CCSA to discuss shorter quarantine

A proposal to shorten the standard Covid-19 quarantine period from 14 days to 10 for visitors from low-risk countries will soon be submitted to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) for consideration, Disease Control Department acting chief Opas Karnkawinpong said yesterday.

The proposed countries and territories include China, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia, he said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, meanwhile, said the department was speeding up carrying out blood tests of inmates in all prisons to check for Covid-19 antibodies, which is believed to be an efficient Covid-19 testing approach.

If those test results were 100% accurate, they would be forwarded to the CCSA for consideration along with the proposal to cut the quarantine period to 10, he said.

Meanwhile, Phuket will soon seek the cabinet’s approval for its 2.9-billion-baht plan to convert the resort island’s medical tourism industry into what is being termed a “worldclass medical and wellness tourist destination”.

Under this project, Phuket will become Thailand’s first tourist attraction offering a full range of healthcare, medical treatment, health and medical therapies, said Dr Chaloemphong Sukhonthaphon, director of Vachira Phuket Hospital.

Phuket would have a wide array of services, said the doctor, including operations, plastic surgery, treatment of heart disease and cancer, medical spas, Thai traditional and alternative medicines.

Dr Chaloemphong strongly believes this project will create several thousand jobs and help salvage Phuket’s economy.

Already approved by both the Public Health Ministry and the Tourism and Sports Ministry, it will be submitted to the cabinet for approval during a mobile cabinet meeting in Phuket on Nov 3.

If endorsed by the cabinet, it will take about two years to be implemented and would bring a new highvalue tourism landscape to Phuket, said Dr Chaloemphong.

It would be built on a 141.2 plot of coastal state land in tambon Mai Khao, Thalang district, and would comprise seven medical and health centres.

The project’s construction will be divided into two phases, which will require 1.29 billion baht and 1.67 billion baht of budget respectively, said Dr Chaloemphong.