anrcaccount

Absolutely no chance of that happening. Every day as time goes by, overall there's less and less masks worn in Thailand , and certainly the rest of the world it's becoming increasingly rare. The future of covid response is not trying for infection prevention via mandated permanent mask wearing. It was only ever a temporary measure that has gone far past it's use by date, Thailand one of the few countries now you see this preventative mass mask wearing still common. Those who are concerned can choose to wear their own PPE, but unless it's an N95 and worn everywhere at all times, you cannot hide from infectious airborne viruses, you will contract it eventually.

What people seem not to understand , is there's almost certainly someone who is covid positive on every flight into, from and within Thailand. It's endemic now, we live with it.

This has absolutely nothing to do with covid.

I'm far from a mask advocate but can see the wisdom of wearing one in this situation. The other point though is, why'd you go to the hospital at all? There's really no need, and that probably goes for most of those mask less people you saw too. Isolate and basic painkillers is all that's needed for the the vast majority of those who get Covid.

That's not the point of the vaccines and those who hold that view are operating under a misunderstanding. It's well established that the vaccines do little to reduce transmission of Omicron, but they do a lot to reduce severe illness especially in the vulnerable.

Sure, but the goal isn't zero covid. We now have effective vaccines and ant viral treatments for the vulnerable. In my view( which is shared by the vast majority of the world including the public health authorities of almost every country) kids masking causes more harm than it prevents - thus it isn't recommended just about anywhere. Even in Thailand , the education department removed the mandate, but the practice is lingering due to social factors. But it is good to hear plenty of smiles at the fireworks - would be good to see even more in the school classrooms and playgrounds too.

Very, very uncommon. Have a look at some Australian stats- lately, 1.9% of deaths are under 60 years old. On top of that most of those, had complicating factors and co morbidities. https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/covid-19-mortality-wave

I said 'mass' mask wearing. That is, population level masking, that is only happening in handful of countries in the world now, Thailand being one of them. The rest of the world goes about it's business mostly mask free now. Kids ( and adults for that matter) are now doing it out of social pressure, with no real justification. It would only prevent infection if they wore N95's constantly , which isn't the case. They take them off to eat / play at schools so the infection prevention use of them is very low anyway. Children are at low/ no risk from covid. Getting them to be permanently masked is cruel, it is a serious situation worthy of a soapbox. This place used to be called the land of smiles, remember?

Almost certainly not of covid. It's not killing otherwise healthy 41 year old's.

It's bad enough that the absurdity of mass mask wearing persists in adults in Thailand (and this is now one of the few places in the world where it does) , but what's even worse is that children are masked. They aren't doing it voluntarily, or for any good epidemiological reason. They are doing it because of their parents disproportionate fear of covid. Masking kids is stunting their communication and development, doing them psychological harm. It needs to end.

This type of rubbish reporting is what's keeping millions of Thais in disproportionate fear, and causing immense psychological and societal damage. It needs to stop.

Everything you say is correct- for you, this visa is surely suitable. However you, as an existing long term resident already committed to Thailand - you're not the target market. The intent of this program was to attract new residents, not recategorise visas of existing ones. Currently it appears the program is falling well short of doing this.

Not sure the comment you responded to stating covid is in decline and 'no masks required' really constitutes misinformation. OK- it's not completely accurate. You are right, a couple of European countries still require masks on public transport, including Germany - but most don't. Germany doesn't require masks on flights. Healthcare settings it is more commonly required. All over Europe masking is uncommon , nothing like Thailand. Covid is in decline in Germany ( and in general in Europe) , going into (proper) winter, despite very little masking in general. Germanys 7 day case average is now the lowest it's been in 2022, since Omicron. Contrast that to Japan, which is experiencing rising case averages and high numbers despite universal masking. At the population level , mass masking just doesn't appear to affect these waves. Population level immunity via vaccination and previous infection makes the difference, mass masking doesn't.

You'll need to create a separate account login and application for the dependant. Then link to them from your approved application.

This is a poor analogy. Yes, sitting quietly is fine out of respect for their beliefs. Expecting them to wear a mask is not sitting quietly. It's expecting the atheists to pray alongside them.

Yes. The rest of the world has stopped fear mongering. Thailand is one of a handful of countries in the world still reporting Covid on the front pages. They also are one of a handful of countries where mass masking is still common.

You won't find a genuine health professional in the world recommending asymptomatic testing for Covid. Simply a waste of time and resources.

Nobody should be testing themselves without symptoms , 'just in case'.

Hun Sen is also fine- no symptoms. He wouldn't even know he was covid positive unless he had a test, why did he even test? Asymptomatic testing for covid is not something that should be done anymore, no matter if you're a PM or just a ordinary citizen.

1- Why was Hun Sen even tested if he has no symptoms? 2- Guarantee the Thai PM will test negative on the eve of APEC.

Yes, would agree. It might be a slow burn.

They're either going to have to adjust the goals, or the conditions of the LTR if they want to get more applications- choose one. I think the nature of the applicants( as seen on this thread ) are not the target market they were aiming for. People not already residing in Thailand were the target. What's occurred initially is applicants are more those already in Thailand, who are looking for a different visa solution.

You're on the wrong site. You first need to be approved by the LTR, and once you have received your letter of notification of qualification endorsement, you can then proceed to affix visa , using the E Visa site in your screenshot in some cases.

Really, it is time for this to happen. If not now, when? Masks forever? I don't think anyone truly wants to live like that.

Congrats. Have you considered what occurs if your employment ceases? I am in a situation where have been approved for LTR-T , but am not comfortable with confirming and affixing visa, given particular plans include ceasing employment within the 5 year mark. BOI clearly state if they (the BOI) somehow come to understand you are no longer employed, your LTR-T Visa is not longer valid. However, BOI also clearly state validation of current employer, is a one time only check (until the 5 year mark), so personally feel uneasy basing immigration status around it. Someone who is more comfortable with risk, can easily get this as an alternative to say an Elite Visa, then decide to stop working. Provided they are currently employed as per the LTR-T requirements of course, which a large number of people around the world are.