JonnyF

Exactly. That's why I was hoping for people to take individual repsonsibility and not exploit this loophole that the Thai government has left open because it's clearly going to result in more cases. Unfortunately there are people who love to tell everyone else what to do but don't practice what they preach.

You seem like a very angry man with limited comprehension skills, so I will wish you a good day and leave this discussion since it appears to be a waste of my time ????.

Well in fairness I am really talking about the situation in Thailand since that is where I live and where I am currently, and this is a Thai based forum. As for your question, I don't believe there should be any more lockdowns, whether that is to protect the NHS (an expression I hate) or for any other reason. That is why I believe it is up to the individual to protect themselves by being given the facts (not the scare stories), assessing the risk and then making an informed decision regarding their own actions. If people would take responsibility for themselves and make their own decisions not to take unnecessary risks then we could move away from this paternalistic form of governance and authoritarianism. We could also move away from lockdowns since the number of cases would fall due to people being more sensible about the risks they take. Not because the government mandates it, but because they take responsibility for their own well being based on the facts. This attitude of "They've relaxed the rules so I'm going to have a massive party, fly around the world for a holiday and let the NHS protect me" is a lovely idea but in reality it just perpetuates the cycle of Freedom, lockdown, freedom, lockdown that we've seen the last 2 years.

Again, I agree. Much like the airbags in my car are supposed to protect me. That doesn't mean I drive into a brick wall at 100mph. Omicron is coming for sure, but I'd much rather it came slowly and we don't slip back into lockdown, rather than we all pretend Covid doesn't exist and remove all the shackles overnight, the numbers skyrocket and the government shuts everything again. I just want to keep moving in the right direction and if a few minor inconveniences allow that to happen I will reluctantly accept that.

I totally agree. But there is a big difference between stopping life as we know it and recommending (not mandating) that we reduce unnecessary international travel for a few weeks. If a few minor inconveniences now can prevent another 6 months of lockdowns later then I think that's a reasonable trade off. Because we all know that if daily cases quickly rise back into 5 figures (as is quite possible with Omicron) then the government will start shutting everything down again and I really don't want to go back to that. If people voluntarily take reasonable precautions now and we continue the vaccine drive then hopefully we can continue to ease back into normality without the normal 1 step forwards 2 steps back cycle.

More likely they won't do any testing, and claim they got Brilliant.

It's a slippery slope though isn't it? What's next? Refuse treatment for Smokers? Drinkers? The obese? Those who take no exercise? Those who eat nothing but junk food? Maybe we could have a points system like China's social credit system where you get good citizen points for doing exercise and buying vegetables. Points deducted for buying a bottle of wine or a burger. If you don't have enough points, you get refused treatment. Nah, it's all a bit Brave New World for me.

He's advising people not to travel to prevent/slow down the spread. It's actually good advice. Perhaps if people followed his advice the pace of spread can be slowed and health services won't be overwhelmed. Instead of (for example) flying to the Omicron epicentre of the world (the US) and then using a grandfathered rule to return to Thailand without quarantining.

Thailand does very little testing (comparatively) so it's impossible to know what the real figures are in terms of cases and deaths. Britain on the other hand does millions of tests every week and counts someone as a Covid death if they get hit by a truck while Covid positive. Comparing the figures makes little sense in such circumstances. We do know that Thailand has destroyed huge sectors of the economy with it's arbitrary lockdowns/restrictions and hugely delayed vaccine rollout while offering next to nothing to the poor that have been made destitute by such policies. I doubt the millions unemployed with no social security feel particularly well protected.

Thailand has made it clear that it doesn't want the type of tourists who need to pay for a holiday in installments. They have declared that now, only the uber wealthy are welcome to dodge hanging power cables and soi dog faeces on the broken pavements of Thai tourist areas ????.

Well, I doubt that Omicron avoids first class any more than it avoids restaurants until alcohol is served. I'd be more concerned about what happens between leaving the plane and getting back on it if I was you, given the way Omicron is absolutely skyrocketing in the US. I'm not imposing anything. But maybe it's best to practice what you preach in future because you appear to be putting yourself (and others if you bring it back with you) at quite substantial risk for just a holiday.

Well, I'm not sure that flying half way around the world to an Omicron hotspot for a holiday is necessarily the best way to stay safe and protect oneself, especially if you have underlying health conditions. Likewise, I am not sure sitting on an aeroplane for a 24 hour flight (twice) is the best way to socially distance but I certainly hope you manage to avoid a) catching it and b) bringing it back here.

I'm not sure if you said that or not. I'm not going to trawl through all your posts but it just doesn't seem very consistent with your overall stance of ultra caution and constantly reminding everyone to stay safe etc. I guess when you need a holiday this approach can be adjusted a little bit. Piers Morgan was the same. Anyway, I hope you have a great time, stay safe and don't bring it back to Thailand with you.

555 you've changed your tune. It wouldn't be because you are one of the 200,000 would it? A bit like Piers Morgan preaching for everyone to stay safe and then flying off to Antigua for a holiday. So you're off to the States where Omnicron is rampant and then coming back to Thailand on the Test & Go scheme? In that case, let's leave it all open until you're back, right? Unless the trip is absolutely vital, it seems a bit hypocritical given your stance up to now about everyone being super vigilent, on the side of caution etc. I'm actually in favour of keeping it open. But if you're going to close, then close. It makes no sense to let 200,000 in when it's obvious that some of them will have it. Like I said, it's closing the door after the horse has bolted. Pointless.

Yes it's already here. So why let in another 200,000? Are they saying it's not here enough to see how it spreads? They need to let another 200,000 people in to get more Omicron and get a better idea how it spreads? Why wait to do this? It doesn't make sense to me. Either do it properly or don't bother. This is the worst of both worlds.

So they're going to let Omicron in AND destroy tourism. Either do it properly or don't do it at all. Letting 200,000 people in before tightening things is mad. It will be too late by then. I'm happy for those who get to avoid quarantine, but this is a case of closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. In fact it's even worse than that, it's knowing that the horse will bolt, waiting until he does so, and then closing the door.

Although it seems "fair" to grandfather in the 90,000 that have already applied, it doesn't really make sense in terms of stopping Omicron, which is the whole point of this. Some of those 90,000 will have it. They will bring it in and it will spread. So really, what's the point of the half hearted approach? Either do it properly or don't do it at all (I'd prefer the 'Don't do it at all' approach and keep T&G). Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for those that will avoid quarantine because that must really suck, but it seems this policy will destroy the last remnants of tourism and let Omicron in anyway. The worst of both worlds.

Yeah it's not that clear from the article when some of them tested positive (at the airport or later), although it IS clear that the Colombian and his wife were free to roam in Phuket for 14 days before testing positive. I would imagine there is more than 1 person at high risk from this couple unless he (and his wife) stayed in their hotel room for 14 days voluntarily. I wonder why he didn't test positive at the airport and how many others slipped through the net and were asymptomatic. In any case, it's clearly here now so it's only a matter of time before this blows up. I wouldn't rule out inter provincial travel being ruled out before New Year.

These were found in the community or from incoming travellers testing at the airport?

Yes, but the first Omicron was identified in the UK on 27th November so you have to assume it was around for at least a few days before that. So well over the 2 week period. More likely approaching a month. Cases have been rocketing since around mid November. Yet deaths in the same period can be seen after the vertical line. Deaths are actually decreasing in the last week despite the astronomical increase in cases. https://westbridgfordwire.com/uk-covid-20-december/ So no matter how you spin it, the actual figures look promising.

No. Try harder.

The contents of Pattaya's bar sois are hardly representative of the entire Caucasian race. That's the equivalent of hanging around Compton at 3am and declaring that all black people are gun toting criminals. Or hanging around Issan villages for a few hours and declaring all Asians are dark skinned rice farmers. Or indeed, hanging around Soi 6 and declaring that all Asian women are uneducated, tattooed prostitutes. All equally stupid generalizations that say far more about the person making them than the group they are attempting to denigrate.

It was always going to arrive, despite Anutin's asinine chest thumping about it being no match for Thailand. Now, Thailand will have to decide how it reacts. Does it panic, lock down and destroy what is left of the economy, ruining people's businesses, livelihoods, mental health and education? Or does it ramp up the vaccination/booster program and allow it's citizens to decide what level of risk they deem is appropriate for them?

Offloading the responsibility so that he can later offload the blame. What a great leader. The one and only Khun Prayut Chan-o-Cha.

Exactly. And it's not only the expense. Who wants to spend 50% of a 2 week holiday locked in their hotel room?