Sandbox, Test & Go generate B32bn
A TOTAL OF 272,621 TOURISTS in total arrived in Phuket through the Phuket Sandbox and Test & Go entry schemes combined from July 1, 2021, to Feb 1, 2022, resulting in an estimated B14 billion in direct spending and generating an B32bn for the economy, Phuket officials have announced.
On average tourists stayed eight nights per person, spending approximately B55,000 per person, Vice Governor Pichet Panapong reported on Feb 3.
The figures were delivered as part of provincial officials’ progress report presented to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) by teleconference.
V/Gov Pichet also gave a breakdown of the number of arrivals who have entered Thailand through the Phuket Sandbox and Test & Go schemes since Nov 1.
As of Feb 3, a total of 120,371 people had arrived in Phuket under the Phuket Sandbox scheme since Nov 1, a further 96,841 had arrived under the Test & Go scheme and 588 had arrived to enter the Alternative Quarantine system.
Of the arrivals, 40,309 were Russian nationals, 20,702 were German, 16,096 were UK nationals, 11,743 were from Sweden and 10,365 were from France.
Thais accounted for only 8,749 of those who had arrived in Phuket since Nov 1, notes the latest report by Phuket Immigration.
“In the field of medical and public health readiness, Phuket has launched the country’s first central service platform, POCC Home Isolation,” Vice Governor Pichet reported.
The ‘POCC Home Isolation’ platform, which calls itself “Phuket Organization COVID Care”, is part of the national “One province, One Hospital” policy which labels itself as “with an emphasis on communication and understanding to local people about Omicron.”
“People who are infected but not with serious symptoms can be treated at home. People can contact the hospital via Facebook: POCC or
the POCC hotline 1131 to ensure universal access to appropriate care,” V/Gov Pichet said.
Phuket residents are now almost 100% vaccinated, he added, with 88.42% of the target 547,584 people to be vaccinated having received their first dose, 85.62% of the target receiving their second dose, 56.02%
of the target number receiving their third dose and 19.51% of the target number now having received a fourth injection.
“Now Phuket is accelerating the building of group immunity by accelerating campaigns for people to vaccinate the fourth dose injection by
registering via the PhuketMustWin website,” he added.