[Thai made AstraZeneca vax good for visits to France and Germany, says govt spokeswoman]

2 hours ago, Scraman said:

Az vaccine Covishield made in India is not accepted in the EU, only AZ vaccine Vaxzevira.

 

Not quite correct as this is a national competence issue. 18 European and Schengen countries now accept Covishield - see here.

[Thai made AstraZeneca vax good for visits to France and Germany, says govt spokeswoman]

4 hours ago, Caldera said:

I cannot comment on the situation in France, but it is definitely true for Germany.

 

https://www.pei.de/DE/newsroom/dossier/coronavirus/coronavirus-inhalt.html?cms_pos=3 (German language, the Thai made AstraZeneca vaccine is listed)

https://th.ambafrance.org/Deplacements-vers-la-France

 

for those who can’t reach French “Vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are Comirnaty (Pfizer & BioNTech), Spikevax (Moderna), COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen and Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) and their equivalents*; in particular the Covid-19 vaccine Astra-Zeneca produced in Thailand.”

 

This can be confirmed at the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products website -   https://ansm.sante.fr/uploads/2021/07/28/21072024-covid-19-vaccins-liste-noms-pays.xlsx   - where under Thailande AstraZeneca is listed.

[Covid spokeswoman says no truth to rumor that meeting participants don't have to wear masks]

This is a file photo.  In yesterday's briefing she was wearing a mask

 

[Private hospitals providing Covid-19 vaccines]

7 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Well go back and tell him he's wrong.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-thailand/thailand-orders-a-further-35-million-doses-of-astrazeneca-vaccine-idUSKBN29A0VF

AstraZeneca vaccine will be produced in Thailand by a Thai company. It will not be imported for sale. A small amount is being imported by the Thai government to help expedite the Thai FDA approval process. AstraZeneca's FDA application does not allow it be imported by the private sector, per Thai FDA Sec-Gen in KhaoSod yesterday evening. https://www.khaosod.co.th/covid-19/news_5763659

[Thailand reports 745 new COVID-19 cases, one more death]

1 hour ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

 

With 300 cases in late December,  they should have done 90,000 test, but that does not match the below graph.

Something is not right.

 

 

Our World in Data only has the Thai testing figures up until 18 December - https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/covid-tests-cases-deaths?tab=table&stackMode=absolute&time=2020-02-20..latest&region=World (scroll down to Thailand). Per the Ministry of Public Health, in the week of 19-25 December,* 108,819 tests were conducted, which was a large increase from the previous weeks, with the last three days seeing 20,000 tests per day. see http://nextcloud.dmsc.moph.go.th/index.php/s/wbioWZAQfManokc (either the PDF, PPTX, or XLS right at the end (all in Thai although the XLS is just numbers).

 

Yes, Thailand has been slow to ramp up testing and more testing would show more numbers, but if you see the XLS file, you will see the test positivity rate of .02% for the week to 25 December. Meanwhile, the BBC was reporting 27% test positivity rate for London yesterday. Ok, that is an extreme example, but more testing would see more numbers everywhere.

 

Further, if you check the XLS you will see over 850,000 tests conducted between June-November. Around 180,000 Thais returnees and expats entered Thailand from April to mid-December.  Two tests per 14 day quarantine period. Around 1,200 tested positive so round up to another 10,000 tests for extra multiple tests of these people. Thais would leave around 470,000 tests on those not in quarantine. You had the recent cases of dozens of Thais coming back from Myanmar and testing positive, a few other local cases. That is still a lot of testing with very few positive cases.  

 

*Weekly testing numbers seem to be updated on a Tuesday so we will see the latest numbers soon.

[Thai govt and Immigration confirm second visa amnesty - no need to do 90 day reports or extend visas]

When IB posted details on their Facebook, this was after the Cabinet approved the draft Notification on the visa extension. Now, the Notification has been gazetted - http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2563/E/096/T_0008.PDF - so it is actually official. Actual Notification as already reported.

[Thailand extends foreigners' visas for a second time as coronavirus cases slow]

2 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Normally no links in Thai allowed.

Copy/paste quickly.

 

https://www.thairath.co.th/news/politic/1826734

In addition, if you go to the Thai government website Weekly Cabinet Summary and then click on 21 April. Point No. 9 confirms that Cabinet has approved a draft regulation providing visa extensions until 31 July (same categories of visas listed as per 7 April one). There is also a separate extension of the time to do the notification of residence. This still needs to be gazetted although this is now a formality given Cabinet approval 

[Under 5 and over 70 stay home = suggestion or law?]

It is the law but there are so many exceptions and no specific penalty provided for so practically speaking it is closer to a strong recommendation. See Article 8, Regulation No. 1 issued on 25 March, as translated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - http://www.mfa.go.th/main/contents/files/news3-20200327-221547-964607.pdf - which says “shall stay”. Article 18 does not provide a penalty for beaching Article 8.

[Work permit returning to Thailand]

Fit to fly health certificate is all you will need. Latest CAAT Notification cancelled all previous Notifications. see No. 6 https://www.caat.or.th/en/archives/48998 (negative COVID test and health insurance was as a result of 19 March CAAT Notification).

 

This info was in the Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) that was sent to airlines this evening.

[400K Baht for Marriage Extension]

Went to CW in Dec and I was told by the officer to bring back my updated bankbook after the 30 days and that the 400k should still be in the account. When I went back last week for the approval extension, I was told to hand over my passport, original bank book, and copies of my bank book. The person checked that I had updated the bank book earlier that day (so withdraw or deposit a small amount on the actual day if possible). To play things safe, I would try to keep at least 400k in the account until after the extension is approved.

[TM30 now required in Bangkok]

13 hours ago, JackThompson said:

Are we sure you "cannot touch" the money during under-consideration - or just cannot have emptied the account of most/all of it?  If "cannot touch" is true - that directly violates the stated rules, which state "two months" seasoning - not three (or four, in the case of a delayed approval -
https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1076157-visa-extension-result-delayed-issue/

).

 

Clearly, they want to discourage loans not provided through from one of their agent-buddies (when no seasoning is needed at all), so they can ensure a cut of agent-fee loot.  In that context, would make sense for them to block on a nearly-empty account, after the consideration period.  If they are getting really greedy, maybe "cannot touch" is indeed the case - further punishment for doing things the honest way (which some of them clearly detest).

I did my extension of permission to stay - "Thai wife" - in late December at CW. Just after I received the 30 day under consideration stamp, I was told to bring back my updated bankbook when I came back in the 30 days.  I was a bit surprised about this requirement and as I had planned to purchase some LTF and RMF for tax reasons so I asked whether I still needed the 400k in my bank account in 30 days and I was told "yes".

 

I was not asked for the TM30 last month, but tomorrow is the end of the 30 days so I will see if I am asked for it it then. Or have people have only been asked when doing the re-entry permit or 90 day reporting? (I was planning to do both tomorrow as well, but my skip and do re-entry at the airport when I have my next flight).

[Am I good to go? (non-imm o based on marriage - Savannakhet)]

when queuing at the new Thai consul;ate in Savannaket in the morning - go to the large gates on the left of the building and with the assistance of other friendly farrangs form a defensive semi circle around the gates - this will ensure that the there is no pushing in as witnessed on my recent visit,

Hand over as stated in the commentary above all docs and get your ticket number ( this ticket denotes your passport number not your place in the queue for the afternoon collections) the whole process is painless.

The tuk tuk drivers will take you to a cracking french cafe in the interim between submission and collection if requested

Have fun

Thanks for the advice. I will be landing in Ubon on Tuesday morning, so I guess I will just get over to the bus station and take a bus to Mukdahan.

Since I won't be in Mukdahan before noon at least I will wait with the embassy until Wednesday. Would you recommend staying in Mukdahan for the Night or go over to Savannakhet and stay there for a night?

I guess it all comes down to when the border opens? (Mukdahan seems very small, but still it looks like more "fun" than Savannakhet, but I've never been to either so I really have no idea).

Up to you, but went through the process on Monday. I stayed in Mukdahan (Ploy Palace - would so it is reasonable) . Went to the Mukdahan bus station around 8 a.m. Got 8:30 bus (buses every hour) and got to the Embassy around 9:20. Submitted paperwork and done by 9:40.