nkg

1 hour ago, Susco said:

 

I have been to Phuket quite a few times over the years, but I failed to see what there is to envy.

 

Maybe you can enlighten us all?

In your home town, people pay a lot of money to live in the "nice" neighbourhoods. Phuket is/was more expensive than pretty much anywhere else in Thailand. But it's "nice".

Less mongers, less beggars, a huge selection of 5-star hotels. Post-covid, perhaps things have changed.

Previous lists of Low, Medium, and High risk countries have been based on this formula:

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1405346140124422154

If a country's GCI number falls below 60 and they have more than 1000 cases of covid, that country would be put in the "Red Zone"

On 6/24/2021 at 1:59 PM, kynikoi said:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/03/doesnt-know-anything-say-face-nobel-prize-winning-inventor-pcr-test-unloads-dr-fauci-earlier-video/

Did you check to see when the "earlier video" was recorded?

1993.

28 years ago.

If a 28 year-old video is the best proof you have that the PCR test for covid-19 doesn't work, then I don't think anyone needs to worry.

I could name a couple of great Thai restaurants in Bangkok. In such a big city, you will always find some exceptional international food.

One place actually has a Thai national as the executive chef, and many of their ingredients are sourced directly from Thailand. It wouldn't surprise me if a Thai had part-ownership in the enterprise.

3 minutes ago, DBath said:

I want to see things get back to normal again as much as anyone, but I think we are a ways off from that, I could be wrong though. It won't be the first time and probably not the last, either. I thought about, what would I do if I was required to install a tracking app on my phone, but didn't get very far with that one. If one has two phones, then your suggestion would work, but I suspect the majority of people don't keep two phones with them; and buying one just for that purpose would seem to be just another deterrent from coming here in the first place.

A quick look on ebay shows plenty of iPhone 6s going for £40-£50. I have 2 myself - unused following an upgrade - many others will also have an old iPhone/Android that they could use. Perhaps this wouldn't be an option for non-technical users, though, and it is another obstacle. Although 95% of phone users leave "location services" on by default anyway ... they are already being tracked all the time.

I suspect that the rules will be greatly relaxed by December, assuming that Phuket's tourists don't somehow cause a mini-pandemic.

1 hour ago, DBath said:

Your points considered, even though tracked via smartphone may seem less intrucive than a gps bracelet, bottom line is you’re going to be tracked, so why would anyone want to accept that or risk losing your money on lodging, because you happen to test positive upon arrival?

 

IMO, and my original point was: the sandbox is going to fail, because no significant amount of tourists will come. It’s that point that clearly triggered @stevenl and @bolt , not whether or not my information may have been a little stale.
 

Let’s face it, there’s still so much speculation and the information being reported changes - literally daily. 
 

Time will tell, I guess, but the opinions of most here clearly would indicate the sandbox is going to be nothing more than another poorly executed scheme. 
 

You can correct me if I’m wrong on that, when plane-loads of tourists arrive, but I wouldn’t bet money on it. 

As I implied in my previous post, you could install the tracking app on your backup phone and leave it plugged into the charger in your hotel room, if you were very concerned about privacy,

Yes, the sandbox will "fail" insomuch as it will probably only attract tens of thousands of people between July - September. Almost all of whom will be returning expats.

Nov-Dec will be the real test.

3 hours ago, DBath said:

And where has it ever been retracted that sandbox tourists won’t be required to wear tracking bracelets? Stop making up SHlT. 

Well, according to Richard Barrow, the wristbands were only suggested as an alternative for people without smartphones:

His post from the previous day:

I frequently disagree with stevenl, but he's probably correct that the wristbands won't be mandatory (you can install the app on one of your phones instead).

14 hours ago, lom said:

Thailand - the hub of bubbles

Sponsored by Hubba Bubba

12 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

sounds like 140,000 Chileans are about to have their Phuket holiday hopes dashed !

That's a rather exact figure - is it the TAT estimate for how many Chileans will come to Phuket in July? ????

10 hours ago, ryane66 said:

And how many of the residents and workers in Phucket were vacinated with Sinovac?

 

That's a good point ????

12 hours ago, DLock said:

If I was the Owner of Siam Bioscience, I would be so embarrassed about now.

 

Japan doesn't even have a factory to produce AZ, and Thailand does.

 

It makes zero sense...

 

...unless...

Japan are a wealthy country that placed orders totalling $6.3 billion for vaccines, covering 4 times their population.

They seem to have decided not to use most of the AZ vaccines that they bought (blood clots etc), since they also have ample supplies of Pfizer and Moderna.

https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/news/140133/japan-has-pre-ordered-covid-19-vaccine-doses-for-more-than-four-times-its-population-says-report/

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/28/japan-ruling-party-to-recommend-sending-some-astrazeneca-doses-to-taiwan.html

13 hours ago, smedly said:

my guess would be that is is exclusively for factory workers in Japanese factories in Thailand 

Perhaps Japan are choosing to exercise some "soft political power" with their neighbours.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_power

15 hours ago, internationalism said:

possible khaosod english or thai enquires, but I don't have a link.

I never keep links to information. Try google

The nearest thing I could find was this:

Quote

 

Japan will send a million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday, as the southeast Asian nation steps up vaccine procurement to fight a more stubborn wave of infections.

 

Japan is considering additional vaccine donations to Vietnam and Taiwan, and plans similar shipments to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand from early July, Motegi added.

 

https://japantoday.com/category/national/Japan-to-ship-1-million-COVID-19-vaccines-to-Vietnam

11 hours ago, kennw said:

What surprises me is that some people rather selfishly put money before peoples lives

Since the start of covid, suicides in Thailand have gone up by 11% - more than 500 additional deaths. Millions more are struggling desperately to provide for their families.

Quote

 

The rate of suicide had already been increasing year-on-year in Thailand pre-pandemic, but during Covid-19, the figure leapt by 11 per cent from 2019 to the end of 2020, from 4,581 to 5,085 deaths, according to statistics from the Ministry for Health. 

 

Economic issues have accounted for around 80 per cent of the calls to the Samaritans during the pandemic. “We are worried about people,” he said, saying many are calling the service desperate about their financial situation. “For example, they tell us they only have 20 baht (45p) left and they don't know what to do, they need to buy milk for their child,” he said.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/suicides-rise-thailand-covid-decimates-tourism-industry/

duplicate please delete

10 hours ago, internationalism said:

japan is donating 1mln doses.

 

there is contradiction - thailand begging for free vax, and at the same time investing in some technology, which can sell to japan and anywhere else.

 

Can you provide a source for that? It seems a plausible number - certain countries are not using their AZ supplies due to the very well publicized blood-clotting issue.

We don't know the quantities involved, but it's a friendly gesture.

Thanks Japan ????

6 hours ago, denis7154 said:

It makes things tougher as you must buy a two ways flights, and what if i want to quit phuket after the 2 weeks... I will have to go back to phukhet once i want to go back to my country.... very stupid plan 

I'm not sure that's correct - I'd be interested to see some evidence that you do need a return flight.