Coronavirus: Thailand sees record deaths as first Phuket sandbox tourists arrive
- Thailand is grappling with its worst Covid-19 wave, reporting over 5,500 new cases as its tourism hotspot Phuket opened under a quarantine-free scheme
- Elsewhere, Australia’s New South Wales warned about a community spread of the Delta variant and Malaysia tightened curbs in the capital
On Thursday, 249 passengers on flights from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Singapore are expected to land on the island – where sandy beaches have been relatively deserted since the virus hit. The first 25 travellers arrived in Phuket on an Etihad Airways flight before noon and underwent screening procedures.
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Thailand’s Phuket island reopens for vaccinated tourists under quarantine-free ‘sandbox’ scheme
The launch of the quarantine-free scheme comes as Thailand grapples with its worst-ever Covid-19 wave and the worrying detection of the Alpha and Delta coronavirus variants. On Thursday, the country reported a daily record of 57 deaths from the coronavirus, the second day in a row of record-high fatalities. It also recorded 5,533 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 264,834.
But Phuket remains relatively unscathed as Thai authorities have rolled out a mass vaccination campaign in preparation for the quarantine-free arrivals, with 70 per cent of residents receiving at least one dose.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha travelled to Phuket for the launch and said the pilot scheme would provide the basis for reopening the entire country in October.
“Phuket citizens should be proud as they are fulfilling their duty for the entire nation,” he told reporters at the Royal Phuket City Hotel.
“We would like the Phuket sandbox to be successful so it can be applied as guidelines for our goals.”
