PHUKET, May 1 (TNA) – Workers who lost jobs due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic were allowed to leave the southern tourist island of Phuket today to return to their home province.
The departure took place at the Tha Chat Chai checkpoint in Mai Khao sub-district of Thalang district at about 5am. The people who departed included those who no longer had a job in Phuket due to the pandemic and the provincial lockdown to control the disease.
About 40,000 people registered for the departure with local officials and through online channels on April 29 and 30. They wanted to return to their home province to make their living.
Provincial authorities deployed vehicles for their transport. Each day 5,000 people will leave Phuket. Half of them will do in the morning and the rest in the afternoon.
Phuket officials informed counterparts in the provinces that are the destinations of the outbound people to facilitate examination of the returnees upon their arrival.
The people are not allowed to return to Phuket until Phuket authorities reopen the province for normal visits. (TNA)
