been from day 1 of sandbox , they still can have test 7 days before which is worrying bit I think it's too late anyway everyone fled Bangkok just look at it spreading out.

I tearfully cancelled my hotel yesterday for Phuket because of the situation and what may happen if Phuket gets lockdown in regards to flights etc

[RuralSukhothai]

Almost moot for some.

Even in the best of times, locales such as Phuket should be avoided. 

[Guevara]

1 hour ago, Graham said:

But surely this rule should have been in place since 1st July as per the requirements for international tourists entry to Phuket, or was this not the case ?

Unless I'm misreading this, it looks like domestic arrivals simply 'arrived'. Which means all international arrivals have jumped through all the required hoops whilst domestic arrivals have a hoop free stay. Surely they can't have been operating a two tier system ,or can they?

[ozvenision]

The rainbow has came out after the storm!

[vvdb.fr]

The system is good enough for foreign tourists, at least in theory. Children are the worm in the apple. As they cannot be vaccinated, they should be in strict containment with a parent to avoid contamination. The authorities do not have this courage everywhere in the world (maybe in China). The Delta variant is 6 times more contaminating, and from the first moments before the symptoms! PCR tests must be done at the entrance and isolation until the results as for tourists.

[THETRUTH]

My understanding is that children, ages 17 and under, don't need to be vaccinated at all as the WHO also doesn't recommend vaccinations for children.

Children under the age of 6 are exempt of all covid testing as well.

[Jason]

I think that the expectation of international travellers coming to Phuket, is that the majority of Thais there have been vaccinated. There is also the expectation that everyone else (including Thais) who is not vaccinated, couldn't enter Phuket. That is what a sandbox is in the eyes of foreign tourists. I know the Federal Government has moved to vaccinate the population of Phuket, even putting the vaccination of the people of Phuket above the vaccination of the rest of Thailand.  If Phuket is truely to be a destination for international travellers, then the vaccination of the People of Phuket and the refusal of entry to anyone else from Phuket, must be maintained.

[Tea]

Does anyone know if these restrictions apply to those whose house book shows Phuket residency?

[King Cotton]

7 minutes ago, Tea said:

Does anyone know if these restrictions apply to those whose house book shows Phuket residency?

If they're returnees to Phuket, having spent time in another region/province, then that would surely define them as domestic travellers and, therefore, needing to be V'd.

[satpete]

one jab of AZ, Pfizer or Moderna is not enough against delta variant,
they will bring virus to Phuket, not foreigners

[EdwardV]

It's been said by many since the Phuket scheme was announced, the problem won't be the tourists it will be incoming Thais. The requirement should have be in place since day one, but the vaccination rates were so low it's easy to understand why it wasn't. Hopefully this helps insulate Phuket from the ongoing outbreak. However I'm not going to bet the farm on it.  

[Tea]

2 hours ago, King Cotton said:

If they're returnees to Phuket, having spent time in another region/province, then that would surely define them as domestic travellers and, therefore, needing to be V'd.

I left Phuket this morning to attend court for a legal case in Krabi. I planned to stay overnight and, depending on how long my case takes, possibly two nights. I live in an apartment in Phuket. I am an unvaccinated foreigner with no access to a vaccine. Am i expected to live out of my car in Krabi til this things blows over? How can they keep me from going home? Serious question.

[satpete]

I wonder how many laboratories are on the island to check PCR tests,
how many test they can check in 24 hours  ?

How many positive results are wrong ?

I do not rely on those labs !!!

 

[Lost]

Should be exactly same rules for international and domestic entrance to sandbox 

[PhayakPeter]

About time it was the same rule  rule for all instead of thinking dirty unclean farrangs are the spreaders. 

[PhayakPeter]

9 hours ago, Guevara said:

Unless I'm misreading this, it looks like domestic arrivals simply 'arrived'. Which means all international arrivals have jumped through all the required hoops whilst domestic arrivals have a hoop free stay. Surely they can't have been operating a two tier system ,or can they?

Thais from Bangkok were only required to have a lateral flow test 

[bushav8r]

11 hours ago, Graham said:

But surely this rule should have been in place since 1st July as per the requirements for international tourists entry to Phuket, or was this not the case ?

This was not the case.

[bushav8r]

5 hours ago, Tea said:

I left Phuket this morning to attend court for a legal case in Krabi. I planned to stay overnight and, depending on how long my case takes, possibly two nights. I live in an apartment in Phuket. I am an unvaccinated foreigner with no access to a vaccine. Am i expected to live out of my car in Krabi til this things blows over? How can they keep me from going home? Serious question.

Good luck.  I don't think you can drive freely back and forth anymore.  They might actually be stopping vehicles   for interrogation.

Edited July 20, 2021 by bushav8r

[MikeTexas]

10 hours ago, THETRUTH said:

My understanding is that children, ages 17 and under, don't need to be vaccinated at all as the WHO also doesn't recommend vaccinations for children.

Children under the age of 6 are exempt of all covid testing as well.

To be as accurate as possible, this was taken directly from the WHO website:
 

The COVID-19 vaccines are safe for most people 18 years and older, including those with pre-existing conditions of any kind, including auto-immune disorders. These conditions include: hypertension, diabetes, asthma, pulmonary, liver and kidney disease, as well as chronic infections that are stable and controlled.

If supplies are limited in your area, discuss your situation with your care provider if you:

• Have a compromised immune system
• Are pregnant (if you are already breastfeeding, you should continue after vaccination)
• Have a history of severe allergies, particularly to a vaccine (or any of the ingredients in the vaccine)
• Are severely frail

Children and adolescents tend to have milder disease compared to adults, so unless they are part of a group at higher risk of severe COVID-19, it is less urgent to vaccinate them than older people, those with chronic health conditions and health workers.   

More evidence is needed on the use of the different COVID-19 vaccines in children to be able to make general recommendations on vaccinating children against COVID-19.

 

WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) has concluded that the Pfizer/BionTech vaccine is suitable for use by people aged 12 years and above. Children aged between 12 and 15 who are at high risk may be offered this vaccine alongside other priority groups for vaccination. Vaccine trials for children are ongoing and WHO will update its recommendations when the evidence or epidemiological situation warrants a change in policy.

So, it isn't that they don't recommend vaccinating people under 17 it is just that it is less urgent.  The studies for minors started much later than adults so not all of the trials have been concluded.  They do state that the pfizer vaccine can be used for some children if they at high risk of contracting COVID and potentially having severe symptoms. 

 

[AussieBob]

13 hours ago, vvdb.fr said:

The system is good enough for foreign tourists, at least in theory. Children are the worm in the apple. As they cannot be vaccinated, they should be in strict containment with a parent to avoid contamination. The authorities do not have this courage everywhere in the world (maybe in China). The Delta variant is 6 times more contaminating, and from the first moments before the symptoms! PCR tests must be done at the entrance and isolation until the results as for tourists.

Children should be banned in my opinion. There is clear evidence to show they can catch it and become spreaders - first to family and then to friends and then to other children - and away it goes. Leave the kids with Grandma or you dont travel - simple. Personally I would ban all children under the age of 4 from travelling in long haul flights. Nothing worse than a whinging screaming baby/child near you on a long plane trip. 

Wait - there is worse - when the parents refuse to allow them to be 'medicated'.  The Dheads dont realise that a baby's or child's ear pressure problems are both painful and scary - but if their parents refuse to allow a Doctor to administer something to ease their pain, it is a nightmare for all the other passengers. After 4 hours or so of hearing one child screaming, with the parents frequently refusing medications, I spoke out about it loudly and directly at the parents. I was applauded and everyone agreed - but they still refused medications.  They became targeted with many harsh and critical comments by passengers for the rest of the 9 hour flight - and when departing and when getting luggage - and at the taxi ramps. 

Why does everyone else have to suffer other people's babys and children on plane trips. Ban them I say. And what idiot brings a baby to SEAsia on their annual holidays - they are too young to be inoculated and their life can be ruined if they catch a tropical infection or disease.