Phuket’s Public Health Authority has issued a circular stipulating the rules for quarantining tourists arriving on the Thai island under the SandBox program who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 as a result of post-arrival PCR testing.
Travelers with a positive test for the code will be asked to fill out a medical declaration of consent to serve 10 days of isolation in a room originally booked before the trip. From this we can conclude that you will have to pay for an additional 3 days of accommodation, as the first week of stay in the hotel, which is part of the SHA + system, must already be paid under the terms of the program “Sandbox”. In addition, you need to choose one of three packages of medical services – for 1 thousand baht, 2 thousand or 12 thousand – 15 thousand baht (from UAH 1,000 to UAH 12,500). The cheapest includes only primary medical examination, the most expensive involves medical consultations of public or private hospitals, the use of medical equipment. Upon completion of the quarantine, a certificate will be issued allowing you to leave the hotel.
There are changes in the conditions of isolation for those who have been in contact with a sick tourist, such as family members who lived with him on vacation together, but were not infected with covid. If before the contact, as a rule, “closed” in a quarantine hotel for 2 weeks, now offer to move into a separate room for 10 days. You can’t leave it for the first 7 days, and the next 3 – you are allowed to leave, but the isolation is not formally stopped – you need to “monitor your health, avoid crowded places and wear a medical mask.” In addition, on the 5th or 6th and on the 10th day of observation to pass PCR or antigen tests. If any of these tests are positive, you may retake the test. If the positive result is confirmed, an additional 10 days of isolation are expected at the contact center – already as a patient. Thus, in the worst case, quarantine may be extended for 3 weeks (if the code is found on the 10th day of observation).
Contacts have the right to refuse relocation to a separate room and remain in a 10-day quarantine with the infected, then you need to be tested daily for antigen. In this case, in case of detection of covid, there should be a new 10-day observation, its term is counted from the date of receipt of a positive analysis. If the contacts do not get sick, then after the quarantine, all those who lived in the same room must leave Thailand. Or, to stay in the country on vacation, they need to go through an extra week of self-isolation.
Observers call the directives of the Phuket Health Department nothing more than Jesuit. After all, health insurance only covers hospital treatment, not quarantine at the hotel – tourists have to pay for it themselves. Thailand has allowed its insurance companies to develop special policies for foreign guests – with reimbursement of the cost of observation for asymptomatic quidding in the amount of up to 1 thousand baht (approximately UAH 850) per day. However, when they will go on sale and at what price is still unclear.
According to Thai health services, on January 16, tests for coronavirus showed a positive result in 124 foreign tourists who arrived in Phuket. This is a quarter or even a third of the maximum number of passengers of a wide-body airliner. It will be recalled that the island accepts only travelers vaccinated against COVID-19 under the SandBox program.