Flip flop: Health Ministry now says no compulsory quarantine for visitors to Thailand

[stuarty]

1 hour ago, Bkk Brian said:

Unbelievable incompetence from the Thai government on this!! People have plans to travel on business or holiday from these countries and have no clue what to do now. 

 

Just published on the WHO Thailand website it states:

 

The MoPH announced today that asymptomatic travelers arriving from at-risk countries and areas of France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taipei and environs, or USA are strongly recommended to “self-quarantine” at home or residence for 14 days. Persons arriving from China (including Hong Kong and Macao), Iran, Italy, or Republic of Korea will face legal implications under the communicable diseases act if they do not “self-quarantine.” These persons are also asked to report their health status daily.

 

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/searo/thailand/20200306-tha-sitrep-15-covid-19-final.pdf?sfvrsn=660fff98_0

 

 

The key word there is asymptomatic. All others (non-asymptomatic) are OK in line with the earlier advice today. This seems OK. People should know what or what not to do.

[BobbyL]

Once again the chumps running this place are trying their hardest to make it look like they're in a satirical comedy show. 

[ukrules]

1 minute ago, BobbyL said:

Once again the chumps running this place are trying their hardest to make it look like they're in a satirical comedy show. 

That's how it appears but I suspect it's something else entirely.

 

This looks like a misinformation and interference campaign aimed at the masses of people about to return from Korea.

 

When they get back to Thailand they won't know what's hit 'em.

 

The flip flopping responses seem to be communicating two different things and aimed at two different groups - tourists and Thais returning from Korean hot zones.

[ThailandRyan]

6 minutes ago, BobbyL said:

Once again the chumps running this place are trying their hardest to make it look like they're in a satirical comedy show. 

I was thinking Benny Hill, or the Keystone Cops..

 

[tomacht8]

Chaos.

Instead of coordinating clear and clean measures between the individual institutions, there is pure chaos. Everyone quacks what he thinks and uses the crisis to present himself selfish in the media.

 

The Minister of Health.

The health ministry spokesman. 

The Public Health Ministry permanent secretary. 

The Crime Suppression Division.

The Ministry of Labor.

The Immigration.

The Bureau senior doctor attached to the 10th Health region. 

The Deputy Director-General of the Department of Disease Control. 

The Tourism Authority of Thailand.

And on top.

The Prime Minister

 

A certificate of inability from the leadership and those responsible.

 

[balo]

No need to comment yet, better wait for the health ministry to remove the Facebook post again and tell us something else tomorrow. 

Edited March 6, 2020 by balo

[WineOh]

what an absolute farce.

These lot in power are a complete and utter joke.

 

Hopefully they wont be around much longer.

[Dumbastheycome]

My guess would be that legal opinion has been reached and a "visitor" can not be "detained" by  virtue of arrival which has  no basis of being an "illegal" act  under Thai Law if they are admitted by Thai Immigration. Not the same as someone  who attempts  entry from a prohibited location. There  may  some overlap of a  few from such locations due to being in transit since prohibition has been announced.

Tai  citizens  are  much  more subject  to  Thai law in this instance.

Media reports tend to exacerbate apparent anomalies in favor of any explanatory detail .

While is  not in denial of some obvious failures in  cohesive attempts to demonstrate effective measures I am left wondering if  really so many here  would welcome the  Chinese  method of  shutting  down entire  cities  and  enforcing and prohibiting free movement in public life? Cocooned in  your condo rooms, etc, salivating  over the latest declarations of  pending  anhhilation, playing  tindly winks  with a depleted  supply of  beer  bottle tops when  you are tired  of endless hours  of  mind  numbing  zombie  movies and freaking  yourselves  out  if  you sneeze or cough due to the aircon set  to  "best  comfort " level ?

No food delivery.? Would  you trust it anyway?

Not forgetting of course  that if  such measures  were to be adopted  in the  effective  global economies  then consider the impact  on  incomes? Not  a lot to draw down on in an economically silent world.

Is there some genuine benefit in  assisting and partaking of in  paranoid reactions?

Fed  like  turkey chicks  by turkeys!

You will be  or will not  be victim to CORVID-19. IF  you were  to be  but were  only  mildly  effected as many/majority have would that give you  cause  to declare  yourselves a "survivor" and  boast of  it?

Or could you/would  you  feel some  guilt  in being ignorant of your own infection which you past on?

Finger pointing, blaming, does not protect, it only deflects.

Stay well. I am done  dusted  with !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[stuarty]

4 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

My guess would be that legal opinion has been reached and a "visitor" can not be "detained" by  virtue of arrival which has  no basis of being an "illegal" act  under Thai Law if they are admitted by Thai Immigration. Not the same as someone  who attempts  entry from a prohibited location. There  may  some overlap of a  few from such locations due to being in transit since prohibition has been announced.

Tai  citizens  are  much  more subject  to  Thai law in this instance.

Media reports tend to exacerbate apparent anomalies in favor of any explanatory detail .

While is  not in denial of some obvious failures in  cohesive attempts to demonstrate effective measures I am left wondering if  really so many here  would welcome the  Chinese  method of  shutting  down entire  cities  and  enforcing and prohibiting free movement in public life? Cocooned in  your condo rooms, etc, salivating  over the latest declarations of  pending  anhhilation, playing  tindly winks  with a depleted  supply of  beer  bottle tops when  you are tired  of endless hours  of  mind  numbing  zombie  movies and freaking  yourselves  out  if  you sneeze or cough due to the aircon set  to  "best  comfort " level ?

No food delivery.? Would  you trust it anyway?

Not forgetting of course  that if  such measures  were to be adopted  in the  effective  global economies  then consider the impact  on  incomes? Not  a lot to draw down on in an economically silent world.

Is there some genuine benefit in  assisting and partaking of in  paranoid reactions?

Fed  like  turkey chicks  by turkeys!

You will be  or will not  be victim to CORVID-19. IF  you were  to be  but were  only  mildly  effected as many/majority have would that give you  cause  to declare  yourselves a "survivor" and  boast of  it?

Or could you/would  you  feel some  guilt  in being ignorant of your own infection which you past on?

Finger pointing, blaming, does not protect, it only deflects.

Stay well. I am done  dusted  with !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am guessing you are in a pub. Amirite?

[snoop1130]

Tourism-driven Thailand softens 'compulsory' self-isolation language

 

A woman wearing a protective mask against coronavirus makes is having her nails done in a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand March 6, 2020. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Officials in tourism-reliant Thailand sought on Friday to ease worries about new self-quarantine measures for arrivals from six countries and territories with coronavirus, a day after announcing compulsory isolation. 

 

There had been days of confusion as officials gave different explanations of regulations that could further damage tourism, which accounts for about 12% of Thailand’s economy. 

 

South Korea, China, Macao, Hong Kong, Italy and Iran were designated on Thursday as “dangerous communicable disease areas”.

 

Health Ministry spokesman Rungrueng Kiphati told Reuters on Thursday that arrivals from these places would be fined 20,000 baht ($630) if they did not self-quarantine for 14 days at home or in a hotel room, “where they have to report themselves to the authorities every day or officials will come to check on them”.

 

On Friday, however, other health officials took a slightly softer line.

 

“For now, we are recommending people to exercise home quarantine. But if you don’t follow that, then we will use the law to take you to government quarantine centres,” said Sukhum Kanchanapimai, the health ministry’s permanent secretary.

 

Nevertheless, the government information department’s verified Twitter account on Friday repeated the threat of a 20,000 baht fine for those who failed to self-quarantine.

 

Tanarak Plipat, deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control, told reporters the health ministry would issue regulations requiring all arrivals from the six areas to report their health condition daily.

 

“If people don’t follow the rules or falsely report their condition, like they have a cough but said they do not, then they would be breaching an official order and that will be punishable,” Tanarak said, adding that the daily health report could be done by phone, mobile phone app, or other channels that the ministry will create.

 

The ministry also said that the measures could become stricter depending on the circumstances.

 

On Tuesday, health minister Anutin Charnvirakul had posted on his Facebook page that all arrivals from Japan, Germany, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, France, Singapore, Italy or Iran “must be quarantined for 14 days” - before deleting the post a few hours later.

 

Other ministries have issued different regulations on home quarantine.

 

The education ministry recommended to schools that children who had travelled from France, Germany, Japan, Singapore or Taiwan stay home under quarantine, according to an email sent to parents on Friday from the International School of Bangkok, even though the health ministry did not recommend this.

 

Thailand has recorded a total of 48 coronavirus cases since January, including a case reported on Friday of a 43-year-old British man who had travelled from London via Hong Kong and had been admitted to hospital on Tuesday.

 

There has been one death so far.

 

The government expects foreign tourist arrival numbers to fall 5 million this year from 39.8 million last year, due to the outbreak.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-06

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[tomazbodner]

3 hours ago, rvaviator said:

Report to WHO ?

And report what? "Yes, yes, I'm fine, really, no fever or cough at all *MUTE* cough cough cough.... cough cough cough... *UNMUTE* Sorry, bad signal here..."

[DrTuner]

Forget about the tourism already. It's dead, Jim.

[trainman34014]

2 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

I was thinking Benny Hill, or the Keystone Cops..

 

Benny Hill and the Keystone Cops were funny; these Idiots are pathetic !

[NCC1701A]

2 hours ago, DrTuner said:

It's dead, Jim.

Thai tourism was wearing a red shirt.

[NCC1701A]

i went out for four hours. have they flopped back yet?

[Dublin14]

Just made a cup of tea, have they flipp flopped again

[PatOngo]

7 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

You couldn't make it up!

Oh, but they do! Everyday!

[Chazar]

7 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Often off and on and off again.They're 100% sure that they're clueless I think.

its  called a "definite  maybe"

[tifino]

Reuters opportunistic choice of source photo...

like duh! - a face mask on a girl with her face near nail fumes... 

 - this could have been taken from a many years old archive! 

[Fex Bluse]

Half the problem is that the Thai language is too rudimentary to efficiently communicate nuances.

 

The other half is that Thais themselves often find it challenging to communicate in a clear and consistent manner without lots of context because they have only ever used Thai.

[tifino]

4 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

Half the problem is that the Thai language is too rudimentary to efficiently communicate nuances.

 

The other half is that Thais themselves often find it challenging to communicate in a clear and consistent manner without lots of context because they have only ever used Thai.

that's why just about every 10th word uttered is using 'falang' to try to mimic(paraphrase) the intent of what they are trying to say...

[rocket3rider]

Cluster<deleted>

[metisdead]

A post containing a screenshot of some site has been removed as a screenshot is not a valid link to the source of information. 

 

Posts containing links and content from unapproved sources have been removed.  Please remember this is a forum, not a Twitter site. 

[Colabamumbai]

Just how many test kits does the government have? Probably none. 

[ChipButty]

They probably realised at the last minute there was about to be mass cancellations of bookings at hotels we had a couple ready to cancel because of the 14 day nonsense the guest messaged us they are keeping the booking because the Thai government has dropped it

[crazykopite]

True to the advert “ Amazing Thailand “No Yes No Yes No Yes ????

[jonclark]

This is fast becoming a perfect storm which will no doubt bring increased hardship to the majority. On one hand the trade war and surging baht has impacted the industrial output of Thailand, the drought has hit rice production, which was already under pressure from cheaper rice prices and arguably better quality rice  from Vietnam.

 

Now tourism has taken a huge hit and the government through design or incompetence is struggling to find a way through.

 

My own view is covid 19 are probably much higher than official results as people may not be going to hospital as a positive would result in days of work which they may not be ble to afford. And simply hospitals not testing for Ccovid 19 as part of standard screening. European countries screen of covid 19 as part of standard screen process which is why in part they have such high numbers. 

 

Once tourist return home from Thailand with Covid 19 I think heads will start to roll in government and add fuel to political discontent. 

 

We live in interesting times. 

[Bkkthebest]

This virus crisis is considered high risk globally and if that is how this minister handle it, it will make Thailand LOST FACE, a major major lost of face. I thought Thailand place a lot of emphasis on face? no? i am confused here.

 

How are potential tourists gonna be confident with Thailand even after the virus crisis is over. They do not have the system to trace the virus clusters of affected individuals. If they only knew about the virus cluster by someone reporting to the hospital, then you are gone case.

 

To Thailand: Face (honour/ status) is about earning it BY REAL EFFORT AND COMPETENCE, not demanded or expected from it out of nothing.. ( it is the same as respect). Your lousy work attitude and incompetence is not getting you or earning you any freaking face at all. Maybe you should resign to retain some face if you are really serious about having face.

 

Btw, you are an absolute disgrace for being a health minister in representing Thailand. 

Edited March 7, 2020 by Bkkthebest
grammar correction.

[Phuketshrew]

7 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

i went out for four hours. have they flopped back yet?

Are you OK? Can't believe you lasted just four hours before flopping back again ...

[Geoffggi]

There is a requirement for some of the health officials to be transferred to inactive positions, I'm not saying who but I do believe with the rest of us they know who they are......... LOL