Phuket will submit its reopening plan to the Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA) for approval this Friday in a bid to let inoculated tourists visit without quarantine in July.
Yuthasak Supasorn, Tourism Authority of Thailand governor, said the reopening plan, known as the Phuket Tourism Sandbox, will depend largely on vaccine allocation to the Andaman island as it must achieve herd immunity by inoculating 70% of the population before letting foreign visitors in by that date.
The plan, to be submitted to CESA on March 26, will include a vaccination proposal, indicating the number of doses needed and the timeline of inoculation that will be suitable for a safe reopening.
He said public communities tend to consent to this plan more than last year’s Phuket model as it is equipped with a more elaborate plan that can convince them with health safety measures.
According to the sandbox proposal, Phuket needs to vaccinate at least 466,587 people which requires 933,174 doses. To reach the immunity goal within the time frame, it should start the first round of inoculations by April 15, followed by the second from May 15 onward.
Under the sandbox plan, tourists who want to join the quarantine-free programme are required to show a vaccine certificate, vaccine passport or IATA travel pass. They still have to take a PCR test at the airport and activate the ThailandPlus tracing application while in Phuket.
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