charmonman

“Thira suggested that the government monitor the situation for another year or two before deciding to downgrade COVID-19 into an endemic disease.” another year or two? Is he having a laugh?

Could be a nice little earner for them. Now all they need is some tourists.

Left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Is the Ministry of Sports and Tourism aware that the Ministries of Immigration and Health are currently doing everything in their power to make sure there will be a minimal number of tourists arriving in Thailand this year? 5-15 million tourists this year? Not under the current rules and restrictions which will likely be in place for months.

Omicron is already in Thailand. Making it difficult and expensive for people to travel to Thailand will do nothing to change that, nor will it in any way seriously worsen the current situation where the vast majority of new cases are from local transmission, not from incoming travellers. This is particularly true when they have already tested negative before boarding their flight. Yes, a person who tests negative can still carry the virus but they are clearly less likely to do so when they have recently tested negative, more than you can say for most people currently going about their business in Thailand who have not been tested. The letter makes perfect logical and reasonable arguments for opening Thailand up, which almost guarantees the government will pay no attention to it.

Xi Jinping won't be happy!

Typical misleading headline. Should read Pfizer booster after double Sinovac more effective than after double Astrazenica. That is all they studied according to the article. What about Pfizer booster after double mRNA?

As is typical, this article raises more questions than it answers. As previous posters have mentioned, covid-19 insurance is a condition of receiving a Thailand Pass. Without a Thailand Pass you can't even board a plane to go to Thailand. So how the heck are people arriving in Thailand without already having covid-19 insurance? It seems this is a question that should have been addressed in this article. I am constantly amazed by the sheer amount of shoddy journalism out there.

So with the cost of required RT-PCR test, quarantine hotel fees, covid-19 insurance fees, they really think this is the right time to bring up a 300 baht tourism fee (or whatever they're calling it)? Nice little slap in the face. What a bunch of clowns.

I really think that is beside the point for obvious reasons.

It might have been a loophole but it seems like moot point now as Omicron is well established within Thailand and local transmission will completely dwarf anything brought in by foreigners under Test and Go. This is simple common sense, sadly lacking in those who make policy in Thailand. They are destroying what is left of the tourism industry with little if any benefit to public health.

A lot of Thai people depend on that “foreign money” to feed themselves.

Agreed, but they don’t want everyone to get it all at once because it can overwhelm hospitals and cripple the economy because of people being off sick. If it’s spread out over a few months, it could be the best thing that could have happened. I hope they can manage this without any heavy handed lockdowns that will cause even more economic misery.

I’m sure Thais are fully capable of making plenty of the virus themselves.

I've been to a lot of bars and never met a "pimp". What the heck are you on about?

In the name of greed? More like in the name of survival. They've been shut down for months with no help from the government. If you're trying to say this new surge has been caused by bars opening illegally you clearly don't understand what is going on. Omicron is going to surge regardless of whether bars are open or not!

Please! People need to get on with their lives. While I believe the shutdown measures were justified in the early days of the pandemic all they are doing now is further destroying the economy, destroying people’s livelihoods, and creating severe poverty.

The flight to Phuket has to be from a foreign airport. I don’t understand why they have not implemented the “sealed route” system like they had in place for the Samui sandbox where you could transit in Bangkok. It would definitely increase the market for the Phuket sandbox.

This must be a mistake unless for some reason they have decided to cancel the ASQ program, which would be a strange decision indeed. Should read "able to do so via the Phuket Sandbox or via quarantine". Am I wrong?

Very few tourists coming anyway with all the confusing and expensive entry requirements, so why do they bother with this nonsense? Dancing elephants- what will they think of next?

Maybe you should get to know a few of them. You might be surprised. Many of them were born with few advantages in life other than their looks, and they do what they do to support parents, kids, and other family members. Then they get looked down on by the more "respectable" members of society

No, it is not just the flu. It is caused by a completely different virus which attacks the body in a different way than the flu virus. It has clearly been more deadly than the flu in the earlier stages of the pandemic. A flu vaccine will not protect you from Covid-19. Your statement is nonsense. That being said, the increasingly dominant Omicron variant seems to be causing symptoms a lot like the common cold so it may be time to finally stop being afraid of it and start trying to live our lives a bit more freely again.

I agree. He’s said plenty of dumb stuff in the past, but give him credit this time for saying something sensible. Omicron is already established in Thailand so letting in a few thousand fully vaccinated and tested foreigners a day is not going to substantially worsen the problem. Also, data from South Africa, the UK, and Denmark seems to be showing it is much milder than Other variants which is probably what he is referring to when he says it’s “no worse”. The main focus should be getting everyone vaccinated, not closing the borders yet again.

Science has clearly been hugely beneficial. How could understanding how things work not be? Technology on the other hand, more of a mixed bag.

Month after month of shutdowns and restrictions on travellers worked really well, didn't it? Apparently not, as some seem to be advocating the same policies all over again. By all reports, Omicron causes mild symptoms especially in the fully vaccinated, so why not try accelerating vaccinations and stop these policies that seem to achieve nothing but further economic destruction. I would have said different a year or more ago, but the situation in late 2021 is not the same as the situation in 2020. Stop fighting last year's battle.

Having to stay in your room for several hours is hardly slavery. I have done a 14 day quarantine and a 7 day quarantine as a condition of entering Thailand during 2021. It doesn’t make me a slave. What a ridiculous exaggeration. It seems to me any tourist who can’t abide a simple rule at the beginning of their stay that inconveniences them for a few hours should be arrested and immediately deported. Who needs them?