BANGKOK, June 5 (TNA) — Phuket airport must remain closed because infection continued in its province, according to a government spokesman.
Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the government’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), said the reopening of an airport would take times because it concerned the travel of many people.
According to him, CCSA divides airports into three categories. The first group gathers the airports that are not under the jurisdiction of Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT) and are in the provinces where no COVID-19 cases were found in the past 14 days.
The second group consists of the airports under AOT supervision where there were COVID-19 cases in the past 14 days but local disease control is effective. Airports in both categories are allowed to resume operations.
The third group comprises AOT’s airports that pose high risks of disease transmission because their provinces saw many new patients and local disease control is being evaluated.
“In Phuket on May 25 there were new cases. Now it is still in a 14-day possible transmission period. It will take times… If Phuket airport is well managed and the number of cases in the province is at a satisfactory level from now on, it should reopen in the near future,” Dr Taweesin said.
He also said that CCSA would consider the 4th stage of business lockdown relaxation next week. (TNA)