Covid-19: Three quarters of Thais want to keep foreigners out, many cite fear of virus, says poll

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

With all that's going on around the world, it really shouldn't take a genius to figure this stuff out:

 

Anybody should be able to fly into Thailand from abroad, provided they meet the outbound travel criteria of their departing country and Thailand, and then upon arrival here, are handled safely in transit and are willing to undergo 2 weeks supervised quarantine and CV testing for clearance.

 

It's not like Thailand doesn't have the available hotel space to accommodate whatever volume of international arrivals might be wanting to come right now... And it's surely not that the BKK hospitals aren't willing to earn extra dough checking on and testing that popullation of arrivals.

 

As long as the government strictly enforces those precautions, Thai society at large really shouldn't be at any risk from international air arrivals, from China or anywhere else.

 

 

 

[jonclark]

Good god - Do any of you actually live in Thailand? - The utter tosh that is being spouted here today. Utter hyperbole, opinion being presented as fact all wrapped up in a neat pastry of perceived xenophobia and racism. Thailand is not a hotbed of racism and anti-foreigner sentiment any more than any other country is. 

 

Of course there are always a few loonies shooting off their mouths, but the vast majority of people have no problem living side by side with foreigners. If you make an effort, are polite and can speak the language or attempt to speak the language it is a great place to live. - I walked into the 7-11 the other day without a mask - no one shouted and screamed and pointed, the girl said you have no mask, oops i forgot, collected it from the car and walked back in, the young girl said thanks and then confided that she forgets all the time as well. No drama, no ill feeling.  

 

There s no evidence that expats / tourist / foreigners are going to be deported, barred or otherwise prevented from entering Thailand. There are measures in place to prevent a virus spreading, and those measures are being gradually relaxed. Everyone wants the country to return to normal. 

[robblok]

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

With all that's going on around the world, it really shouldn't take a genius to figure this stuff out:

 

Anybody should be able to fly into Thailand from abroad, provided they meet the outbound travel criteria of their departing country and Thailand, and then upon arrival here, are willing to undergo 2 weeks supervised quarantine and CV testing for clearance.

 

It's not like Thailand doesn't have the available hotel space to accommodate whatever volume of international arrivals might be wanting to come right now... And it's surely not that the BKK hospitals aren't willing to earn extra dough checking on and testing that popullation of arrivals.

 

I agree with that statement that anybody who goes into supervised (not own) quarantine and accepts all the testing and cost that comes with it should be allowed in.

 

But should really be supervised quarantaine.

[robblok]

1 minute ago, jonclark said:

Good god - Do any of you actually live in Thailand? - The utter tosh that is being spouted here today. Utter hyperbole, opinion being presented as fact all wrapped up in a neat pastry of perceived xenophobia and racism. Thailand is not a hotbed of racism and anti-foreigner sentiment any more than any other country is. 

 

Of course there are always a few loonies shooting off their mouths, but the vast majority of people have no problem living side by side with foreigners. If you make an effort, are polite and can speak the language or attempt to speak the language it is a great place to live. - I walked into the 7-11 the other day without a mask - no one shouted and screamed and pointed, the girl said you have no mask, oops i forgot, collected it from the car and walked back in, the young girl said thanks and then confided that she forgets all the time as well. No drama, no ill feeling.  

 

There s no evidence that expats / tourist / foreigners are going to be deported, barred or otherwise prevented from entering Thailand. There are measures in place to prevent a virus spreading, and those measures are being gradually relaxed. Everyone wants the country to return to normal. 

I live in Thailand, I dont forget my mask as i said before makes us all look bad. However forgetting it when getting out of a car is normal. I almost forgot a few times too.

 

But i do get the fact that some Thais are now scared of us. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 minutes ago, robblok said:

I agree with that statement that anybody who goes into supervised (not own) quarantine and accepts all the testing and cost that comes with it should be allowed in.

 

But should really be supervised quarantaine.

 

Of course, that's why I specifically used that word...supervised. The original approach they tried using with returning Thais, and perhaps others, of unsupervised home or elsewhere monitoring/self-reporting was a widely abused joke. Hence the photos of returning Thai bar girls out partying at pubs shortly after their return from abroad.

 

Gotta be lockdown time in government-supervised hotels specifically structured for that purpose. It's a money maker for all the Thais involved. Can't understand why they haven't expanded the hotels pool and the quota of incoming people who clearly would be willing to pay and stay (many of the exiled marriage and retirement extension expats unable to return home).

 

I think in regards to Cambodia the other day, someone here suggested the Chinese could set up their own quarantined beach resorts there strictly for their own tourists.  In theory, could do the same thing here, with the rule being of course you can't leave the resort during the two week period and medical monitoring and testing required. But on that point, not sure how much of a tourism market there is for that!

 

 

[spidermike007]

I have plans to go back to the US in September, but it looks very questionable at this point, especially since it is ground zero for Covid right now, and you cannot get a Covid free letter in the US. And Europe was hit hard too.

 

I think we have to assume we will be considered radioactive Zombies around the world, for quite some time to come. At least a year of so, until things settle down.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

9 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I have plans to go back to the US in September, but it looks very questionable at this point, especially since it is ground zero for Covid right now, and you cannot get a Covid free letter in the US. And Europe was hit hard too.

 

I think we have to assume we will be considered radioactive Zombies around the world, for quite some time to come. At least a year of so, until things settle down.

 

It's not that difficult to go back from TH to the U.S. right now...if one is actually willing to travel there AND willing to pay the ticket prices.

 

The difficult part, of course, is gonna be finding any way to come BACK to TH from the U.S. at the conclusion of the trip, given the current TH government restrictions on incoming travel and flights, and what those are likely to be AFTER whatever point they begin allowing international flights again.

 

[Jane Dough]

4 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

It will be a long time before foreigners are welcomed back here. 

 

You can blame a number of factors; UK and US governments' poor handling of the crisis, Thai xenophobia, etc., but if you left at the start of this crisis at any time in March or April expecting to waltz back in, well... you've only yourself to blame. 

It's only another tacky poll.

 

Why should it inform policy?

 

Rooster

[RichardColeman]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

More than 75% of Thais polled last week do not want foreign tourists to be allowed back into Thailand just yet. 

yeah, but 100% of bar girls do

[jonclark]

45 minutes ago, robblok said:

I live in Thailand, I dont forget my mask as i said before makes us all look bad. However forgetting it when getting out of a car is normal. I almost forgot a few times too.

 

But i do get the fact that some Thais are now scared of us. 

If you forget your mask - it does not make me look bad; but you do as you must, live and let live as they say. 

[robblok]

3 minutes ago, jonclark said:

If you forget your mask - it does not make me look bad; but you do as you must, live and let live as they say. 

As i said before as foreigners we are under a magnifying glass and stand out. So yea it does make us all look bad. Lets agree to disagree.

[chainarong]

Can't blame anyone for wanting this,  every time there's a out break in Oz, someone coming in from oversea's is involved. 

[zhounan]

What's the problem? Tourists will find another more comfortable Country, and maybe, finally, they will realize how bad the Land of Smile is.

 

It would be correct that even other Countries did not accept Thai people.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Too easy to always look at one's interests only.

[ThailandRyan]

Keep getting E-mails for luxury vacations in Koh Samui, Phuket, Malaysia, Penang, Vietnam, and the Maldives.  Very good prices and all inclusive.  However, when I try to book the ones in Thailand they are all booked until the end of August, how the F is that possible.  The ones out of the country are to great locales, but then returning here is moot point.....Travel bubble for anyone in Thailand to another Asean country would suffice....

[Saint Nick]

Great job, Thailand!

The xenophobic fearmongering of your racist government really pays off!

[jonclark]

32 minutes ago, robblok said:

As i said before as foreigners we are under a magnifying glass and stand out. So yea it does make us all look bad. Lets agree to disagree.

doesn't

[spidermike007]

56 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

It's not that difficult to go back from TH to the U.S. right now...if one is actually willing to travel there AND willing to pay the ticket prices.

 

The difficult part, of course, is gonna be finding any way to come BACK to TH from the U.S. at the conclusion of the trip, given the current TH government restrictions on incoming travel and flights, and what those are likely to be AFTER whatever point they begin allowing international flights again.

 

Of course. That is the point. Going into the US from a country with few cases would be easy, one would think. For the US to make that difficult would be the height of hubris. Something the US possesses in abundance, so one never knows!

 

Getting back in is anyone's guess. 

[Geoffggi]

I wonder, was this poll completed just in Bangkok by any chance...................LOL

[BritManToo]

9 minutes ago, Geoffggi said:

I wonder, was this poll completed just in Bangkok by any chance...................LOL

98.7% of the same people polled think Prayut is a wonderful leader and would like him as PM for life.

[Wiggy]

3 hours ago, franzs said:

  This is a typical comment of somebody missing the nightlife, wishing the country running out of cash and that everything can resume like before.

 

This will not happen.

 

Because Farangs still in down over the last months, have shown their true face, everywhere to be seen without face mask. Because they think they are SUPERIOR.

 

And that is why the Thais are not happy with the Farangs anymore, don't want to see us to have an early come back here.

 

We are still a risk for them health wise (they think)....

 

.....and it is the fault of a handful....

 

 

 

 

[Walker88]

2 hours ago, franzs said:

First: election was just a few months ago, nobody is campaigning for voters now.

 

Officially prostitution is prohibited in Thailand,

all governments had a blind eye on the nightlife places and that will be also in future like this.

 

No farang will be ask to leave as long all papers are in order.

 

..but it will need some time to get back to

"normal"

 

and don't try to make everything look bad 

I believe the term is 'talking your own book'.

 

Yes, there's no election on the horizon, but there is a group of leaders thirsty for power, and control = power. Also, the thirst for praise is independent of the election cycle. Megalomaniacs crave praise and admiration, and will do what the majority asks if it is costless to the leader, because it gains them the praise their ego requires. "Look, my people...I have given you no dirty farangs, as you desired". Nobody who strives to lead---especially one who became a leader in a very non-democratic manner---is without a massive ego...not here, not anywhere. The PTB are doing well enough now without foreign tourists, and it isn't as if they are fond of the ones already in country. The Immigration hoops those of you who live here are asked to jump through are not meant to encourage you to stay, and as many continually state on this site, the requirements become more onerous over time.

 

The member and resident connda seems to have a different, more cynical take on things than you. He is of the view that the leadership couldn't care less about the plight of the common people, only in maintaining control, so whether there are foreigners here or not is dependent not on economics but on their personal view of non-Thais. One of you is right. Time will tell which one.

 

I have no dog in the fight. Being practical and cautious, however, if I were a resident I would make contingency plans just in case.

 

 

[Dario]

5 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Yep, I am unable to return to the UK or travel internationally on business for the foreseeable future. 

 

I took a risk and travelled to Cambodia early March, luckily I got back in before the lockdown began.

 

I knew the risks though, and took the chance. 

I wonder why. My friend is flying out from Bangkok to Milan on June 22 and further by train to meet her family in Bologna. Why can she fly out and you can't?

[johnray]

Not the most useful poll.  Random street urchins talking about disease control.

[ThailandRyan]

3 minutes ago, Dario said:

I wonder why. My friend is flying out from Bangkok to Milan on June 22 and further by train to meet her family in Bologna. Why can she fly out and you can't?

Because he can not return if he leaves like the majority of us.....If she is non Thai and she is flying out she must have a special allowance for work or some other deal allowing her to return to Thailand......

[miamiman123]

I’m seeing that more and more in the last 4 months 

[ThailandRyan]

1 minute ago, miamiman123 said:

I’m seeing that more and more in the last 4 months 

What the worthless polls or those with special dispensation to fly out and return?

[Dario]

7 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Because he can not return if he leaves like the majority of us.....If she is non Thai and she is flying out she must have a special allowance for work or some other deal allowing her to return to Thailand......

OK, thanks for this, makes sense. She is a girl with dual Italian and US citizenship and going to start medical studies in Italy. She probably won't be coming back to Thailand very soon although her dad lives now here.

[keithkarmann]

3 hours ago, Misterwhisper said:

LOL... Actually, it's probably more like 14.68%, while 9.6% are comprised of pimps and other assorted "silent investors".

When the bar girls start to teturn are they going to be more realistic with their fees?

I have been told by a friend that with lady drinks, bar fines and the girl's charges that they were pricing themselves out of the market. Legalise them all and start collecting taxes.

[Kaopad999]

Yep, gotta agree with them.

keep those dirty farang out until they have have the vaccine and a permanent face-mask stitched onto their faces!! 

[teatime101]

5 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Thai xenophobia

Do you really think it's higher than in other countries?