Caldera

Leaving aside that the border might be closed by now, do you have a multi entry visa for Laos? Otherwise you won't be able to use it to enter Laos another time, and from recent reports you probably won't be able to get a new Lao visa right now.

"Hua Lamphong station has prepared waiting seats a metre apart, in line with the social distance policy being practised everywhere. The one-metre distance policy has been applied to ticket sellers and buyers as well, in order to protect them from Covid-19 infection."

And how about on the trains? Let me guess...

His theory that there's an "Italian" strain that is more deadly than the "Asian" strain is ridiculous, he should be stripped of his credentials immediately.

Why COVID-19 appears more deadly in Italy than in South Korea is well understood - South Korea has done proper contact tracing and has thus identified many mild cases that would have remained undetected in Italy. Not only does that lower the case fatality rate significantly, it also helps suppressing the spread by identifying and quarantining (potential) spreaders early on.

Preferably someone young and healthy enough to stand a good chance to survive COVID-19, if they are unfortunate enough to catch it.

They should have had something in place before the mass exodus out of Bangkok started. Preferably assisting with rent payments, to avoid said exodus in the first place that will put many vulnerable people in the provinces at risk.

At my condo, closed since today.

In some cases, karma seems too impatient to wait until someone dies and is reborn...

A sensible measure in troubled times, neither as over the top as welding people's doors shut (hello, China) nor as ignorant as some other governments still are (hello, Boris).

It's the same with most other shopping malls - food courts and (many) restaurants remain open for takeaway and food delivery.

Both good options, I think - I like to take a walk at times the sidewalks aren't crowded (for exercise, fresh air and sunshine), so I do go out while I can and get some takeaway food on my way. Those who can't or won't venture out, on the other hand, have plenty of choice with Grab and Food Panda.

It's quack o'clock, unsurprisingly.

49 minutes ago, Grusa said:

Returned from Ekkamai, it was empty too, and hardly any buses running to Pattaya, had to wait 1½hours (17:45)

Enlighten me, why do you think it's wise to go on a bus these days?

There's a lot people could do by themselves, all without the government having to tell them. Avoiding bus travel would be high on my list of things to avoid!

I see no reason to leave Bangkok. That said, if I had wanted to leave, I would have done so at least two weeks ago - not now.

A nonsensical survey after the fact. A month ago, that would have been a great question to ask, unfortunately those who make the decisions didn't give it enough thought back then.

17 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Hate to say it, and would hate to see it, but I have a feeling Thailand may lose one-fifth of their population before this is through, mostly because of their own ignorance. 

How on Earth did you come up with that nonsensical figure? I could guess where you pulled it from, but it wouldn't be polite to write that!

The situation is grave enough without sensationalist scaremongering. Shame on you.

These reports are gross exaggerations. I'd say there's been no widespread panic buying in Bangkok, I've been to several supermarkets and 7/11s and they've all been well stocked (as recently as today). I wonder if those news "reports" FUEL panic in the first place.

3 hours ago, nemo38 said:

They could also set up an online system to extend visas for this crisis.

I agree, this would be the perfect time to introduce an online system for visa extensions. Upload pictures of the requisite passport pages, pay 1900 baht and they could then safely process the application at an office that doesn't receive visitors. Email back a confirmation in lieu of an extension stamp, show that along with your passport when exiting. Doable.

47 minutes ago, Airbagwill said:

Apparently only doing O visas? - no SETVs?

 

No SETVs, correct. But even for Non-O applications, you would now have a hard time going there and coming back (Lao visa changes, border closures, new entry requirements for Thailand).

9 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I don't know why he needed to fly BKK-London-BKK lately. That's his business.

 

But given how poorly Immigration communicates here in English, anyone offering a clear and specific breakdown on how the arrivals process is working right now at Swampy deserves credit and appreciation, not churlish comments.

Leaving his attention whoring aside, that I view less favorably than others: The information he provided is already obsolete, as Thailand changed the rules once again.

In general, there's little value in anecdotal reports nowadays, as things literally change overnight more often than not. Even IATA has a really hard time keeping up.

I wouldn't say that his mental issues are "minor", as per the article. Quite the opposite!

In Thailand, this epidemic is still in its infancy. For this reason alone, it is beyond ridiculous to put a price tag on the damage.

Just imagine anyone had come up with such an estimate for Italy when they had a few hundred confirmed cases!

4 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Germans can now hope that their embassy which is closed to public, find issuing this letter an irrefutable request.

The sensible thing to do would be to mail this letter from the embassy to the applicant. They just need the personal information, I think there's no need to keep the embassy open to the public for this.

Thank you, China.

Thank you, Alibaba.

Thank you, Mr Ma.

Now that this is out of the way, where's my kit?

8 hours ago, sweatalot said:

I don't know Mr.Soeder well, but anyone is better for the job than this criminal who opened the border to all that scum (not saying that there were no decent people who should have been welcomed) But letting everybody in uncontrolled? With a violent religion? 

I'll bite, what crime did she commit? Cite the specific section of the German criminal code (if you can). Poor leadership, yes. Criminal, I don't think so.

I quite like Mr Soeder. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't stand a chance to be nominated. Under these extraordinary circumstances, who knows!

His orange tan looks more ridiculous than ever. What's much more concerning, however, is that he's now embracing Socialist ideas. The government shouldn't own companies. Help them get through this crisis, sure. Buy a stake, HELL NO.