Trip Hop

Shame them at the top wouldn’t apply the same to their greed?

Only just read this earlier on Google news just before I was about to book my day 2 PCR for my return? Luckily I didn’t bin the LFT that I had previously ordered for my return before they changed to PCR just before I left?

Meanwhile the UK has just announced that they no longer require a PCR on or before day 2 after arrival and have replaced it with a LFT? They have also scrapped the requirement to isolate until you get the result?

Generally yes. The ones that actually are, don’t brag about it but from snippets of general conversation with them over time, you can figure it out for yourself?

It depends on the test manufacturer? In the UK, the majority of the free ATKs are the Chinese made Innova or Flowflex, which I wouldn’t trust to detect anything? These have somehow been given emergency use authorisation despite the FDA in the states, stating that they are not fit for purpose? There are other British made LFTs that have been independently verified to detect Omicron, are recognised to be ‘best in class’ and have additional been awarded the CE mark. However, remarkably these seem to be held up in the UK’s government’s approval process? It’s all turning into a bit of a stink in the UK at the moment considering the above, the well publicised shortage of LFTs and the government’s apparent stance to support Chinese LFTs over their far superior home grown competitors?

Not really, I have exactly the same ethos including applying the same to Thai women/relationships? So far it’s done me alright? Why invest in a country where the rules are ever changing and stacked against you, when I can make more elsewhere with a greatly reduced risk profile?

Please explain the logic and ethics of the xenophobic rules and/or beliefs that it is ok for a Thai to self isolate at home whilst a falang should pay to go to a private hospital? I’d be interested in hearing both your and your friends reasoning?

Steven, you’re being a bit dramatic, somewhat paranoid and succumbing to the Thai government’s rhetoric on this? I have a very close friend whose teenage son caught Covid. He just isolated in his bedroom and his mother took him his meals. She didn’t catch it. The house was about 80m2 over 2 floors and they shared the sole bathroom? I know of plenty of similar cases and situations in my home locality? So in case you’re still wondering, it doesn’t pass through walls?

What no ‘fire and brimstone’? ????

Same here, took out the minimum $50000 including asymptotic cover for 30 days with Tune Protect but also renewed my annual travel policy with £15m of cover including Covid, with a UK insurer. The fact that they each cost the same at about £110, kind of highlights what’s going on here? However I wasn’t going to take the risk.

Nothing wrong with a degree in engineering, I have 2. It conditions a true engineer not to take anything at face value, to question everything and deal only in logic and science. So if you told me it was raining outside, I’d most probably have to go and check myself. Your average falang engineering degree also has a maths course content of about 90%, so statistics et al are a walk in the park. How do you think the experts model their predictions, with mathematical formulae of course? Not that I’m defending the guy at all, his actions and statements go against everything I would expect of a true engineer, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he got his degree from that university at Khaosan Road, if he has one at all?

But on the other hand, the UK’s reporting of deaths has been a bit over zealous to start with and so I don’t pay much attention to these either. During the early days they were counting anyone who died within a 12 month period of a positive PCR as a Covid death, regardless of whatever other causes there may have been? This has now changed to 30 days. I had a good mate who died and the official cause of death as recorded on his interim death certificate was Covid, as they found traces of it in his body when he was taken to hospital. Apparently it was nothing to do with the car that pulled into his path when he was travelling at about 60mph on his motorcycle? I must add though that this was changed upon completion of the inquest after being challenged by his wife. Sad but true!

I agree with you totally. However, if you read the thread a bit further, there are some that choose not to believe this?

I’ve got to get a Covid test before I fly home on the 10th. I’ll be testing myself a few times prior to this and if I show positive, I’ll be cancelling the clinic, changing the flight and self isolating for a week!

I’ll second that!! Or possibly part of the ‘I’m alright Jack’ brigade?

I feel for anyone in that sector at the moment. I know quite a few Thai business owners that are really struggling and relying on loans and/or being propped up by their sponsors? To be a falang in that sector must be twice as hard. 3 years ago, the G/F wanted to move her (or ours as she refers to it) restaurant business smack into tourist central in Pattaya? I took a look at high baht, the already declining falang tourists combined with the sky high rents and told her that it wasn’t the right time. Looking back it was the right decision even without Covid and I’m grateful that she listened. However, even though her trade is almost 100% from Thais, it has still dropped substantially due to a lot of people simply not having work themselves?

I agree if you’re here permanently or for a reasonable amount of time and are willing to enjoy the more peaceful aspects of Thailand. Not so good if you’re a 2 week millionaire that’s just arrived? A friend of mine was due to arrive on the 30th under test and go. However after they suspended all new applications I told him not to bother.

I was shot down by a couple of posters on another thread when I suggested that the authorities might not be letting on the true picture? However the same as yourself, I find it rather strange that despite there being numerous stories from different sources on the street and an obvious visible increase of testing in public places, apart from the official figures released above, there appears to be total radio silence from officials regarding the same? Normally, they would be shouting from the rooftops to say, ‘look what we are doing to protect everyone’?

The 0.9% will most probably be from its previously contracted state from the month before which really won’t be an increase overall if the economy has contracted more than 0.9% to start with? As other posters have stated, most probably due to the increase in tourists from the now defunct ‘test and go’?

I have thought this for a long time, ever since I done a quick analysis of the figures during the last wave? I don’t have the figures to hand but what I can remember is Thailand having a mortality rate several times higher than the rest of the world when compared to to the amount of declared positive cases? It may have been the simple explanation that indeed whilst the virus wasn’t transmitting as much in Thailand when compared to the rest of the world, it was proving more deadly? However, when you factored in the official number of tests carried out, it suggested what you are saying to be true? There again, this is ‘Amazing’ Thailand?

The police and other officials just do or say as they are told by them above them in the food chain, it’s the way it’s always been. On the saving face note, did you not read a little while back about a certain government minister saying that he had this and Omicron was no match for Thailand?

Yep, in exactly the same way that on numerous occasions they have stated that they found no evidence of prostitution in Walking Street? Let’s be honest, saving face is more important than anything here?

I wouldn’t quite go as far as to say certain people might be happy for this to happen but it is well known that some have little regard for those they regard as below them? Their problem is though that through their rose tinted specs, they don’t understand that if they take away certain existing elements of Thailand, it simply won’t be ‘Thailand’ any more and a lot of tourists simply won’t come due to there being far better places in the world to visit? However, they may not be that worried about whether they have tourists or not, so this may not be relevant?

Any customers that are left will just move over to the normally less busy bars as appeared to be happening in Soi Buakhao last night with the testing presence around Tree Town? This process will then just roll over whenever a bar is deemed to be busy enough to require testing of its customers? No one with any sense are going to submit to mandatory testing, knowing what may be lying in wait for them?

Found it a little alarming last night that upon checking in to our usual hotel off Soi Buakhao, that even the receptionist told us to be careful with Covid in that area? As stated by previous posters, the word on the street paints a totally different picture to what the authorities seem to be letting on at the moment?