The island of Phuket will be sealed for two weeks starting Tuesday, but it won’t affect those arriving for the so-called Phuket Sandbox, authorities said.
No visitors from other provinces, but for a few exemptions, will be allowed to enter Phuket – neither by land, air nor sea – according to an order signed by Phuket Gov. Narong Woonsiew.
The new restrictions, however, will not affect travelers participating in the quarantine-free sandbox program from coming or going once their 14 days are up, according to Tanee Sangrat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
People who have stayed on Phuket for more than 14 days will be allowed to leave for other parts of Thailand and can re-enter Phuket only if they have international flights booked from the Phuket International Airport.
Exempt travelers include medical personnel, transporters of essential goods and relevant authorities.
COVID-19 cases have been ticking up on the island, and the announcement came after they hit a recent high with 50 new cases. One patient died.
Most of the cases have been in the island’s population and don’t involve travelers. Of the more than 12,000 to arrive on the island since July 1, 30 were found to be infected with the coronavirus.
An air travel ban imposed late last month preventing travel to and from the worst-hit provinces is set to expire Monday.
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