'Central Phuket' becomes Thailand's first shopping center with herd immunity as 85% of employees completed two vaccine doses

Central Pattana plc., operator of Central Phuket, has announced the success in creating a herd immunity for the first time in a shopping center in Thailand as over 3,800 or about 85% of employees and shop staff members at Central Phuket have received their second vaccine injections in mid-May as part of the push to boost confidence in Phuket's tourism industry under the government strategy of 'Phuket Tourism Sandbox'.

Central Phuket has recently begun to host a vaccination center for the general public on the first level of the Floresta zone, becoming the first business to cooperate with local authorities in Phuket to offer such service. The shopping center is working with Phuket public health department, Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation and Bangkok Hospital Siriroj Phuket and expects to provide vaccination to 1,500-1,700 individuals per day.

The vaccination center will be managed systematically under the strict 'Central's Hygiene & Safety' measures that focus on providing safe and clean space, good air circulation, crowd density control, and social distancing, reinforcing the position of Central Pattana as the leader in managing vaccination centers using a model developed at Central Lardprao, the first shopping center in Bangkok to host a vaccination center, as well as Central Rayong and Central Samui, which hosted provincial centers. Individuals interested in receiving the vaccine at Central Phuket should follow the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CentralPhuketFanpage to receive information on registration.

Dr. Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Central Pattana Plc., said, "Central Phuket has become the first vaccinated shopping center in Thailand as a result of the cooperation and unity of the people of Phuket as well as Central Pattana's implementation of its 'Central's Hygiene & Safety' master plan which is practical and applicable to any situation. We are able to ensure the highest level of cleanliness and safety for Central Phuket while support the government's push for tourism in July under the Phuket Tourism Sandbox strategy."

"Over 85% of Central Phuket employees have received the second dose of the vaccine, which is sufficient in creating a herd immunity, making Central Phuket the first shopping center in Thailand to have such protection. The other 15% of the employees are in the sensitive groups or exempted from the vaccine for other reasons," said Dr. Nattakit.

"We have proactively tested shop staff members for the virus and found no infected individual as all results came back negative. As a result, we are launching the I'M VACCINATED campaign, the first of its kind for a shopping center in Thailand, with specially-designed badges given to employees who have received two vaccine shots as part of our number tracking system, in according to the regulations of the Ministry of Public Health," he said.

"To boost the confidence of our customers, we are showing our readiness in providing public safety and health as we are prepared to fully service visitors and tourists. In the long run, we will build upon this success and expand it to other provinces in order to drive local economies and tourism sectors in those areas," he said.

Wilaiporn Pitimanaaree, Senior Vice President of Central Phuket Shopping Center of Central Pattana, said "Central Phuket has coordinated with Phuket public health department, Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation and Bangkok Hospital Siriroj Phuket to carry out a proactive COVID-19 screening of the employees who have to provide services to customers and found no infection as all test results were negative."

"We believe the I"M VACCINATED campaign will boost confidence of the customers who will see Central Phuket's readiness in providing public safety and cleanliness. We are fully prepared to service visitors and tourists in support of the policy of Phuket Province to welcome vaccinated foreign tourists without quarantine, which is expected to begin on 1 July, 2021."

Central Phuket has prepared parts of the first level of the Foresta zone as the vaccination center for the general public with readiness in the following areas:

1. Large space
   The designated area on the first level of the Foresta zone will be able to service 1,500-1,700 individuals per day under a systematic social distancing measure.
2. All staff members and employees are vaccinated
   Visitors will see an I'M VACCINATED badge on the uniform of the staff.
3. Transportation
   The shopping center is in the center of the Phuket city, easily accessible to the people.
4. Operating time
   Vaccination services will be from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, while the shopping center will be open from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm.
5. Proactive and strict measures
   Under the master plan 'Central's Hygiene & Safety', there will be five core measures to ensure public safety and confidence, which are 1) strict screening, 2) strict social distancing measures in all areas and crowd density control, 3) safety tracking measures, 4) deep cleaning with attention to all surface areas, and 5) touchless experience. Furthermore, the shopping center will carry out a 'Big Cleaning' after closing each day and 'Extra Deep Cleaning' operations with highly-effective COVID-19 disinfectants certified by international institutions for the whole facilities in according to the master plan in order to ensure highest customer safety and confidence.

Central Phuket provided support and supplied clean food and drinks to COVID-19 patients at the Phuket field hospital as well as public health officials of Phuket in cooperation with restaurants within the shopping center, including Zen Restaurant, On The Table, Billion Nail, and DNA Star By Flexifoot, as well as the Government Savings Bank in the period from 16 April to 5 May.

Central Pattana aims not only to implement its master plan 'Central's Hygiene & Safety' in its shopping centers but also to offer it to other organisations for public benefits. With the hosting of the vaccination centers, Central Pattana has become the first shopping center business to work with the authorities in handling the pandemic. The success of its first provincial vaccination center in Bangkok at Central Ladprao has reinforce the company's capability and efficiency.

Eleven Central shopping centers have been selected by the authorities to host vaccination centers. They are Central Ladprao, Central Pinklao, Central Westgate, Central Phuket, Central Korat, Central Mahachai, Central Rayong, Central Samui, Central Suratthani, Central Hatyai and Central Ubonratchathani.