Thailand: Fully-vaccinated tourists can now enter the Thai resort island of Phuket after the government re-opened the popular destination with no need for 14 days quarantine. It’s all part of the Thai government’s so-called “Phuket Sandbox” project, aimed at slowly reviving the country’s tourism economy which has been decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha attended the re-opening ceremony in Phuket on Thursday morning.

Even those who are fully-vaccinated must still adhere to strict requirements set by the authorities in order to be given a Certificate of Entry or COE. The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand requires travellers to show a vaccination certificate, although children are permitted without one. International tourists must also come from an approved list of countries which does include Cambodia. The only flight available for Cambodians to Phuket is through Singapore.

Once in Phuket, tourists must stay for 14 days, before being allowed to visit other parts of Thailand. They also must have medical insurance with minimum cover of $100,000 to cover any Covid-19-related treatment or medical expenses. They need a negative RT-PCR test result issued within 72 hours before departure and once in Phuket, three more Covid-19 tests will be conducted over the course of their 14 day stay, the first 7 days of which must be at one resort. Tourists must also use a location-tracking application for the duration of their stay.

Amazingly, given the hassle, just over 6,000 people have registered for the Phuket Sandbox and 1,379 COEs have already been issued. The figures were released by the spokesperson for Thailand's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mr. Tanee Sangrat.