Though Thailand's massive tourism industry was initially set to restart on July 1, 2021, in Phuket, Thailand Ministers are now pondering the next step. According to reports, the plan may need to be overhauled as Phuket struggles to immunise the whole island in the wake of the third wave of hotspots.
Before the third wave, Phuket had already secured more than 100,000 doses and planned to receive an additional 930,000 doses by June. But, this would be enough for 70% of the population --- the target needed to achieve herd immunity. However, the spike in COVID-19 cases has interrupted this plan, as vaccines must also be allocated to other provinces urgently to help fight the latest outbreaks.
Eighteen provinces have now been declared red zones, with a partial lockdown and stay-at-home order. The alert warning was also raised across the rest of the country to orange, in all the remaining 59 provinces many of which had previously been green and considered safe.
The Bangkok outbreaks centred on entertainment places; restaurant-pubs and nightclubs around the Thonglor area, plus a high-society wedding at a new riverside hotel, whose guest list included several government Ministers and prominent business leaders. Up until this point, since the beginning of the pandemic, Thailand had only recorded 28,889 cases and 94 deaths as of April 1, 2021. Eighteen days later this has risen to 43,742 cases and 104 deaths, an increase in cases of 51 per cent.
The question of re-opening Thailand to Tourism starting with Phuket has taken a hit. The Tourism and Sports Minister said, “The key determinant is insufficient vaccines, we are concerned about the re-opening timeline. We still need to discuss the vaccine administration plan. If the herd immunity goal cannot be achieved, we may have to consider opening only certain areas in Phuket".