“I want to make it clear that only people with urgent matters to address will be allowed onto the island. Arrivals will be subjected to strict inspection.” he told The Phuket News.
“If there is no need [to enter Phuket], they will not be allowed to travel into the area. So please register through the [PhuketSmartCheck-in] app first,” Maj Gen Rungrote said.
“Once people have submitted the application through the app, they should be able to check whether they have been approved the next day,” he added.
Maj Gen Rungrote urged people denied entry into Phuket to be calm and patient.
“If people have not been allowed to enter the province, that means their reason to come in is not necessary. So I want them to calm down and wait for a while until the Cabinet announces [that entry is permitted].
“Please wait, everyone is waiting,” he said.
As of yesterday, according to the PhuketSmartCheck-in app, the number of people registered as living in Phuket who were allowed back onto the island from May 3-15 totalled 14,245.
In total, 28,490 people have registered their intent to come back to Phuket, the app also revealed.