China News Agency, Bangkok, August 15 (Reporter Wang Guoan) Thailand announced on the 15th that there were 21,882 new confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia, with a total of 907,157 confirmed cases; 209 new deaths and a total of 7,552 deaths.
On the same day, Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, had 4,215 newly confirmed cases, still ranking first in the country. The three neighboring provinces of Longzaicuo, Samut Prakan, and Chonburi also had more than 1,000 newly confirmed cases.
The Phuket government of Thailand issued an announcement on the same day that due to the rising trend of the local epidemic, in order to effectively prevent and control the epidemic and ensure the smooth implementation of the "Phuket Sandbox Program", it decided to extend the time for Phuket's "island closure" to August 31.
Earlier, the Phuket government announced that the island would be "closed" for 14 days from August 3 to 16.
During the "island closure" period, except for special circumstances, all types of people, vehicles, ships, and domestic flights are prohibited from entering Phuket through land, water, and air passages.
However, the above measures do not affect foreign tourists entering Phuket through the "Phuket Sandbox Program". People restricted to enter Phuket include only those who are currently in Thailand and outside of Phuket Province.
The "Phuket Sandbox Project" is the first pilot project of the Thai government's plan to open up the country. It has been implemented since July 1, allowing foreign tourists who meet the conditions and have been fully vaccinated to enter Phuket without quarantine.
According to statistics from Phuket, as of the 13th of this month, about 19,000 foreign tourists have entered Phuket, and 50 of them have been diagnosed with the new crown virus.
The plan has now brought more than 1 billion baht (approximately 200 million yuan) in revenue for Phuket.
(Finish)