Thailand approves quarantine waiver for tourists, orders more vaccines

[sirineou]

20 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

7 day quarantine for 5 provinces starting in April.

 

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/5-other-provinces-adopting-phukets-sandbox-reopening-model

That would certainly be good news as both me and the wife have got the first jab, and would be fully vaccinated by April. we are in the process of getting all our ducks in a row, and plan to return to Thailand late April. But as of yesterday the Thai embay had the 10 day 11 night only, option for everyone posted at their  website as I posted on page three. I will check Monday to see if they have an update . 

If I am going to do any Quarantine, I would certainly love to do it in Phuket  or Krabi. and certainly for 7 days instead of 10

[Anna Rak]

I am currently in the U.K. and planning to come back in mid August, I will have had my second vaccine by end of May, my Thai wife has had her first vac and gets her second in early June, however I don't want to go to Phuket, I would like to go back to my house in Buri Ram without quarantine, anyone think I have a chance.  ????????????

 

Sorry if it's a little off topic!!!

[Surelynot]

1 minute ago, Anna Rak said:

anyone think I have a chance

Ha.....as policies are issued daily and changed daily it is anyone's guess.....

[sirineou]

They are just as confused as we are.

Wife  had a conversation today because her Thai passport has expired and they don't have appointments for renewal for three months at the DC office. And when she asked about insurance for me (Thai nationals are not required to have covid insurance) , and told them that we already had US based BCBS insurance that covers both of us in Thailand, and that we had a letter  from the insurance company saying so, They said that they would accept insurance from any company from anywhere that would cover us in Thailand. 

So as of today, from the US that's all we know. 

PS: for her passport , she is applying for emergency otherization to travel with her expired passport so that she can renew it when we get there. 

The lady we spoke with was very pleasant , and  helpful, and said that they were very very busy with requests and inquiries. 

Edited March 28, 2021 by onthedarkside
reply to hidden comment removed

[Jimbo53]

7 hours ago, HerewardtheWake said:

For crying out loud, when will the shorter quarantine become effective? The ASQ hotels say it is still the 14-day quarantine. 

What part of this don't you understand?

 

From next month, the hotel quarantine period will be halved to seven days for fully vaccinated visitors to Phuket, Pattaya, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, Phang Nga and Krabi, Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn told a news conference.

 

By the fourth quarter, the quarantine waiver is expected to be implemented in five holiday destinations, he said.

The central bank expects to see 3 million foreign tourists this year, compared to nearly 40 million in 2019 before the virus struck.

 

[Cake Monster]

What is the exact population of Phuket Island .

As soon as this news broke, there will be an increase of " residents " , all chasing the few tourist Dollars that are on offer.

There will be a massive problem in keeping "residents " within the Islands confines, while stopping a large number of transient people from entering to make a fast buck.

Cluster ... waiting to happen IMHO

Edited March 28, 2021 by onthedarkside
profanity reference removed

[polpott]

On 3/27/2021 at 3:50 PM, Cake Monster said:

What is the exact population of Phuket Island .

As soon as this news broke, there will be an increase of " residents " , all chasing the few tourist Dollars that are on offer.

There will be a massive problem in keeping "residents " within the Islands confines, while stopping a large number of transient people from entering to make a fast buck.

Cluster ... waiting to happen IMHO

Presumably if you spend your first 14 days in Phuket you will then be able to travel anywhere in Thailand.

[Isaan sailor]

6 hours ago, vandeventer said:

So, what About the J%J vaccines are you going to order any or was the just words to make us feel good?

Right.  I favor the J&J one shot.  No Chinese for me, thanks.

[sirineou]

5 minutes ago, Jimbo53 said:

What part of this don't you understand?

 

From next month, the hotel quarantine period will be halved to seven days for fully vaccinated visitors to Phuket, Pattaya, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, Phang Nga and Krabi, Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn told a news conference.

 

By the fourth quarter, the quarantine waiver is expected to be implemented in five holiday destinations, he said.

The central bank expects to see 3 million foreign tourists this year, compared to nearly 40 million in 2019 before the virus struck.

 

I guess as we will find out soon, but i wonder how this will work , with the provinces.  Would you have to fly directly there, or could you catch a connecting flight from Suvarnabhumi ? 

[stubuzz]

On 3/27/2021 at 3:50 PM, Cake Monster said:

What is the exact population of Phuket Island .

As soon as this news broke, there will be an increase of " residents " , all chasing the few tourist Dollars that are on offer.

There will be a massive problem in keeping "residents " within the Islands confines, while stopping a large number of transient people from entering to make a fast buck.

Cluster ... waiting to happen IMHO

I would have to agree.

 

Within 1 month Thailand's Covid count will skyrocket and the quarantine relaxation will be reversed.

[Trip Hop]

4 hours ago, pentagara said:

Not sure how that would affect the EU. So far the EU shipped more than 10 million (!) doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the UK plus the UK continues to receive Pfizer BioNtech shipments from the EU, while the UK shipped exactly 0 vaccine doses to EU countries. On top of this, Johnson does now its best to annoy the EU politicians by basically telling them they are idiots. It might be smart to benefit from others, it's a bit dumb to advertise it though and laugh at them. What impact do you think this will have on future vaccine shipments from the EU to the UK, specifically the AstraZeneca one? Anyway, not my problem.

 

For Thailand it would be interesting to know, how much change effort is needed in the Thai factory to produce the updated vaccine. Hopefully its easy and ideally they already plan to produce the AstraZeneca/Oxford version 2 in the Thai factory from Q3 as well. That would be great, actually, it would allow Thailand (and other countries) to catch up and gain better protection to prepare for the Q3 travel season, when the new variants should be quite prevalent globally.

 

There's a risk that the current vaccine versions won't offer sufficient protection come December to lift quarantines in most countries. It could even lead to retightening of travel restrictions like we have seen this January for UK, Brazil and South Africa, where flughts were stopped. It's still a huge headache to get to Hong Kong from the UK for example, vaccinated or not. So Thailand would benefit heavily if they could carry out mass-innoculations in the country with an already updated AZ vaccine from the Thai factory... Let's see. Vaccinations clearly are more of a marathon, not a sprint.

As a previous poster has already stated, you are talking completely out of your hat. 
If there is only one thing that the UK government has got right about this pandemic, it was the decision for it to go it alone on procurement of vaccines and immediately invest circa €270m in their development, substantially de-risking the companies involved and thereby securing priority supply contracts. By comparison the whole of the EU only invested a mere €336m, were late in negotiations and therefore only secured best effort contracts. To put this in layman terms, considering the total population of the EU is nearly 7 times that of the UK, it only invested 25% more in the development and manufacturing of the vaccines. 

For the EU to now expect companies like AZ to renege on their priority contracts with the UK is the same as the EU expecting to have an equal share of the winnings from a bet on the horses when they only wagered less than 20% that of which the UK did?

[Jimbo53]

11 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I guess as we will find out soon, but i wonder how this will work , with the provinces.  Would you have to fly directly there, or could you catch a connecting flight from Suvarnabhumi ? 

I would think it will be direct flights to the Island to see what the data/result is regarding any transmission.

[polpott]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo53 said:

I would think it will be direct flights to the Island to see what the data/result is regarding any transmission.

And to Pattaya? I guess private transport from Swampy to Pattaya would be OK.

[Jimbo53]

Just now, Jimbo53 said:

I would think it will be direct flights to the Island to see what the data/result is regarding any transmission.

In regard to mainland Provinces,i dont know how they are going to control/police that,i personally cant see anything of substance happening before 2022,hence i am not booking a flight until such times as all restrictions are lifted,why give myself a headache having to go through all the nonsense,when its an unknown!!

[samtam]

6 hours ago, British Bulldog said:

My family and I have been desperate to get down to Phuket where we rent a Catamaran Yacht for a week or so every year, we live in Vientiane but get a direct flight from Udon to Phuket, as the rules are starting to relax, we see the light at the end of the tunnel, however, the one thing we did forget is .... trying to get back into Laos when we return, borders are still close, OK for my Lao wife and kids, but it still means 14 days in quarantine ... so unless we have a 'pass' to get back in, our trip and contribution to the Thai economy is a no go ... the point is; How many of these 100,000's or tourist that Thailand is trying to get to visit Phuket and alike, are in the same boat in their respected Countries ... trying to get back in and avoid a quarantine !

 

6 hours ago, michaellee said:

Canada, Denmark, UK, switzerland, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and some other European countries are still 16 days and 15 nights. Arrival day doesnt count as 1st day and I’m arriving first thing in the morning at 7am. And still get your fit to fly certificate even though it says no need dont take the chance. 

 

And Hong Kong is 21 days. So if I was able to get up to HK for essential visa reasons, (and even register to have a vax, to which I am entitled under said visa rules), I would then have to...as of today...quarantine for 14 days...or as of 1 April, 10 days, plus of course buying USD100k of insurance, obtaining a CoE, having a PCR 72 hours prior etc etc upon return. It is a cumbersome and expensive enterprise.

 

 

2 hours ago, AMFWolfie said:

I thought the AZ vaccine was being produced by one Thailand's Bio Labs to the tune of 5 million doses a month so delivery shouldn't be a problem

 

The only problem is the confusing announcements about whether AZ manufactured in Thailand will begin "production" or "delivery" in June 2021. Both these descriptors were used  on the same day last week, and both mean completely different things.

Edited March 27, 2021 by samtam

[polpott]

1 minute ago, samtam said:

The only problem is the confusing announcements about whether AZ manufactured in Thailand will begin "production" or "delivery" in June 2021. Both these descriptors were used  on the same day last week, and both mean completely different things.

And far from guaranteed.

[samtam]

1 minute ago, polpott said:

And far from guaranteed.

 

In either case, yes!

[Jimbo53]

8 minutes ago, polpott said:

And to Pattaya? I guess private transport from Swampy to Pattaya would be OK.

This may help!

 

Thailand tourism minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan has made the clearest statements yet related to Thailand finally opening up to foreign tourism without quarantine.

 

It will apply to tourists who have had two doses of vaccine in their home countries. The plan is that they will not need to quarantine from the start of the third quarter - July 1st.

 

It will likely start in Phuket first then Pattaya and after that Chiang Mai, Daily News reported.

 

Under the "sandbox" plan where limited travel is allowed tourists will be taken from airports to hotels and stay in a specified area for seven days before being allowed to travel to the rest of Thailand

[KhaoYai]

I wouldn't get too excited folks - wait until the conditions are disclosed.  For example, previous reports have stated it will depend on the country you are travelling from.

[sirineou]

I just looked at Cheapo air website , and for April 29  with Qatar airlines ,  departing Miami ,  connecting in Doha to BKK and connecting  to   Phuket , 

overall flight time 29 h 35 min. which is not bad for the itinerary $760 0ne way.  (I wonder if I can come in on a one way ticket m since I wont be traveling for a while?) 

[khunyod]

The government is really falling down on the job here. They took billions of baht for Covid relief and have only ordered a few million doses so far, with only 102k jabs? Instead they use the money like they usually use Government money as a slush fund for their own private business dealings, instead of taking the direct approach.

 

They want tourism to rebound but are unwilling to take the first step and vaccinate the local population? Ridiculous. Instead they want to fiddle with quarantines, which won't work because, duh, the rest of the population is not vaccinated, and people don't want to have to stay 15 nights or 11 nights in an ASQ facility. Nor should they. Add on top of that the only two vaccines that the government has approved: Sinovac and AZ are the doggiest of the lot. Sinovac has 50% efficacy! At 45% a vaccine is considered ineffective.

 

Hospitals and private practices want to import vaccines but they can't until the Thai government gets off their butts and approves more vaccines for use in Thailand. 

 

Let's look at the rest of ASEAN: Singapore is ahead with 1m doses distributed, and Indonesia has done 9.75m jabs. What a joke is Thailand. This reminds me of Italy which saved about 30 million USD on vaccines because they were willing to wait, and now having to go back into full shutdown, and will lose billions. Setang wise, baht foolish. 

 

We already know what the cost per day impact on tourism is of Covid, that is not hard to calculate. Yet the Thai government can't grasp the basics. They got lucky with the shutdown orders, that has been largely successful (with the exception of all the Covid-infected immigrants that have been rupturing the economy of a few Thai provinces). 

 

2021 is a wash because of this governmental idiocy. Don't expect the high season to be anywhere close to normal. Daily policy pronoucement changes and no actual forward movement on the vaccines means it will be 2022 before even half the tourists return. With new and more virulent virus strains mutating, even 2022 looks dodgy.

[bermondburi]

4 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Am I reading this right? As long as the foreigners have been vaccinated they can come and mix with the locals, of whom only around 50 percent outside of Phuket or in the case of Phuket 70 percent will have been vaccinated? If I was a foreigner planning a trip over I'd be a bit worried about that and give the place a miss, thanks.

Why, you're vaccinated. You're not going to get sick.

 

4 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Big question is: what will be the rules re travelling onward to other parts of Thailand from Phuket? And how will they enforce them?

 

If it is possible to (perhaps after a specified time period) then travel elsewhere in the country I can see virtually everyone needing to come to Thailand opting to take a Phuket holiday first, certainly beats being in quarantine.

7 days in Phuket then free to go elsewhere

 

4 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

 

Why ? If you're vaccinated then your chances of contracting Covid are greatly reduced.

 

Exactly

 

2 hours ago, Gr3g said:

 

10 days will end up as 11 nights, 12 days. Guaranteed! 555

Definitely

 

1 hour ago, connda said:

It's still a quarantine.  The boundaries of the quarantine simply have been expanded.  No doubt armed authorities will be placed at points of egress to kettle the prisoners, errr, tourists from leaving the island.  Saint Helena was an island too.  Just ask Napoleon.  ????

However, it will make an interesting petri dish.  They'll have to vaccinate every person on the island.  And even if they do, none of the vaccination manufacturers claim that their Covid vaccines keep you from getting Covid.  Only that if you get Covid the symptoms will be less severe.  Then let's not even consider the potential for the vaccinated shedding viruses and infected the unvaccinated.  Which means that everyone will need to have been vaccinated down to the man, women, and child on the island.
For some reason my guess is that there won't be any PCR test kits on the island.  There is no way that once they open the island that they'd risk a public relationship nightmare by actually have tourists and locals pop positive on a PCR test.
If people get sick it will be from......bad somtum, food poisoning, bacteria in the water, or some such excuses.  But it will be an epidemiologist's heaven.  International health institutions will be watching this show closely.

I'll do it. It's far better than the quarantine I did in December.

Don't think there will be a massive surge in cases. Travelers will still be getting PCR tests before departure, and presumably on arrival. Where I live quarantine has been self isolate at home for 48 hours, test, then after the negative result the next day you're free to go. Far more sensible than Thailand's idiotic rules and cases have been stable for 6 months, in the low hundreds every day. People have to learn to live with the virus.

42 minutes ago, polpott said:

Presumably if you spend your first 14 days in Phuket you will then be able to travel anywhere in Thailand.

7 days, not 14

33 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

I would have to agree.

 

Within 1 month Thailand's Covid count will skyrocket and the quarantine relaxation will be reversed.

No it won't. Don't think there will be a massive surge in cases. Travelers will still be getting PCR tests before departure, and presumably on arrival. Where I live quarantine has been self isolate at home for 48 hours, test, then after the negative result the next day you're free to go. Far more sensible than Thailand's idiotic rules and cases have been stable for 6 months, in the low hundreds every day. People have to learn to live with the virus.

[schvonsky1]

8 hours ago, HerewardtheWake said:

For crying out loud, when will the shorter quarantine become effective? The ASQ hotels say it is still the 14-day quarantine. 

Until 70% of Thai folk are jabbed up then will be no jail 

[Jimbo53]

14 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I just looked at Cheapo air website , and for April 29  with Qatar airlines ,  departing Miami ,  connecting in Doha to BKK and connecting  to   Phuket , 

overall flight time 29 h 35 min. which is not bad for the itinerary $760 0ne way.  (I wonder if I can come in on a one way ticket m since I wont be traveling for a while?) 

No...on your arrival/departure card it states date  of departure,you are required to have an onward flight.

[Jimbo53]

1 minute ago, Jimbo53 said:

No...on your arrival/departure card it states date  of departure,you are required to have an onward flight.

Or Outbound!

[spidermike007]

7 hours ago, vandeventer said:

So, what About the J%J vaccines are you going to order any or was the just words to make us feel good?

Always a continual quest to seek out the bottom of the barrel. No J & J, no Pfizer and no Moderna. They say it is too expensive. Which means what exactly? Our people, our economy and our tourism industry are not worth it? 

[Shot]

JC, what a complete boondoggle. 

[Jimbo53]

2 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Always a continual quest to seek out the bottom of the barrel. No J & J, no Pfizer and no Moderna. They say it is too expensive. Which means what exactly? Our people, our economy and our tourism industry are not worth it? 

They can skim more money off the AstraZenica vaccine,as it is non profit making.

[geisha]

7 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

No it's seasonal like influenza. Look what happened to the rates in the last wave, they fell even though there was no vaccine. Human intervention has had no appreciable effect otherwise the second wave would have never happened as we already had masks/lockdown etc...

No, the older vaccinated are contracting Covid much less, and NOT needing urgent hospitalisation.  On the other hand the people entering hospitals ARE  the younger generations who have not yet had the vaccin !!! This has been observed all over the vaccinated countries. 
secondly, The pandemic is in its third wave in Europe with staggering figures even though the good weather is here !! They are finding also the same stats, with in France a huge wave of school infections with to date 3500 schools being closed today. 
I doubt that traveling abroad this summer / autumn will be possible / allowed. 
Only vaccinating whole populations everywhere will help. 

 

[onebir]

1 hour ago, Jimbo53 said:

From next month, the hotel quarantine period will be halved to seven days for fully vaccinated visitors to Phuket, Pattaya, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, Phang Nga and Krabi, Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn told a news conference.

OK but most flights to Thailand arrive in Bangkok... how do you get to those places?