No-Quarantine Entry in Phuket, Thailand Also Faces COVID-19 Emergency... Foreigners Confirmed Infected One After Another

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] As COVID-19 is spreading again in Thailand, foreign COVID-19 cases have also been reported in Phuket, a tourist destination allowing foreigners to enter without quarantine.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to local Thai media on the 11th, two foreign COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Phuket the previous day. This brings the total number of foreign cases to three since the 'Phuket Sandbox' began on the 1st.

The Phuket Sandbox is a system that allows foreigners who have completed COVID-19 vaccination in their home countries to enter without quarantine.

For herd immunity, more than 70% of Phuket residents have also been vaccinated. The foreigners who tested positive this time were children aged 8 and 9, who had not been vaccinated.

According to the Phuket Sandbox, children who are too young to be vaccinated can enter without quarantine if accompanied by vaccinated parents.

Earlier, on the 6th, a traveler who entered from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tested positive for COVID-19 and was hospitalized. This was the first confirmed case among foreigners entering under the Sandbox program.

Phuket health authorities also announced the day before that a case of the highly transmissible Indian Delta variant was confirmed for the first time in Phuket.

Additionally, 10 new cases were reported, the highest number since the Sandbox was implemented. According to health authorities, more than 2,500 foreigners have entered Phuket since the Sandbox model started.

In the first week of the Sandbox, there was 1 foreign and 24 domestic confirmed cases in Phuket, and in the second week, the numbers were 2 and 26, respectively.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.