Governor Phakaphong broke the news earlier today (May 27) at the meeting of the Phuket Provincial Communicable Disease Committee, which oversees all COVID-19 measures in the province with Governor Phakaphong as its head.
Governor Phakaphong pointed out that Phuket has so far accumulated 227 confirmed cases of people infected with the virus.
That number includes the most recent two cases, an Italian engineer and his Chinese wife staying in Cherng Talay, he noted.
However, he pointed out that the couple have three children who all tested negative for the virus.
“Doctors believe that the couple must have been infected for a long time before they were tested. They both do not have any symptoms of being infected,” he said.
“If they really are infected, people who had close contact with them must be infected as well, but the children are not infected,” Governor Phakaphong explained.
“Doctors found that the virus found in the two latest cases are ‘dead cells’. We can report that the virus is inactive and unable to spread to other people,” he said.
“Samples from the two cases have been sent to Mahidol University to test again. Anyone who learns of those test results, please inform the committee,” he added.
“This topic is very sensitive… If this keeps happening, it will affect the airport reopening,” Governor Phakaphong pointed out.
“These cases have been added to the total number as reported by the committee, but these cases involved a dead virus [sic] that cannot be spread. Phuket is safe and should not be classified as a risk province,” he added.
Governor Phakaphong also announced that due to the low number of patients now in care or under observation, the field hospital set up at the site of the new Provincial Hall will be closed this Sunday (May 31).
“The number of infected cases in Phuket keeps decreasing, so I have already closed the second field hospital [at the Prince of Songkla University Phuket campus,” he said.
“On Sunday (May 31), we will stop using the new Provincial Hall as the field hospital and stop using the Grand Suphicha City Hotel as a place for keeping PUIs [persons under investigation] for observation,” he added.