charmonman

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?

So if they have suspended the Thailandpass system, how the @&$ are you supposed to apply for entry under the Phuket sandbox or AQ?

Obviously NOT possible until COVID-19 and all the government restrictions related to it in countries along the route are behind us.

The link you provide is to a far right evangelical Christian website, hardly a credible source.

A sad fact for which you can provide no evidence. If the behaviour of this Israeli schmuck was commonplace we would have heard more about it.

They haven’t suspended the Thailandpass. It is still open for Phuket sandbox and quarantine programs. Only Test and Go has been suspended. At least that’s what I can gather. Why the misleading headline?

In the same poll the Thai public selected leprosy as their favourite disease.

You would think Anutin and innumerable others in government would have learned by now to keep their mouths shut until an official decision has been made.

Crypto currencies and metaverse durian plantations? Have they legalized LSD?