goatfarmer

No. I used to travel 8-10 times per year. I haven't been out of the country for more than two years. The thought of being detained because a test shows I'm positive, or because someone sitting next to me was positive, is a sufficient deterrent, not to mention all of the fuss: insurance, bookings, paperwork. Greece is the place I miss the most. Might even run the gauntlet in summer to go there with wife and kiddies.

I don't know about Test and Go. But I've seen PCR test results for a Sandbox participant. The results were printed online and said, 'not detected', meaning, 'negative'. https://psas-swabcenter.web.app/view/view-result?fbclid=IwAR0Ka57__Saf1AztlNWPk9_Qa_SABDdEX1zsoOnGPAZprYu3gfLbn-kWcnY I guess if you sit there waiting for something to happen, you might be confused.

Is there an idiot trophy we can select? If the writer thinks that police enforcing the law is a police state then every country where there are police would be a police state. The Lives of Others would educate him.

And I understand there's no international standard on Ct and that it's never disclosed.

What is the probability of turning up positive after just getting a negative result within 72 hours?

Right. The enormity of the risk doesn't hit them until they get here.

Amen!

Omicron is not 70x 'more infectious' than Delta. It has been reported to spread in the bronchus 70 times more/faster than Delta. It might be three times more infectious. https://inews.co.uk/news/science/omicron-covid-variant-infectious-delta-r-value-1340005

"Omicron spreads 70 times faster" is vague and misleading. The claim is that Omicron spreads 70 times faster in the bronchi than Delta. It doesn't spread 70 times faster in the community. https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/omicron-propagates-70-times-faster-than-delta-in-bronchi-study-69540

8.7 billion 'experimental jabs'. How many do you need before it's no longer experimental?

You mean, a warming.????

The peak was in August with more than 20k cases reported daily. It was, indeed, rather dull. Lucky you! Some of us have been stuck here for a couple of years, not daring to leave in apprehension of obstacles to coming back.

Philippines banned travel from Thailand and Malaysia over Delta. Then there was concern raised over whether Delta Plus would stymie the Sandbox, back in July. My memory doesn't go back further than that.

Well, we all have to rely on experts to some degree. I find This Week In Virology to be authoritative. And they are saying, 'don't panic'. I recommend the first 30 minutes of this podcast. https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-836/

Is that discussing ideas or people?

Nor has anyone confirmed that it won't work. Does it make more sense to presume that vaccines will or will not work? Are you proposing that there be travel bans every few months as new variants become confirmed? That could soon be counterproductive. Who will report new variants if their country gets slapped with travel bans?

And yours is coherent?

Straw man. He's not saying that the pandemic has come to an end. He's saying that management of the virus has improved since March 2020. It makes no sense to attempt to restrain a virus which will come here, inevitably, if it hasn't already arrived. As the good doctor in the OP said, there's no point attempting to delay the inevitable.

Especially for a family of four or more plus insurance. The whole package adds more than $1000 to the holiday bill.

A few million from PCR tests v. tens of billions from lost tourism. Duh!

????

Sounds like a headache. If you're travelling for lengthy periods - months - it might be worthwhile. But for a short visit it doesn't seem worth the hassle.

Do you mean that covid is endemic in Thailand, so small matter if a traveller brings it in? If so, I agree. The trivial number of arrivals that have tested positive in the last two or three weeks suggests that the danger imposed by infected travellers is negligible. Testing on arrival is probably a waste of time.

Do you think that PCR tests or "profitable, 24-48 hr testing hotel stay" create a bigger industry than the tourism industry as a whole?

By having a much greater occupancy rate.