SantiSuk

Nobody knows. Wait for the announcement of detailed rules by Government, mooted for sometime today.

The official line seems to be wait until Monday when the new rules are published in the Official Gazette. Press and other comments are inconclusive. I saw one that said "Serving alcohol remains banned in the Dark Red, Red and Orange zones" (Jonathon Fairfield of ThaiVaisa.com (staff?), perhaps implying that rule might be relaxed in the yellow zone. Several other commentators  said that serving alcohol would still be banned in all restaurants. None of such comments that I saw had any official imprimatur about them.

In Thailand,:

Your privacy = I don't give a monkey's

2 hours ago, Thomas J said:

Every time I read one of these it only reinforces my belief that people are foolish to every believe that government run healthcare is a good thing.  In the USA not one government agency is efficient and does not significantly blow through budgets.  In the private world you have to compete, be efficient, and respond to your consumers.  With government, no matter how inefficient or inane they can't be fired and there is no incentive to provide either good customer service or to lower costs. 

I look at Thailand at it was only recently that the government approved allowing private hospitals to order vaccines on their own.  Now this is a government that is suppose to be aggressively tackling Covid.  What could possibly be the reason to drag your feet in allowing the private hospitals to obtain, vaccine and inoculate people.   They are private so it costs the government no money, time, or effort and yet they threw up a prohibition for months.  Its like there is a ship sinking and the government won't allow private vessels to provide rescue to survivors because they are not part of the government. 

 

"Every time I read one of these it only reinforces my belief that people are foolish to ever believe that government-run healthcare is a good thing."  

Thomas J, I suggest that you talk to expats from countries like the UK, Scandinavian countries and Germany, to name but a few European countries with what Americans call socialised healthcare. I think you will get an entirely different viewpoint to your own. I suspect that the majority of users (and payers of the necessary taxes) in such countries heavily support their national healthcare systems and stare in amazement at the amounts of money that Americans waste on overpaid health providers for comparatively substandard healthcare. Even more so at the fact that so many Americans cannot and do not afford decent healthcare.

I used to work in an international accounting/consulting firm. I was based in London and recall that the US Government paid our US healthcare finance consultants to send a team over to the UK to find out why Brits paid one-third less on average for healthcare than their own people and yet had a higher rating of outcomes and heath status in the population. [I retired before that study was complete, so never did find out what the conclusions were, though I could guess it was a factor of profits and pay].

5 hours ago, puchooay said:

I can't believe there are expats living here that don't know 2 people.

 

The banks may well require probate before releasing money. Not difficult with a will and death cert.

Not difficult, but requires a Thai lawyer to draft the necessary documentation to go in front of the local probate court (part of your local Provincial Court) and to represent in the court proceedings whoever is intended to be the executor of the Thai assets. IMO good planning is to set up such a Thai lawyer for your nearest and dearest before you depart this mortal coil. Not essential perhaps if she/he (your n & d) is a professional or sophisticated street-wise individual. Best thing is to discuss what happens before the opportunity is taken away from you.

It's not just banks that need an order from the probate court in order to release funds*. Vehicles and property (condos) need court orders so that your relevant intended beneficiary can get title transferred from deceased you.

*Small amounts in banks can often be released at the discretion of the bank manager but that's not assured unless you set it up that way with your bank manager (and of course managers get moved around). 'Small amounts' is not defined in Thai law but for instance I have experience of one of the big Bangkok Bank branches in Bangkok insisting on a court order to release a 100,000 baht balance. There has been another ThaiV.com thread that debated the merits and drawbacks of establishing your bank accounts as joint with your nearest & dearest so the funds can be accessed after your demise without court orders and you could of course transfer property/vehicles before you die if you are prepared to live longer than expected not owning anything!

Leaving the will with a Thai partner works great - unless you don't want to disclose everything to her/him and until you both die together in a road crash (eg).

Get a Thai lawyer to write the will and to be available to help your nearest and dearest on your demise. I speak from the experience of helping a Thai widow sort out the pieces when insufficient planning for death has taken place by the expat.

If you have a Thai partner you should expect her to find out - asking the pooyai baan if noone else knows.
 

If you are asking on here you'll need to be more specific as to area - Ubon is a big province as well as a largish City!

If you are asking re Ubon City you would be better advised to join one of the 2 expat facebook groups - 'Ubon Expats' and/or 'Ubon Ratchathani'. That might work for the province as well; some group members live in Det Udom and Kemmarat (for instance).

I believe it is a central government requirement that has not been rescinded, not a matter for local governors.

So in theory all provinces require 14 days self-isolation if returning from a red zone province. How rigorously that is enforced is a completely different issue the answer to which is probably not ascertainable. Just like the requirement for restaurants not to sell alcohol and bars to close - depends on how local officials/police/healthworkers actually implement national rules.

Where I live if you were to return to a village (and possibly a town) local health workers would probably get to know and would come round (as much as daily) to check up on you. There are no road checks on provincial borders or internal to the province (unless there is a local clustrer lockdown). In the same province some bars are open and some restaurants will serve you booze.

TIT: rules are rules and implementation is unknowable.

Whoever is asking for the translation should be asked to specify whether they want a certified translation or a notarised one if it is not obvious in the documentation of their request.

Kroo Ooh's certified translations have been sufficient for my several purposes in recent years.

1 hour ago, wensiensheng said:

Very true. Talking a first world game and providing a 3rd world experience is par for the course.

 

Udon Thani got approx 1.5% of the vaccine supply it needed. Dismal indeed.

It was obvious 2-3 weeks ago when Prayut summarily announced via Twitter, that priority would now be given to high risk areas and to those at work, that low risk regions and provinces such as Isaan and the North would kiss goodby to the state-operated programme for a large chunk of this year.

Isaan with nigh on 30% of the Thai population has 2% of the nation's infections. The North has similar relativities. Time to release the restrictions on low risk areas and man the borders between these low risk regions and the higher risk central provinces to prevent imported infections. We can then tolerate a slower vaccination rollout.

"While bars are closed and restaurants prohibited from serving alcohol due to COVID-19".

Oh yeah? Not IME; local plod have been around tipping off bars for several weeks now about how to carry on selling in a discrete way. TIT - the police force act totally independent from government directives.
 

Buddhist holidays are a different matter - the cops don't want bad karma, so there is greater compliance

On 5/18/2021 at 2:02 PM, Banana7 said:

The results of sinovac all over the map. See here:

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-55642648

 

Brazil says 50.4%, Indonesia says 65%, Turkey said 91.25%.

 

 

 

That clip says it's a BBC report dated 13th January! Events/experiences/medical surveys have moved on fellah.

So according to the article 7.4 million older and afflicted persons have registered for vaccination. AFAIK it's intended that these two categories be given the Astra Zeneca vaccine. So how many doses of AZ does the government have to hand and how many will be delivered within the next couple of months? Is the local AZ production facility in production yet? Anyone seen any info? Has any journo asked the obvious questions*?

*the cynic in me thinks: probably yes to that last question, but told to shut up or not be invited to briefings again????

The U-turn opens the gate for a money-making opportunity from foreigners (expats living here plus vaccine-tourists from elsewhere).

I reckon they will eventually find some way of exploiting that! Maybe not June, but well before the year end

A headline that said "two* provinces have imposed tougher measures" would be a fairer representation of the apparent truth, but attract less clicks. Journalism today eh?

* I'm not counting Yala's 'tougher measures' - nothing new in emphasising the personal measures folk should take!

17 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Many people in Thailand do not die in a hospital nor are they seen by doctors or nurses.  They die at home with family around them.  Then 3 days later or so they are cremated. No autopsy no medical examiner.  I had 3 family members die this way last year in February.  Only notification was to a police officer who took the info down and that was it. They all had some type of respiratory ailment. Never diagnosed just given meds at the local clinic in the village and a few days  to a week later they passed on.  I dont expect you to understand as you seem to think all see doctors or nurses or go to the hospital.

I do understand and I agree that in the early days of Covid there will be some deaths that have been unrecorded as Covid with those characteristics. I think that is an outdated view of how people have been dying over the last year though. In my experience in the villages (being rural dweller) I do not agree that people have been dying quietly at home with no doctor or nurse intervention. Around my part of rural Isaan the health volunteers and local clinics are all over the cases of sickness arising in the villages and boondocks. Families do not allow their old to quietly slip away in the way you describe.

Sisaket had 22 infections in this Jan-April wave as of last night - all in the last week. Before this wave it had less than a handful of infections since Jan 20. Of the 22 infections half are in the 20-29 age bracket. As best I can tell from their profiles none of them are government ministers and most of them went partying (mostly outside this province) and then returned to/came to this province just before or during Songkran.

So I agree with the observations of the CDC guys in this instance. Have your fun with the lampoons of ministerial attendance at hi-so girly bars but as far as I can see it is the ordinary young joes going about their natural inclinations to party that are mostly causing this distressing scenario around the country. How distressing will depend on whether the inexplicably and remarkably low death rate continues or not.

On 4/3/2021 at 7:13 PM, DrJack54 said:

Hour or two would hardly cover one way trip for some. Myself included. 

Jomtien and all the crackpot imm offices made up this return "rule".

Mind you in total total is very few offices. Perhaps 5or6 out of 75+ imm offices. 

Ridiculous. 

By 'return rule' do you mean that Jomtien require you to return on a day different to your next 90 Day report and show evidence that the 400k/800k is still in the account?

Sisaket Province IMO put a sticker in your passport at the extension visit saying your next 90 day report is on x-x-xxxx please bring your pass book showing evidence that the money is still there. I thought that was the national norm, but not much is a national norm it seems.

Just now, SantiSuk said:

Global House used to have it in 20kg carboys in the two branches within driving distance of me (Ubon Ratchathani and Kantharalak) at about 280 baht, but they both seem not to have restocked in recent months. Haven't yet asked if that is intentional or just a short term supply issue.

Prior to Global House, when the largest of the watsadus (DIY sheds) in Ubon had stopped stocking it 8 years ago, I could not find carboys elsewhere in the other national chain watsadus or builders merchants locally 'for love nor money'* - despite those pool guys in Bangkok and Pattaya on pool threads annoyingly saying it's available at all builders merchants! My guess is that many retailers find handling such a potentially dangerous chemical (you have to be carefull of spillage from insecure caps when transporting yourself) a pain in the proverbial!

I found myself back then 6-8 years ago having to collect it in bulk (ie 5 or more carboys at a time) from a builders merchant in Roi Et - a friend living there had alerted me to it - or Buriram (well-known watsadu just north of the ring road). Then Global opened locally. Now I'm back to square one and will have to troll round the local watsadus again when I get nearer to running out.

 

 

*Some had smaller bottles but not at a very economic price. I'm recalling 3 litres for 80 baht kind of price)