Phuket "Sandbox" scheme

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Gaybutton
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Re: Phuket "Sandbox" scheme

Post by Gaybutton »

Why am I not surprised?
___________________________________________________________________________

Phuket given two weeks to stop new COVID-19 cases or ‘sandbox’ scheme will be halted

By Pattaya Mail

July 31, 2021

The Phuket authorities have ordered that the entire island be sealed off, with travelers from other provinces not allowed to enter Phuket, starting on August 3rd. (initially until 16th)

Governor Narong Woonsiew issued an order outlining the stiffer travel restrictions on Phuket. People from outside the province are prohibited from travelling to Phuket, with the exception of those transporting essential goods, students and emergency medical services. Those who are exempt are still required to be fully vaccinated and have proof of such to show at the entry checkpoint.

Meanwhile, Department of Disease Control (DDC) Director-General Dr. Kajornsak Kaewjaras said the department will monitor the COVID-19 situation on Phuket for another two weeks, to decide whether to keep the Phuket ‘sandbox’ scheme running.

He said Phuket has done a good job in controlling COVID-19 transmission as, of the 12,395 foreigners visiting the island province, 30 infected people have been identified and quarantined. Local tourism-related businesses have also complied with containment measures.

https://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnew ... ted-365709
Jun

Re: Phuket "Sandbox" scheme

Post by Jun »

So we now have some real figures to support the discussion on this topic.

30 infected out of 12395 foreigners = 0.24% -with 100% testing of the foreigners.

Thailand has 200,000 active cases according to Worldmeters. That's approximately 0.29%. With nowhere near 100% testing.
Already higher than the infection rate among incoming tourists, but the true domestic infection rate is probably much higher, as Thailand does not have 100% testing of the population.
We have read of difficulty getting tests and I presume many people would avoid tests, because of they wouldn't want to be sent to a field hospital.
Over the ~18 months of the pandemic, Thailand has tested the equivalent of 11.6% of the population (Worldmeters, down in 149th place for this metric)

So the infection rate amongst the incoming tourists is lower AND they are likely to detect almost all the cases and quarantine the foreigners for 2 weeks.
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Re: Phuket "Sandbox" scheme

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Too long to reprint this article here, but I think it's worth reading:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonsch ... ou-can-too
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Re: Phuket "Sandbox" scheme

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Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Chonburi (Pattaya's province) are listed as favorite destinations. With virtually everything I would expect tourists to want still closed, I don't understand why, but that's what's going on.
________________________________________________

Thousands of tourists leaving Phuket for other provinces

by Mongkol Bangprapa

August 23, 2021

Thousands of tourists have departed Phuket by land since the Phuket Sandbox 7+7 Extension programme took effect on Aug 17, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, spokesman for Centre for Economic Situation Administration, said on Monday.

Under the programme, the mandatory stay in Phuket for fully vaccinated international travellers is reduced from 14 to seven days. They can spend the other seven days in any of the extension areas in Krabi (Koh Phi Phi, Koh Ngai or Railay), Phang-Nga (Khao Lak or Koh Yao), or Surat Thani (Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan or Koh Tao).

Mr Thanakorn said so far 3,578 tourists had left Phuket by land for the extension areas. After seven days there, they could proceed to other provinces.

The favourite destinations were Bangkok, Surat Thani, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chiang Mai and Chonburi. These destinations had complied with the pandemic controls required by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, he said.

Mr Thanakorn said a total of 22,810 tourists had arrived under the Phuket Sandbox scheme. Room bookings had been made for 409,390 nights at SHA (safety and health administration) Plus hotels throughout July-September.

Daily flights continued to bring in tourists. The five primary countries of origin were the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, France and Germany.

Almost 400 tourists under the Phuket Sandbox scheme had arrived in Koh Samui, Surat Thani, booking nearly 3,000 room nights or an average of nine nights per head.

Revenue was projected to be around 17.28 million baht. The main countries tourists arrived from under the Samui Plus programme were France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and the Netherlands.

Mr Thanakorn said the number of tourists to Koh Samui was still low because flights on the Phuket-Samui route had been suspended since Aug 3 by order of the Phuket communicable disease committee.

Since Phuket-Samui flights would resume from Aug 25, it was believed the number of tourists would go up, he said.

Responding to the US advisory for its citizens to avoid travelling to Thailand due to Covid-19, the Tourism Authority of Thailand had stepped up its campaign abroad under the "city marketing" concept, he said.

It singled out Phuket as a safe destination, emphasing that the Thai government had imposed strict measures to control the pandemic, he said.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -provinces
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Re: Phuket "Sandbox" scheme

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I hope they are bringing their own food parcels.
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Re: Phuket "Sandbox" scheme

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thewayhelooks wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 5:11 pm I hope they are bringing their own food parcels.
They could bring their own liquor, but of course in Pattaya only one gets to drink.

For them to choose these locations, I'm wondering what they're being told. At least in Phuket there are things for them to do. But what is there for them to do in cities where nearly nothing that would be of much interest to tourists is open - and anything that is open closes by 8:00pm.

Maybe I'm missing something, but what?
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Re: Phuket "Sandbox" scheme

Post by gerefan »

Gaybutton wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 5:45 pm
Maybe I'm missing something, but what?
What they don’t tell us is how many of these are genuine tourists.

My bet is that many (most) are people returning to their homes to be with their Thai families, or returning to their business. They are taking the easy quarantine option, rather than being cooped up alone in a room in a Bangkok hotel for 14 days.

As you say who would visit a country where everything is closed?
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Re: Phuket "Sandbox" scheme

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gerefan wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 5:02 am My bet is that many (most) are people returning to their homes to be with their Thai families, or returning to their business.
That is a very good point. I never thought of that. You very well might be right.
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Re: Phuket "Sandbox" scheme

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Thailand welcomes more international tourists after expansion of travel program

August 25, 2021

Bangkok, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Over 3,000 international tourists have visited other designated tourist areas beyond Phuket in Thailand since a new program took effect on Aug. 16, Thailand's Center for Economic Situation Administration said Tuesday.

The "Phuket Sandbox 7+7 Extension" program reduces the mandatory stay in Phuket for fully vaccinated international travelers from 14 to 7 days, after which another seven days can be spent in alternative tourism hotspots in Krabi, Phang-Nga or Surat Thani.

"The program signifies the progress of Thailand's plan to gradually reopen to fully vaccinated international travelers." said Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

More destinations will be added to the list, once the preparation of appropriate measures on health and safety are fully in place, he added.

So far, there have been a total of 24,190 tourists visiting the country under the Phuket Sandbox scheme, which was launched on July 1, allowing vaccinated foreign tourists from low-and-medium-risk countries to visit the island without undergoing a two-week quarantine.

The primary countries of origin of these travelers are the United States, Britain, Israel, France and Germany.

Tourism is regarded as a key driver for the Thai economy. The country attempts to restore the sector and prepare for a nationwide reopening for vaccinated foreign visitors by mid-October.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapa ... 148778.htm
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Re: Phuket "Sandbox" scheme

Post by whitedesire »

Thailand is now back on the red list if you fly to the UK from Thailand
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