Phuket’s newest round of COVID-19 control measures includes upgraded screening measures for domestic travel into the island, as well as tightened rules for business and activities. However, international arrivals under the “Phuket Sandbox” program can still enter and exit Phuket as per the existing rules and regulations.
Phuket Provincial Order No. 4202/2564: Screening for domestic arrivals
The Phuket Provincial Order No. 4202/2564, announced by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) on July 30, will take effect from 3 to 16 August 2021, and includes the following measures:
- People and drivers of all kinds of vehicles are banned from entering Phuket via the Tha Chatchai mainland gateway, by water via every marina and pier, and by domestic air travel via Phuket International Airport, except for:
- Medical emergency vehicles carrying patient and medical personnel, or volunteers
- Vehicles transporting medical supplies
- Vehicles transporting consumable goods, agricultural products, livestock, and animal feed
- Vehicles transporting cooking gas fuel
- Banking and finance vehicles
- Logistics vehicles for post and newspapers
- People with an international air ticket out of Phuket on the actual date of traveling only
- Personnel officially assigned in charge of communicable disease control
- Any government officials with the necessity to travel to and from Phuket
- People who are required to appear in courts
- Vehicles transporting construction materials, for emergency projects of government agencies or state enterprises only
- Any other cases with substantial reasons to enter Phuket, upon consideration of the officials at Phuket’s checkpoints.
People and vehicles mentioned above will only be allowed to enter Phuket if they:
- Have received two doses of the Sinovac or Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days before arrival, OR
- Have received one dose of AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least 14 days before arrival, OR
- Have recovered from COVID-19 for less than 90 days, AND
- Have received a negative test by an RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen test no more than 72 hours before traveling.
- Students under 18 years old who are unable to be vaccinated but need to commute in and out of Phuket for education must have an identification card as proof. They are required to contact the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office for a COVID-19 test by an RT-PCR method. The certificate for the test result can be used up to one month from the test date.
- People with a valid appointment certificate for the second dose of inoculation in Phuket, but must have received a negative test by an RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen test no more than 72 hours before arrival.
- All arrivals into Phuket must download and install the “Mor Chana” application and turn on the share location function at all times.
- All arrivals into Phuket must be able to provide proof of the above-mentioned requirements to officials at the point of entry to Phuket.
- Traveling by land transport through the Tha Chatchai checkpoint cannot be done during 11 p.m. and 4 a.m.
Order No. 4202/2564 continues the previous Order No. 4157/2564 (Heightened screening measures announced for domestic travel to/from Phuket), in effect from 25 July to 2 August 2021.
Phuket Provincial Order No. 4203/2564: COVID-19 Measures in Phuket
This Order is in effect from 30 July 2021 to 12 August 2021, and replaces Order No. 4023/2564 (Heightened screening measures announced for domestic travel to/from Phuket), which was previously in place until 2 August 2021.
Closure of businesses and venues prone to the spread of disease
- Snooker and billiard venues.
- Game stations, and games and Internet shops.
- Boxing stadiums, boxing gyms, and martial art gyms.
- Public and private swimming pools or other similar locations and all types of pools.
- Places with snooker, billiard, and pool tables.
Integrated control measures for businesses and venues prone to the spread of disease
- All kinds of outdoor sports venues can open until 9 p.m. but are not allowed to conduct any kind of sport with physical contact. Audiences and gatherings are also banned.
- All kinds of indoor sports venues, i.e., gym, fitness, yoga, or aerobics can open until 9 p.m., but the number of attendees will be limited as per the size of the venue. People who join these activities must have been fully vaccinated and are asked to continue abiding by the health and safety measures as well as D-M-H-T-T-A:
D – Distancing
M – Mask wearing
H – Handwashing
T – Temperature check
T – Testing for COVID-19
A – Alert application
For additional information and assistance relating to Thailand’s tourism, call the TAT Contact Centre at 1672 or Tourist Police at 1155.
