Having not found any new COVID-19 infections for over two weeks, the island of Phuket will reopen its beaches tomorrow.
Local disease control officials allowed some beaches to reopen with strict social distancing measures in place after they were closed earlier this year due to the island emerging as a coronavirus hot spot.
Although the guidelines governing their reopening are not clear, Phuket Gov. Phakapong Tavipat said he would meet with local authorities to come up with the specifics.
Public health officials today reported seven new COVID-19 infections, none of which were transmitted locally. All were found in Thais recently repatriated and placed in government quarantine: two from Pakistan, four from the United of Arab Emirates and one from the United States. Today marks two weeks since the last case of local transmission was detected.
Phuket was effectively sealed off by late March and its airport remains closed until at least June 15. The island has recorded 227 COVID-19 infections since the outbreak began. Three proved fatal.
On June 1, beaches at Pattaya, Chonburi, reopened for beachgoers to resume activities such as swimming, sunbathing and chilling by the sea. They must also practice social distancing – foldable beach chairs must be separated by 1-1.5 meters while live entertainment is still banned.
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