Special Tourist Visa a safe way of allowing foreigners to visit Thailand, says DDC

[spidermike007]

3 hours ago, Johnthplumb said:

Out of curiosity, does any one know the cost ( say daily rate ), will be to stay in one of the government approved isolation hotels ? Also as they are all doing the same thing, will it be a same fixed rate at all the hotels.

They seem to start at around 3,000 baht a night and go up from there. Plus food. Generally, they seem to be two to three times the normal rate a given hotel or resort would normally get. And that is during good times. Been traveling a bit. Getting 2,500 baht rooms in Bangkok for 1,000 baht. On Samui, discounts are even higher, as the situation is dire. The vast majority of hotels are closed. 

 

The administration is doing a great job of sabotaging the economy and utterly destroying the tourism industry, long term. Heads will roll. Eventually. 

[Flying Saucage]

7 hours ago, Lunghans said:

I was in Thailand in Nov/Dec 2019 and was seriously sick, high fever, coughing, enormous amounts of green sputum for two weeks.

Could have been Covid-19 indeed.

A relative of me spent his holidays in Phuket at the same time, November/December. Came back to Europe with a serious flu. Met his sister at home, she was infected as well, coughing blood. She never had this before, and went to the doctor early January, but at that time in Europe no one had Covid on the screen yet. So, she never was tested, unfortunately.

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by Flying Saucage

[Nout]

11 hours ago, yeahbutif said:

Does a Thai person have to pay the same amount of money as a falang for quirentine? On return to thailand.and can she stay in same hotel Room together.for 14 days

Falang? Why do you exclude Chinese, Arab, Korean, Japanese,  Indian and every other tourist group. Do you know what farang means? You need to use the word 'foreign' if it to make any sense!

[whaleboneman]

They want tourists to come to Thailand to stay in an air-conditioned room for two weeks. The new slogan should be: "Come to Thailand for Netflix and chill."

[Kaopad999]

2 hours ago, jwbrit said:

Then the country will die from isolation. At some point we'll have to realize Covid isn't going to just disappear. I think the world will have to start to embrace the idea of living with it. Once there is a vaccine it may mean it needs to be an annual thing, like the flu jab. Unfortunately, the precautions we have in place now may need to be permanent for some time.

Yep, I think you're right, it doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytine soon unfortunately. So, let's hope a vaccine gets here soon. Until then I'm going to continue to take precautions by  social distancing, washing my hands more regularly and wearing my mask. 

[smudger1951]

10 hours ago, Kaopad999 said:

So, just open the borders like a flood gate and let the virus flood in? 

What a great Idea.. 

 

Kaopad9 just opening up without any precautionary measure would indeed be rash. But, can we be sure covid does not exist in Thailand when they have no broad testing programme. Deaths put down to something else. 

[You Cannot Be Serious]

Evidently, Khun Chairat Trairatanajaratporn is deluded.

[DB58]

16 hours ago, Forza2002 said:

"Chairat Trairatanajaratporn, chief of the Tourism Council of Thailand said that the tourism sector is slowly recovering from the pandemic. He claimed that a predicted 3.2 trillion baht hit to tourism had proven to be wide of the mark; it was only 1.4 trillion and this was because Thailand had closed its doors to foreign tourism for most of the year."

 

What is this Tourism Chief smoking, some of Anutin's cannabis? These clowns are so out of touch from reality sitting in their ivory towers and pots of gold...

 

“Let them eat cake”

[Jumbo1968]

11 hours ago, Kaopad999 said:

Can we not just wait for a vaccine? or wait until this virus dies out? 

The problem now is that the Covid numbers have been rising across Europe over the past month. So i doubt that the Thai government are going to just open the flood gates

A Vaccine does not prevent you getting a virus it just lessens the effects, you can get the flu vaccine but still get the flu

[Kleepanna]

On 9/9/2020 at 1:21 AM, chickenslegs said:

 

The reason for this, he noted, was that foreigners would be subject to the same 14 day quarantine that Thais must go to on their return from the country before they are unleashed on the rest of the kingdom.   Wow i dont have a fuzzy warm feeling about that...

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by Kleepanna
old

[goatfarmer]

16 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

The virus could have spread through Thailand already (in Nov / Dec / Jan / Feb) and Thailand didn’t recognise it at the time (although there were reports of massive increases in viral pneumonia at the time). 

Its possible Thailand now has immunity within the general population and thus opening up poses no risk.

This is not known without testing (PCR testing and also Antibody testing which is not wholly accurate). 

 

Given the number of Chinese tourists in Thailand during these months, and the fact that the first reported case outside China was Thailand, it is conceivable that the Thailand developed some degree of herd immunity before the virus was identified. I'd like to see those reports of 'massive increases' in viral pneumonia. 

 

Antibody testing is not reliable for individuals (who were infected but didn't produce antibodies), but as an epidemiological tool, it might shed some light on the herd immunity question. 

 

 

 

16 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Thailand is currently airing on the side of extreme caution when caution may not be necessary at all. 

 

 

 

Extreme caution is not sustainable long term. At some point, we're going to have to face the reality: the virus is not going away. 

[goatfarmer]

14 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Dr. Thanarak is misinformed and misguided. 

 

A safe approach is to allow ANY person from ANY nation starting tomorrow, in unlimited quantities, if they are willing to subject themselves to a 14 day quarantine and pay excessive fees for that two week sentence. There is no downside or risk, and only upside for the nation. No groveling from a local consulate should be required. That is utter nonsense. And no special health insurance either. Just another hurdle tourists will NOT jump over! A covid free letter and a booking at an approved hotel. 2 requirements. That is all that will be tolerated by tourists. 

 

In reality if they were serious about reinvigorating long term tourism, they would subsidize the quarantine, pay for at least half of it, and then maybe some people would come. At this point, they may be sabotaging tourism long term, beyond repair. Expect a million tourists in 2021, two to three million in 2022, and beyond that?

 

Thailand will never, ever again see over 30 million tourists. That is in the past. Trillions of baht invested in tourism down the drain. The sooner these companies write off their Thai investments, the better. 

See the Greek model: no insurance requirement, state pays for your quarantine and/or hospitalization if you develop covid symptoms during your stay. https://travel.gov.gr/#/

[Iron Tongue]

To be fair, the 14-day quarantine is not being locked in a room, the idea is that the tourist will have full access to the hotel/resort grounds and facilities during this time.

 

But until hookers start giving reciepts, I doubt many will be willing to spend 1 million baht during their visit.

[FarFlungFalang]

9 hours ago, Tony125 said:

International travel could take until 2024 to recover from COVID-19

 

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/iata-international-travel-2024-to-recover-from-covid-19-103216023.html

International travel will only resume when the two weeks quarantine is ditched.

[Stoker58]

“Chairat Trairatanajaratporn”.

in Thailand, the longer the name, the smaller the brain.

[Kaopad999]

8 hours ago, smudger1951 said:

Kaopad9 just opening up without any precautionary measure would indeed be rash. But, can we be sure covid does not exist in Thailand when they have no broad testing programme. Deaths put down to something else. 

No one can be 100% sure. But there is no doubt that  the numbers are a lot lower than what they are in the west, however, i do not believe the figures are as low as what they say they are. 

The fact is, Thailand was a lot quicker to take all the necessary precautions before any other country in the western world. And thankfully they did, because Thailand does not have the necessary resources to cope with a huge outbreak . For anyone who has ever stepped foot in a government hospital in Bangkok on a regular day will know exactly what i'm talking about... 

Edited September 18, 2020 by Kaopad999

[FarFlungFalang]

22 minutes ago, Kaopad999 said:

No one can be 100% sure. But there is no doubt that  the numbers are a lot lower than what they are in the west, however, i do not believe the figures are as low as what they say they are. 

The fact is, Thailand was a lot quicker to take all the necessary precautions before any other country in the western world. And thankfully they did, because Thailand does not have the necessary resources to cope with a huge outbreak . For anyone who has ever stepped foot in a government hospital in Bangkok on a regular day will know exactly what i'm talking about... 

Sorry but nearly all of the western counties went into lockdown before Thailand which was among the last to do.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_lockdowns

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by FarFlungFalang

[richard_smith237]

10 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

They seem to start at around 3,000 baht a night and go up from there. Plus food. Generally, they seem to be two to three times the normal rate a given hotel or resort would normally get. And that is during good times. Been traveling a bit. Getting 2,500 baht rooms in Bangkok for 1,000 baht. On Samui, discounts are even higher, as the situation is dire. The vast majority of hotels are closed. 

 

The administration is doing a great job of sabotaging the economy and utterly destroying the tourism industry, long term. Heads will roll. Eventually. 

 

Not quite: 

 

My ASQ was 45,000 baht for 15 nights - which is 3000 baht per night for a hotel which is normally 2000 baht (if online agoda / booking.com prices last year and next year are anything to go by). 

 

However, the cost includes other services. 

- Van Transport from hotel (500B)

- 2x Covid-19 PCR tests (12,000B)

- 3 Meals Per day (500B day total ? / 7500 baht)

- Nurse on 24 hr standby (cost - unknown). 

 

Daily Cost of room: ±1660 baht

 

That said: Given the current state of tourism, I agree that the hotel would otherwise be empty and offering rooms for 1000 baht or perhaps even less - but the hotel is by no means charging 2-3x the normal rate. 

 

 

 

[vandeventer]

16 hours ago, Jackcwba said:

How many “stranded” tourists still here ?

 

100k? 200? More ?

 

amnesty ends 26th and they are going to get rid of 100K plus in exchange for the “ we estimate 1200 tourists a month “ 

 

im willing to bet my balls they don’t even pull in half of that a month given the fact you have to be in prison for 14 days for a huge cost.

 

 

amnesty will be extended on Tuesday or Wednesday if it does. Come Thursday start sweating if it isn’t.

 

 

I wouldn't bet your balls on this one, as there is a lot of money to be made on overstay. People want to go to their own countries not some faraway countries. And they want to go direct, no stopovers that can be canceled. I just wonder how many people are living in airports around the world?

[jwbrit]

15 hours ago, Kaopad999 said:

Okay, so even if there were a few cases around that time, it was very well controlled here. Meanwhile I'm countries like the UK they have only juts recently caught on to the idea of wearing masks. ????

 

Anyway, My point being, if they were to open the borders as normal right now, it would only  cause a second wave which would lead to more deaths, and then more curfews and lockdowns. This wouldn't just effect the tourism industry but many other businesses that cater for locals too. 

 

I'm extremely grateful to be in Thailand during this time because I see a Nation of people who care and work hard together to keep the virus under control. 

 

 

 

 

Well I do think the Covid control in Thailand has been remarkable and I've been a doubter about it's accuracy but I've come to realize that the Thai gossip train is too strong to cover up Covid. If Covid was here people would be talking about it. Do you know there are hundreds of volunteers attached to the hospitals in every town/village checking locals health for Covid and other conditions?  Also Thai people listen to and follow orders/recommendations from doctors because they are respected. America is the opposite. I do think there's some political influences too. With the ongoing protests I think the PM looks good to have near zero cases, hence the dithering about re-opening.

[Kaopad999]

39 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Sorry but nearly all of the western counties went into lockdown before Thailand which was among the last to do.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_lockdowns

 

"Lock down" alone does not equate to good prevention. You're missing many other things, closed borders, wearing of face masks, lots of free hand sanitizer, &  temperature checks before entering malls and supermarkets.  

[Kaopad999]

11 minutes ago, jwbrit said:

Well I do think the Covid control in Thailand has been remarkable and I've been a doubter about it's accuracy but I've come to realize that the Thai gossip train is too strong to cover up Covid. If Covid was here people would be talking about it. Do you know there are hundreds of volunteers attached to the hospitals in every town/village checking locals health for Covid and other conditions?  Also Thai people listen to and follow orders/recommendations from doctors because they are respected. America is the opposite. I do think there's some political influences too. With the ongoing protests I think the PM looks good to have near zero cases, hence the dithering about re-opening.

Very fair analysis

[TempleDogCNX]

On 9/17/2020 at 8:32 AM, darksidedog said:

Aside from those desperate to return to businesses and family it is hard to see them needing more than 1,200 a month anyway, as not many will put up with the 14 day quarantine, when they don't have to put up with that in so many other places. Covid will come back at some point, it's inevitable. The economy is taking a serious beating and while they are trying to downplay the extent, millions are suffering hardship. A common sense approach is what is needed, but which is currently seriously lacking.

I had initially thought it would be around 1,200 people a day as surely Thailand has enough beds to accommodate 16,000 people over the 14-day rotation and we would have about 1,200 tourists being released into the economy each day after their quarantine period.  But I am sure this allowable entry number will go up quickly as more hotels/hospitals get onboard.  

[FarFlungFalang]

1 hour ago, Kaopad999 said:

"Lock down" alone does not equate to good prevention. You're missing many other things, closed borders, wearing of face masks, lots of free hand sanitizer, &  temperature checks before entering malls and supermarkets.  

Most western countries also beat Thailand in closing their borders as well.Some by a long way.I don't think Thailand did anything much different to most other countries except having the virus pass through almost before testing began as it was a favourite destination for holiday makers from Wuhan where the outbreak was first detected and remember that testing was restricted to only those who displayed the symptoms and nobody else unless you paid top dollar at a private hospital so they would have missed almost all of the asymptomatic cases which are the vast majority of cases found when testing is widely available.Nothing at all special about Thailand's part in this pandemic.Thailand has recorded 433000 patients under investigation for the virus but we don't seem to get any reports of the result of those investigations,so what going on there? 

Edited September 18, 2020 by FarFlungFalang

[Kaopad999]

1 hour ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Most western countries also beat Thailand in closing their borders as well.Some by a long way.
Okay i should have made it clearer, closed borders meaning borders that have remained closed since the lock down up until now.  
And again, you conveniently skipped past the point about the use of Face masks, hand sanitizer & temperature checks. Why? 

 

[TD2312]

With all the hoops you have to jump through to get this visa (in the name of safety), and this is considered to be a "safe" way to allow tourist then what does it really matter what country the tourist are from?

[FarFlungFalang]

9 minutes ago, TD2312 said:

With all the hoops you have to jump through to get this visa (in the name of safety), and this is considered to be a "safe" way to allow tourist then what does it really matter what country the tourist are from?

It's politically motivated as they must mention covid free to allay the fear they have created among the Thai population,they over did the fear thing and now are paying the price for it and they dare not lose face by saying there is no need to worry.All media releases (news) are carefully crafted to achieve a desired effect on the general public,this happens in every country.

Edited September 18, 2020 by FarFlungFalang

[spidermike007]

21 hours ago, Enoon said:

 

Here in the UK it "flooded in".

 

At no time have the borders been closed.

 

People have been arriving from all over the world.

 

Sporadic quarantines applied for specific foreign arrivals.

 

My local area has had some of the highest death rates in my sub-region, which has had some of the highest rates in my region.

 

There are a higher than national average of 65+ year olds my local area/sub-region.

 

I haven't met anyone who has been knowingly affected except for 1 in the wider sub-region.

 

The only deaths related to me by personal friends/acquaintances have been out of my local area (1) or in other parts of the country (1 in London, 1 in Birmingham).

 

The COVID related death rate in my local area has been.........1 in every 700 people, none of them known to me or connected to anyone I know.

 

And that's in a country where it "flooded in".

 

You're living on planet hysteria.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Probably comparable to the annual pedestrian death rate. Do they shut down economies for that? 

[spidermike007]

7 hours ago, goatfarmer said:

See the Greek model: no insurance requirement, state pays for your quarantine and/or hospitalization if you develop covid symptoms during your stay. https://travel.gov.gr/#/

A government run by well informed adults, lacking extreme hubris. And not burdened by a sense of not knowing your place in the world. 

 

Again. Thailand desperately needs international tourism, 25X more than international tourists need Thailand. 

 

What will it take for the knuckleheads to figure that out? How about 1 million tourists in 2021? 2 million in 2022? 2.5 million for the next five years after that, with zero restrictions in place? Will they ever get it? Will a sustained unemployment rate of 17% for the next five years cause heads to roll? Will it be enough for a much needed ouster of the cowardly and toxic army? 

[John CS]

21 hours ago, Kaopad999 said:

Okay, so even if there were a few cases around that time, it was very well controlled here. Meanwhile I'm countries like the UK they have only juts recently caught on to the idea of wearing masks. ????

 

Anyway, My point being, if they were to open the borders as normal right now, it would only  cause a second wave which would lead to more deaths, and then more curfews and lockdowns. This wouldn't just effect the tourism industry but many other businesses that cater for locals too. 

 

I'm extremely grateful to be in Thailand during this time because I see a Nation of people who care and work hard together to keep the virus under control. 

 

 

 

 

Masks work ? no,

the idea that you /we can control a virus by our behaviour is another falsehood , viruses work through their hosts & mutate until they are no longer effective, because the hosts (that's us) develop immunity through the use of our immune system, mental& physical well being,  nothing else.

Thailand is fortunate with its climate & relatively low levels of pollution & good food & not overly sedentary lifestyles

I have attached a CDC report in 2018 stating there is NO clinical evidence that masks are effective, & below this is a BMJ report re-confirming and stating that mask wearing actually increases infection, for influenza like viruses,  I provide this to help you understand that as humans we live with many viruses & that you should take comfit in this fact , understand vaccination is a monetary intetest & also not believe too much in Media scare stories. There is an agenda around this particular media friendly virus, it serves a wider function. Go well & no fear.