Authorities in the southern resort province are implementing the 5T Model for COVID-19 screenings, already set up a COVID-19 test lab at its airport and are now ready to welcome foreign tourists.
Phuket’s health chief Dr Thanit Sermkaew said the 5T Model consisted of Target, Testing, Tracing, Treating and Trusting.
Target means the target groups of visitors. Testing refers to tests for the coronavirus disease 2019 including tests on arrivals right at Phuket airport.
Tracing stands for application software to monitor the movements of tourists. Treating shows the readiness of medical treatment and resources and Trusting represents communications to create confidence among all parties and foreigners.
The Office of Disease Prevention and Control 11 in Nakhon Si Thammarat province installed the COVID-19 lab container module at Terminal X of Phuket airport on Sept 24. Its system will be tested on Sept 28 and the laboratory was set to start its operation on Sept 30.
The lab is capable of testing 96 people at a time and test results will be known in six hours. Dr Thanit said that its capacity should be adequate to serve initial arrivals. (TNA)