Overseas tourists finally roam free on Thai island of Phuket

PHUKET, Thailand—Newly arrived overseas tourists on Thailand's island of Phuket were able to roam free without quarantine on Friday for the first time in more than a year, as Thailand launched a special program for vaccinated visitors to the island.

Tourists swam in hotel pools and walked along Phuket's postcard-perfect beaches after receiving a COVID-19 test result within 24 hours of arrival.

"This is the perfect place to just relax and clean our minds, our heads, after a long time," said Sigal Baram, lying by the pool, who was visiting from Israel with her husband and friends. The group was among the first to arrive in the country.

The 'Phuket Sandbox' initiative allows free movement on the island for fully vaccinated tourists, with no quarantine required, although masks are required in most public places. 

While five-star hotels and restaurants welcomed back tourists, local street vendors said they were not benefiting from the plan, because tourists frequent mostly large hotels. 

"There is no way street vendors will get the money from overseas tourists... it will go to hotels and restaurants instead," said Yupin Papor, a massage therapist who lost her job during the pandemic and became a street vendor selling food on the beach.

Thailand lost about $50 billion in tourism revenue last year, when foreign arrivals plunged 83%.

Phuket was hit particularly hard by job losses and business closures.

"I see the shops closed. It's a big difference to me from before," said Omar Alraeesi from United Arab Emirates, who comes to Phuket every year.

Millions of people visited Phuket every year before the pandemic and the government and tourism industry hope the reopening will help save its battered economy. (Additional reporting by Jorge Silva and Artorn Pookasook, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

-reuters-

Thailand braced for infections spike after detecting UK COVID-19 variant

BANGKOK—Thailand has detected at least 24 cases of the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 first identified in Britain, a government health expert said on Wednesday, its first known domestic transmission of the highly contagious variant.

The SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.1.7 has been found in more than 100 countries and has been blamed for fueling new waves of infections in record numbers.

The UK variant was found in a cluster of 24 visitors to entertainment venues in Bangkok, which were detected at the weekend. Nearly 200 such venues have been closed for two weeks.

"We did everything to block it, and it still gets through," Yong Poovorawan, a government expert and virologist at Chulalongkorn University, told a health ministry briefing.

"This variant is very viral and can spread 1.7 times faster than the usual strain," he said.

Thailand has seen infections jump in the past week, although numbers are still low compared to some of its regional neighbors.

It recorded 334 new infections on Wednesday, with no new deaths, bringing its case total to 29,905 and 95 fatalities.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha instructed authorities to prepare field hospitals in anticipation of a spike in infections.

Ten of his ministers and dozens of lawmakers were self-isolating on Wednesday due to exposure to positive cases.

"We can handle things right now and I have instructed the preparation for field hospitals in Bangkok area," Prayuth said of the rise in cases.

"We could need these field hospitals in case the pandemic worsens," he added.

Confirmation of the presence of the B.1.1.7 variant will be a setback for Thailand, which is just a week away from one of its biggest holiday periods.

B.1.1.7 is as much as 70% more transmissible than existing variants, and far deadlier, according to British scientists. 

Yong said he was puzzled at how community transmission had occurred given Thailand's strict border controls, quarantine and testing protocols, which in January had detected the variant in a family traveling from Britain, who were isolated.

Opas Karnkawinpong of the Department of Disease Control warned of thousands of new daily infections if restrictions are not followed during the holiday period.

Thailand is aiming to start is mass immunisation campaign from June but has been vaccinating health workers or people deemed vulnerable, with more than 300,000 recipients so far, according to the Health Ministry.

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thempgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty)

-reuters-