The first group of 59 European tourists arrived on Thailand’s resort island of Phuket from Indonesia on Sunday, under the “villa quarantine” program, which has been endorsed by the CCSA as a pilot project before Thailand reopens to more foreign tourists.
Upon arrival at Phuket airport, all the tourists went through temperature screening and checks of their health certificates, prior to passing through immigration.
Vans then took them to another building for COVID-19 swab tests, provided by a Royally-sponsored mobile lab, before being taken to the Sri Panwa Hotel for 14-days of mandatory quarantine.
Phuket Deputy Governor Pichit Panapong said that he followed the process at the airport closely and found that everything went smoothly. Officials will assess the condition of the tourists periodically, until the end of their quarantine period.
If the villa quarantine program is a success, he said it would be used as a model for other hotels and provinces to use, so that the tourism sector, badly hit by the global COVID-19 pandemic, can gradually recover.
