31 Jul, 2021
The mass inspections of migrant worker camps across Phuket continued yesterday (July 30) as officials inspected two major construction sites in Thalang.
Thalang District Chief Suwit Suriyawong led a host of local officials and medical staff from government health facilities in Tambon Thepkrasattri to the KMIT Construction camp in Moo 4, Thepkrasattri, which is home to 205 Myanmar nationals.
A total of 105 people at the camp were confirmed to have received their first dose of vaccination, and a further 75 people were confirmed to have received two vaccination injections, noted a report by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket).
A total of 85 Thai workers were found to be staying at the camp, all of whom were deemed to be “fully vaccinated” by having received two injections of COVID vaccination.
It was noted that 20 children were staying at the camp.
The team of officials then inspected Rama 2 Civil Works construction camp in Moo 1, Thepkrasattri, which is home to 231 Myanmar nationals, including 12 children.
The officers confirmed that 138 of the Myanmar workers at the camp had received one vaccination injection, but only 12 had received two vaccination injections and 69 of the Myanmar workers had not received any vaccination injections.
In contrast, of the 30 Thai nationals at the camp, all of them had received two vaccination injections.
Further, the inspection revealed that 35 workers at the camp had not even been registered to receive state-provided COVID vaccination.
Tambon officials were to coordinate with the vaccination station set up at Phuket airport to ensure the workers were vaccinated, said the report.
Sulaimart Kaewngamdee, an “Inspector” assisting Thepkasattri Subdistrict Kamnan Sittichai Chantawat, said Thepkrasattri officials had been regularly checking camps in their area.
“We have been doing this for a while, to bring foreign workers into the system to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to people in the area,” he said.
“In addition, you know by seeing many workers in a pickup truck and ‘informal’ sectors [sic] in the area,” he added.
“Our actions will be in accordance with the policy of Phuket provincial governor, according to the measures to increase the intensity of effectively preventing the spread of the virus,” he said.
