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Covid-19: "Necessary" app to trace foreign tourists mooted for October


webfact

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3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Contact tracing involves ‘everyone being tracked’

 

Thus: IF this suggestion is to work, it only works if ‘everyone' has an App on their phone which traces their movement. 

 

What will happen - everyone deletes the app from their phone !!!

 

 

Ultimately, IF Thailand wants Tourists they have to be treated with far more respect than the current sanctimonious ‘we can’t have them doing that’ suggestions. 

 

The current suggestion imply an upside-down mentality of the decision makers, that tourists are privileged to come to Thailand and not a mentality that Thailand is privilege to receive tourists. 

 

 

A Pre-Flight Covid-19 test (with a negative result) for every visitor to Thailand should be sufficient. 

If Thailand doesn’t trust that, test upon arrival should add an additional level of measure - from there on in the TM6 card and TM30 (reported by the hotels) should be sufficient to track any positive cases if necessary.

 

The objectives ’should’ be to keep the economy moving while maintaining the replication rate of the virus below R1. 

 

Thailands continued attempts at zero domestic cases is killing its own economy. 

 

 

 

 

 

The problem with that is that it only means the person doesn't have covid at the time of the test

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I think there is a small point we are all overlooking, they don't need to install any app to track anyone, it is already in all smart phones or most other phones it's called GPS, it may be a little more time consuming to pin point your actual position but with the tech that most governments have at there disposal it's not impossible.

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Seems like a no-brainer to me...why would anyone not want to use it - unless they are up to no good.  Tourists, residents or long stayers...makes no odds.  If they are not prepared to use the app - don't give them visas...easy.

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15 minutes ago, Crusader said:

Seems like a no-brainer to me...why would anyone not want to use it - unless they are up to no good.  Tourists, residents or long stayers...makes no odds.  If they are not prepared to use the app - don't give them visas...easy.

Really.  I don't understand the pushback to track and trace in this situation.

 

As many have pointed out, anyone with a cellphone is leaving a trail whether they like it or not and I for one would be grateful for being alerted if I had even half a chance of having been in a danger area in terms of CV-19.  Why the fuss?

 

Also, given we're fortunate enough to be living in one of the few (fairly) developed countries in the world almost unaffected by the virus itself,* it's more than likely that potential tourists and returning expats will be coming from places with their own T&T systems and those who don't will probably have seen the effects of ignoring tracking, tracing and testing at first hand.  Brazil comes to mind.

 

The Thai Chana app needs some work, but scan in and out is not exactly a major hardship in my book.

 

Edit: * As opposed to the economic consequences.

Edited by Greenside
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3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

And what about millions of Thai’s employed in the Tourist Sector? the 17.6% GDP from Tourism? 

The 90% of Phuket who without tourism have no income?

 

What about when ‘you get car-jacked’ or robbed because people are so very very desperate they will do anything for food.

 

Better just keep them out’ is extremely short sighted. Its not a solution its a knee-jerk reaction. 

 

Thailand needs an intelligent and workable solution which provides a boost to the dying tourist sector and all the sub-trades to which money is filtered down through tourism. 

 

 

It doesn't matter what the "intelligent and workable solution" is - people here will winge and complain unless things are exactly the way they were before covid. It there is a quarantine, they will complain about the time cost. Even if there is a simple test offered at the airport, they will winge about the cost, and the time it takes for the test. It doesn't really matter what the solution is. When there was a 3000 baht test at the airport proposal, most of the members here almost had heart failure at the notion.

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3 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Indeed why should I pretend to be smart?  This works fine for me to get calls and sms with a weekly charge all that is required to keep it operating.

image.jpeg.6e7adc58da1956a25126427c926e3058.jpeg

Agreed. In the unlikely events that

1 I'm allowed back in (ie Tourist Visas become available again without all the "hoop jumping")

2 No quarantine is required

 

why would I even HAVE a Thai phone as a tourist?  My expensive UK phone goes in the safe the day I arrive only to be switched on in the event of my needing to get an OTP to log on to my bank. As far as the Thai Government is concerned, it doesn't exist.

 

So what, are they going to supply all tourists with phones for the duration of their trip, expecting said tourists to carry them? Of course not!

And before all the sniping starts,  I suggest my attitude will be the prevailing one amongst we genuine tourists as opposed to those who live / work in Thailand

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2 hours ago, connda said:

Shhhh!  Shhhhh!  Criminy man!!! Don't give them any ideas!
Lordy I can see it now.  Another "Protected Job Categories" on the Thai Dept of Labor list:
Foreigner Tourist Walkers

"They also reported that the new app will be used alongside the Thai Elite Card for well-heeled foreigners."

"Heel boy, Heel!"

external-content.duckduckgo_com.jpeg.cb23cb71c7e234b81f586341c43c4e03.jpeg

That's already here - don't you need a marriage visa though? ????

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IO have yet to find a government produced app that actually works. I have stopped using any that they make for immigration because I fear I might bring on an attack of apoplexy. I dutifully fill in all the forms where they ask several times for the same information, name, address, telephone number, passport number, entry number etc then having filled out all this I push the button to send and it says there is a problem, and not in a helpful way, telling you how to fix it.

For Thailand to produce a functioning track and trace app for 40 million visitors(last years total), is impossible despite being the e-business and internet hub of the ASEAN.

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3 hours ago, tingtongfarang said:

Can you explain what happens to people like myself who have a smart phone but no data plan? Also often when going out i never think to take my phone.

???? Don't tell someone this! Soon they understand our cleverness and will force us all to wear an electronic ancle bracelet instead ???????????? 

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3 hours ago, connda said:

Shhhh!  Shhhhh!  Criminy man!!! Don't give them any ideas!
Lordy I can see it now.  Another "Protected Job Categories" on the Thai Dept of Labor list:
Foreigner Tourist Walkers

"They also reported that the new app will be used alongside the Thai Elite Card for well-heeled foreigners."

"Heel boy, Heel!"

external-content.duckduckgo_com.jpeg.cb23cb71c7e234b81f586341c43c4e03.jpeg

 

I heard that when you travel for holiday to North Korea, always a plain cloth official is around you, to take care of you. But okay, this is Thailand here... ????

Edited by Flying Saucage
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5 hours ago, webfact said:

Buddhipongse Punnakanta said that representatives from the health, foreign, interior, transport and tourism ministries had met to instruct the digital government office. 

Having five different ministries giving "instructions" sounds like a good recipe for chaos.

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