It’s official: Thai govt approves plans to re-open to foreign tourists

[redwood1]

2 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I'm not sure it will make much difference.  The vaccine is likely to only be effective for around 6 months (like flu vaccinations) and as new strains arrive it may be ineffective anyway.  

 

Correct the vaccine does not stop anyone from getting or transmitting a virus.....It only reduces the symptoms of a virus....

And each new virus strain will require more vaccinations indefinitely same as the flu shot.... 

Edited April 4, 2021 by redwood1

[kingofthemountain]

4 hours ago, hioctane said:

 

It is very doable. The population of Phuket is actually very small.. In 2019, it was about 400k. In 2020, it was about 79k (everyone went home). Phuket was estimating 50k vaccinations a week. It could very well be done in less than a month. It is a good starting point. I actually might consider staying a week and then going to Pattaya.

I agree with you it's very doable for the Phuket's residents officialy registered in the island.

 

Now what is your plan to handdle the hundred of thousands of the unregistered workers (Including the illegal burmese) flooding to the island (By the road or by the sea) from the other parts of Thailand as soon as the foreign tourists are back? 

[redwood1]

20 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

I agree with you it's very doable for the Phuket's residents officialy registered in the island.

 

Now what is your plan to handdle the hundred of thousands of the unregistered workers (Including the illegal burmese) flooding to the island (By the road or by the sea) from the other parts of Thailand as soon as the foreign tourists are back? 

 

This will help keep track of the unregistered workers.....

 

[Chelseafan]

On 3/31/2021 at 7:38 AM, Big Yuley said:

 

So BKK is going to be out until 2022 by the looks of things.

I can see the Phuket sandbox working as its an island and can be monitored re people leaving.

 

However, lets take Pattaya for example.

I have a thai phone and Aussie number.

I arrive at BKK, down load required app on my thai phone. 

Travel to Pattaya and check in to my Patts hotel which i have booked for 14 days.

After about 10 days, i say to myself, i want to go to BKK for a few days. Leave thai phone in hotel room in Patts.

Get my taxi driver to driver me to Bkk and check  into hotel for 2 or 3 nights in BKK.

Plenty of ways out of Chonburi to get to Bangkok. 

 

So the Thai authorities think im in Pattaya as my phone is siting in Avani Pattaya but im at Landmark Hotel in BKK and heading to Nana Plaza.

 

I see some problems with that,

 

They could check your passport for the entry date when booking into Bangkok.

 

[habuspasha]

1 hour ago, redwood1 said:

 

Correct the vaccine does not stop anyone from getting or transmitting a virus.....It only reduces the symptoms of a virus....

And each new virus strain will require more vaccinations indefinitely same as the flu shot.... 

This no longer appears to be the case.  The NY Times reported on March 29 that according to the US Center for Disease Control "The coronavirus vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are proving highly effective at preventing symptomatic and asymptomatic infections under real-world conditions."  Infection and transmission were rare.

Separately they have also been judged effective against new strains, even the new "Eek" strain.

[DJBenz]

12 hours ago, redwood1 said:

 

Correct the vaccine does not stop anyone from getting or transmitting a virus.....It only reduces the symptoms of a virus....

You should keep up with the science as that’s outdated information and looking like absolutely not the case. 

[taxin]

11 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

Now what is your plan to handdle the hundred of thousands of the unregistered workers (Including the illegal burmese) flooding to the island (By the road or by the sea) from the other parts of Thailand as soon as the foreign tourists are back? 

They don’t need a plan, because there will not be hundred of thousands of workers flooding into Phuket. 
 

The Thai authorities have already estimated there will only be around 150,000 tourists visiting Phuket from July to Sept, that’s only 50,000 per month.
 

Very small and insignificant numbers, the current work force who have remained in Phuket will easily be able to manage this.

[kingofthemountain]

18 minutes ago, taxin said:

They don’t need a plan, because there will not be hundred of thousands of workers flooding into Phuket. 
 

The Thai authorities have already estimated there will only be around 150,000 tourists visiting Phuket from July to Sept, that’s only 50,000 per month.
 

Very small and insignificant numbers, the current work force who have remained in Phuket will easily be able to manage this.

You don't get it and obviously you don't know how it works in Thailand

 

They will not come here only if they are sure there is enough work for them

they will all come to try their luck, because they are desperate at the moment !

 

It's exactly the same thinking with the lotery tickets, people don't buy it only if

they are sure to win, they buy it because they think maybe they will be lucky enough to win

 

So they will all come, most of them unvaccinated, and then when they see

after few days\weeks there is no enough money to be made

they will be back to their villages, maybe carrying the virus

[lumpinipark]

I have already received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which has a 95% efficacy. I find it fairly bizarre to be asked to quarantine for a week in Thailand on arrival. I'll just wait for 2022. 

[DerbyDan]

4 minutes ago, lumpinipark said:

I have already received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which has a 95% efficacy. I find it fairly bizarre to be asked to quarantine for a week in Thailand on arrival. I'll just wait for 2022. 

 

The 5% of people appreciate it

[lumpinipark]

The likelihood of someone with two Pfizer vaccines testing negative for covid in their country, arriving in Thailand and testing negative for covid and then becoming infected with contagious covid is so low that worrying about it is comically silly in consideration of everything else going on Thailand at any given day. If they wanted, they could request a negative covid test a week before your flight, the day of your flight and the day of arrival.
 

[lumpinipark]

The saying, "he couldn't see the forest from the trees", comes to mind.

Edited April 4, 2021 by lumpinipark

[Rumble Tumble]

22 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

 

They could check your passport for the entry date when booking into Bangkok.

 

Yes i would think so.

 

However with the requirements as stated you would only need to spend 7 days in the sandbox area before going to other parts of the country.

So after 7 days / nights in Pattaya you could then go to Bangkok

[Rumble Tumble]

9 hours ago, DerbyDan said:

 

The 5% of people appreciate it

thats presuming everyone in the world has the virus., otherwise your math is way off.

[steevjee]

On 3/31/2021 at 3:26 PM, aussiexpat said:

Sounds great. Pity Australia aren't vaccinating anyone under 70 until June, with 12 week wait for 2nd dose. 

 

Think I'll do the 10 days quarantine and get the vax in Thailand

Front line workers as well and that includes quarantine hotel security etc., maybe see if you can score a job? Also you can request the 2nd jab after 4 weeks, it's just less efficient but still gets you your certificate ????

[stuarty]

I don't know if this has been asked and answered elsewhere, but if I have vaccination and come to Phuket after 1 July 2021, do I still need a visa beforehand (I mean even if entitled normally to visa on arrival - 45 days) and ASQ confirmation (presumably cancellable) even although exempted from quarantine.  I have just read a time out article that suggests that all arrivals under any part of this scheme still need that.

[taxin]

18 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

You don't get it and obviously you don't know how it works in Thailand

 

They will not come here only if they are sure there is enough work for them

they will all come to try their luck, because they are desperate at the moment !

 

It's exactly the same thinking with the lotery tickets, people don't buy it only if

they are sure to win, they buy it because they think maybe they will be lucky enough to win

 

So they will all come, most of them unvaccinated, and then when they see

after few days\weeks there is no enough money to be made

they will be back to their villages, maybe carrying the virus

Living & working in the travel industry in Thailand for 18 years says I should know a little bit. And I can tell you with 100% certainty you are completely wrong.
 

Moving 1,000+ kms to Phuket with the hope of finding work is not like buying a lottery ticket. To buy a lottery ticket any Thai can walk 5 mins down the road and buy one for a few baht, your average desperate Thai will not risk gambling the cost of travelling to Phuket, then gamble the cost of renting a room and paying a deposit to a landlord on the hope they will find work.
 

It won’t happen, and if you think your average poor/desperate Thai will take this gamble, it is you who knows nothing about Thailand.

 

Again there is enough Thai workers in Phuket to cater for what will be a very minimal amount of tourists, and the desperate workers in Essan will be fully aware of this.

[polpott]

Just now, taxin said:

Moving 1,000+ kms to Phuket with the hope of finding work is not like buying a lottery ticket. To buy a lottery ticket any Thai can walk 5 mins down the road and buy one for a few baht, your average desperate Thai will not risk gambling the cost of travelling to Phuket, then gamble the cost of renting a room and paying a deposit to a landlord on the hope they will find work.

Having known several women who have done that, I know that most of them take out a loan of 10k baht from the village moneylender to make the move and establish themselves in the new location. As you say not something they would do without a guarantee of work and a quick return on their investment.

[kingofthemountain]

1 hour ago, taxin said:

Living & working in the travel industry in Thailand for 18 years says I should know a little bit. And I can tell you with 100% certainty you are completely wrong.
 

Moving 1,000+ kms to Phuket with the hope of finding work is not like buying a lottery ticket. To buy a lottery ticket any Thai can walk 5 mins down the road and buy one for a few baht, your average desperate Thai will not risk gambling the cost of travelling to Phuket, then gamble the cost of renting a room and paying a deposit to a landlord on the hope they will find work.
 

It won’t happen, and if you think your average poor/desperate Thai will take this gamble, it is you who knows nothing about Thailand.

 

Again there is enough Thai workers in Phuket to cater for what will be a very minimal amount of tourists, and the desperate workers in Essan will be fully aware of this.

They take the bus, it costs near to nothing, few hundred baths maximum

As for the room, if they don't know someone already here

who has a room, they usually share a 2000\month slum

at 4 or 5 people (No deposit on this room, as you pay in advance and if you don't pay the owner put your stuff in the street) it's a ''big investissment'' of less than 1000 baths\person in total for the first month, i am sure they will take the risk !

Anyway most of the girls have a free accomodation 

(They sleep on the massages beds in the shop or in the short time rooms above the bar)

 

Of course i am not talking about workers more qualified with a work contract the ones you seem to refer in your post, i agree they probably will not come

Edited April 5, 2021 by kingofthemountain

[taxin]

13 minutes ago, polpott said:

Having known several women who have done that, I know that most of them take out a loan of 10k baht from the village moneylender to make the move and establish themselves in the new location. As you say not something they would do without a guarantee of work and a quick return on their investment.

Sure, back in the glory days they would not think twice about borrowing 10K from the local loan shark. It was pretty easy back then as it was guaranteed work on arrival, most of them also had a friend or family member in Phuket who had a room they could share, now it’s a completely different story.

 

What you also need to understand is a very large portion of Phuket workers In the past came from neighbouring provinces, such as Phang-nga Krabi etc, if in the unlikely event there is a shortage of workers it will be people from these places filling the void.

[nattaya09]

So....Assuming they manage to achieve the desired vaccination level of the Phuket locals, then I can arrive after July 1 and go anywhere on Phuket Island for 7 days after which I'm free to travel anywhere in the country?? 

 

I need to get to Udon Thani but I would spend a week in Phuket up front as long as I have freedom of movement

 

 

[DJBenz]

6 hours ago, RR2020 said:

 

Highly effective..........is a loose term to say its NOT 100%..............

 

When they say the vaccine stops 100% of all people getting it and passing it on.............then its proven.

 

The MMR vaccine is 93% effective and all but eradicated the disease where children were vaccinated with it (until anti-vax morons started refusing it for their kids and pockets of infection started popping back up). 
 

No vaccine is 100% effective. If you’re expecting that, you’ll be waiting a long time. 

Edited April 5, 2021 by DJBenz

[metisdead]

A post with content that was copy and pasted from some site without a supporting link has been removed:

 

14) You will not post any copyrighted material except as fair use laws apply (as in the case of news articles). Please only post a link, the headline and the first three sentences.

 

An inflammatory post has been removed. 

[DerbyDan]

On 3/30/2021 at 11:42 PM, Sydneydave said:

So when will non vaccinated tourists be able to visit without quarantine? And how will it be determined if a person has received the vaccine?

 

Your not going anywhere via air without a vaccine card anytime soon, bro. It's going to be required all over.

 

Otherwise the airlines will lose a ton of business since nobody will fly with un-vaccinated guests on board.

[Travis179]

20 hours ago, DerbyDan said:

 

Your not going anywhere via air without a vaccine card anytime soon, bro. It's going to be required all over.

 

Otherwise the airlines will lose a ton of business since nobody will fly with un-vaccinated guests on board.

Pure speculation stated as fact. Vax card not currently required for air travel. Entry into Thailand is allowed into Thailand without being jabbed. Albeit with additional quarantine (e.g. 10 days vs. 7). Maybe that will change in the future. Then again, maybe it won't. 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Travis179

[rabang]

There won't be any global covid vaccine certificates. The idea of trying to implement one is laughable. The old yellow book doesn't count in modern times. Anyone could forge it in just about any back alley. Why would someone vaccinated be worried about unvaccinated people anyway? I think at most we could see about 60 percent of the global population getting the covid vaccine. It might be tough to reach that number even in many developed countries, let alone globally.

[redwood1]

1 hour ago, rabang said:

There won't be any global covid vaccine certificates. The idea of trying to implement one is laughable. The old yellow book doesn't count in modern times. Anyone could forge it in just about any back alley. Why would someone vaccinated be worried about unvaccinated people anyway? I think at most we could see about 60 percent of the global population getting the covid vaccine. It might be tough to reach that number even in many developed countries, let alone globally.

 

Why would someone vaccinated be worried about unvaccinated people anyway?

 

 

Its the same as what the media repeated endlessly about the this whole covid circus..

 

The masks don't protect you unless the other person is wearing a mask too......

 

Lockdowns don't help unless everyone is locked down,or staying at home does not help unless everyone stays home.....

 

Disinfectants don't work unless everyone uses disinfectants... 

 

Vaccines don't work unless everyone has a vaccine...

 

 

 

I

Edited April 6, 2021 by redwood1

[DerbyDan]

52 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

 

Why would someone vaccinated be worried about unvaccinated people anyway?

 

Its the same as what the media repeated endlessly about the this whole covid circus..

 

The masks don't protect you unless the other person is wearing a mask too......

 

Lockdowns don't help unless everyone is locked down,or staying at home does not help unless everyone stays home.....

 

Disinfectants don't work unless everyone uses disinfectants... 

 

Vaccines don't work unless everyone has a vaccine...

 

 

They work better then doing nothing at all, just like seat belt works for some things and not others.

[polpott]

3 hours ago, redwood1 said:

Lockdowns don't help unless everyone is locked down, or staying at home does not help unless everyone stays home.....

 

Disinfectants don't work unless everyone uses disinfectants... 

 

Vaccines don't work unless everyone has a vaccine...

Sounds like Thai logic to me.

 

You'll never get 100% compliance in a lockdown but they patently do work to greatly reduce transmission in a community.

 

So if my neighbour doesn't use disinfectant, there's no point in me using it?

 

You'll never get 100% of a community vaccinated. In the UK 50% of the adult population have been vaccinated and new cases and deaths have reduced dramatically. There's also something called herd immunity. Scientists tell us that if we can vaccinate 75% of the population we should achieve this.

 

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by polpott

[placnx]

On 4/4/2021 at 8:26 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

I'm not sure it will make much difference.  The vaccine is likely to only be effective for around 6 months (like flu vaccinations) and as new strains arrive it may be ineffective anyway.  

It depends on which vaccine. The Pfizer started with a "validity" of 3 months in the US; now it's found to be still effective at 6 months. We are still learning. The durability of vaccine efficacity is probably not uniform anyway.