Spilornis

In announcing sweeping reductions in its covid restrictions yesterday Singapore mentioned that traffic through Changi was at 13% pre covid rates. Few wish to travel to or through destinations with restrictions

As a data point South Korea with a population of 51M and high % of 16+ triple jabbed had a daily case rate today of 362,328 ! Korea is very mask and rule compliant Australia with a population of 26M had a case rate of 55,362

In the latest Singapore round of relaxation they say that the near term goal is to remove all testing and rely upon vaccination status. In many countries masks are gone and now the question revolves around the definition and isolation (if any) of close contacts. The West is simply moving on. The next big thing will be the removal of pre flight testing for entry into USA. Bali has re-opened but their conditions are such that tourist numbers will be very low. At the very least it's time to remove the outdoor mask mandate throughout Asia

Singapore moving to pre flight PCR and a self administered rapid test on arrival for most arrivals. (VTL countries) Takes affect on Tuesday next. Could lead to other South East Asian countries doing the same. While not perfect it's a far less cumbersome system but even better with no VTL restrictions (just a few restricted countries if absolutely necessary) https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/vaccinated-travellers-to-singapore-from-low-risk-and-vtl-areas-can-take-non-supervised-art

In the rush to mass vaccination most governments failed to put enough effort into a structured plan to vaccinate the most vulnerable. Everything was driven by the individual registering etc when for the vulnerable it should have been the govt reaching out. If we learn anything from this pandemic it is hopefully how governments can become better at pro-actively delivering health services

Seems easy but how do you demonstrate an intention to live in the pension friendly country without severing ties with Thailand. With the UK price increases over the last year the coming index amount (bearing in mind it compounds over the years) could be substantial

Putting politics to one side China's great wall has been very successful at allowing the growth of home grown tech businesses... Wechat, Huawei etc Compare that to India where the market is dominated by Western tech. I think it's Saudi Arabia where Whatsapp is banned in order to protect local telcos. Thailand by itself doesn't have the population to deliver the necessary scale but perhaps if they teamed with Indonesia and Vietnam etc these countries between them could develop a high quality indigenous tech sector. Probably too late in the tech cycle but you have to wonder... what if ??

Most flights into Singapore are VTL. No demand for non VTL flights other than on transit routes where the concept is irrelevant. Singapore loves rules but in this instance they're more relaxed than Thailand

Singapore is going down to one rapid test on arrival for vaccinated travellers from 21 Feb. No quarantine https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/askst-what-are-the-latest-land-sea-and-air-border-measures-do-i-still-need-to-take-covid-19-pcr-tests-to-travel

As well as removal of tests they have to remove the masks outdoors requirement. Mask rules are being relaxed all around the world

Thanks didn't know they were flying to London. I see the route is Singapore-Bkk- Gatwick Excellent time to fly (all day time route). Have flown Scoot long distance on multiple occasions and at the price they're great value

Visas limit you in European countries. Portugal and Greece probably offer the easiest visas (minimum property investment required). Central America seems to be very popular for retiring Americans with relatively easy visas in many countries eg Panama. Also offers you the ability to rent for a few years before buying.

Singapore IS the Asian Grand Prix. It's the one where networking and business are done. The Malaysian GP never stood a chance once Singapore started up. Would Hanoi have worked? Maybe if embraced by Chinese business.

Recorded covid deaths worldwide are 5.66M against cases of 373M That figure is around 1.5% This is from day 1 In recent times it appears to be dropping to well under 1% and approaching 0.5% Source: Google search Some of the original mortality rate estimates were nearly 4% https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-rate/ It's not to be ignored but at less than 0.5% it's certainly not worth closing down the world over. Add to that the Pfizer and Merck drugs etc which are now just starting to be used for the vulnerable and the picture gets better.

Spain and Denmark (probably followed by Greece) are highly likely to remove incoming testing requirements for the fully vaxed in the next few days. England has done it. There's a trend. Non targeted testing as a method to prevent spread is being increasingly dismissed

On the basis of overseas experience where testing is at reasonable levels Thailand can expect around 200k cases a day for two weeks before Omicron trends down. Suggestions of case levels at 10-20k per day have no basis.

No one will take a risk of two weeks in a medi hotel for a break of one month or less. Omicron is the game changer. Chances of infection are just so much higher than earlier variants. Egypt has no tests for the fully vaccinated. It has numerous Red Sea resorts. Just one example of where Europeans will head.

In India most places wont accept notes with anything handwritten on them. Not sure why. Same problem if there is a little tear. Easier to put them in the temple donation box than to try and pass them on.

The problem with most exotic meats, kangaroo, crocodile, venison etc which are both in ample supply and healthy eating is the lack of abattoirs. The modern abattoir is like a car production line and setting it up for a different animal is expensive. Also animals are usually delivered live to the abattoir which is practically impossible for exotic animals. In western countries the rules for pet food are less demanding so that's where a lot of it ends up. Pity because they make great eating. With easier "abattoir"rules in Asia no reason why farmed crocodile shouldn't form part of the local food chain.

In every country that tests widely there are community cases of Omicron. Difficult to see how it would not also be present in most South East Asian communities including Thailand. Pfizer today raised the possibility of a fourth jab about 10 months after the third. 2022 normality..... I have no idea anymore

On the basis that a test usually costs around US$100 that's not bad value plus it includes transport from the airport. Hopefully a lot of the near airport hotels take it up as well making it just that more convenient.

Very promising The post flight PCR test will however deter many people. Still it's a start and sounds similar to what was recently introduced in Sri Lanka (albeit not limited to ten countries)

That policy is roughly four to five times the cost of a normal travel insurance policy. By comparison it offers very little coverage. Was it really the cheapest as I have read on other forums that normal policies while not covering covid delays etc are now covering medical expenses incurred due to covid

There's a new AZ vaccine (AZ 2816) in advanced Phase 3 trials. Its primary role is as a booster. In simple terms it's a tweak of the existing AZ designed to better fight Delta https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2021/first-covid-19-variant-vaccine-azd2816-phase-ii-iii-trial-participants-vaccinated.html Not sure what changes to the AZ production process will be necessary if it proves effective

about the same... maybe slightly down Perhaps to be expected as the latest vaccines are not being supplied at the same rate as Sinovac. Hopefully Thai produced AZ ramps up https://covidvax.live/location/tha