Well done Prayut for again having the country's best interests at heart, this is exactly the right course of action.
Strict screening will immediately identify any of the several thousand coming from high risk countries on medical exemption visas, and allow them to be fast tracked instead of standing in line, like the rest of us.
They can then be taken to their destinations, isolated in limos, where they can be whisked to their rooms so that they can send memes to all their family telling them what a fantastic place Thailand is, and encourage the rest of the family to come for high revenue, vote winning medical tourism.

3 hours ago, dallen52 said:

Only short term arrivals have access to the rapid testing at 3000 baht per 90 minutes...

The facility can do 1000 a day.

Not designed for use on everyone...

Just short term business arrivals...

I have to agree with this.

 

There is no way to accommodate 1000's of arriving persons for 90 minutes or more in Suvarnabhumi.  Consider seating, toilets, water, etc. etc. while simply waiting for result.  Then the logistics of testing, the test itself, documentation, insuring each result to proper person, it would be a delay of hours per each group and man power required to insure adequate result would be enormous.  Then consideration what will occur on positive test after sitting hours confined with others awaiting results.

 

Will never happen.

So is a 90 minute wait and a 3000 baht charge going to be suffered by every incoming traveller? And after a long flight? To be honest, I don't think this is increasing the appeal of Thailand. 

 

I guess if you are another 90 minutes in immigration then your bags should be ready for you when you get to the carousels, which is an upside, but their luggage delivery is pretty quick anyway. 

 

No thanks. I'll stay in Thailand until I can leave and return without that sort of hassle.

I have sympathy with the Government trying to keep the country safe and restricting entry to do that.  You just need to look round the world to understand the fears.  What I simply cannot understand is why after 3 months the Thai Government has not got in place sufficient capacity to allow safely all of the Thais and foreigners who want to enter Thailand to do so e.g. testing and quarantine.  It is not as if there are a shortage of planes, hotels or workers to achieve this.  It would create jobs and generate economic activity much of which would be funded by foreign currency. Initially I thought that it was just bureaucratic inefficiency.  Although I don't naturally reach for conspiracy theories but as so much time has passed with so little effective activity I am coming to the conclusion that the status quo is what the Government wants.  I hope I am wrong.

7 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Pattaya and Phuket have never been neglected like the North East of the country and the desperate situation for the rural poor up there.

 

They have constantly thumbed their nose at the poorest of the country for years. 

 

As a Bangkok native now living in Chonburi, I can't say I have much sympathy for either place or their inhabitants

 

"They have constantly thumbed their nose at the poorest of the country for years."

 

..........many of whom sought and found work in Pattaya, Phuket and other tourist areas, which enabled them to provide valuable support for their families in the poor rural areas.

 

Double whammy now for those poorest you appear to claim sympathy with.

 

The tsunami of the tourist industry collapse reaches far beyond the tourist areas themselves.

 

 

Edited July 7, 20206 yr by Enoon

2 hours ago, Enoon said:

 

"They have constantly thumbed their nose at the poorest of the country for years."

 

..........many of whom sought and found work in Pattaya, Phuket and other tourist areas, which enabled them to provide valuable support for their families in the poor rural areas.

 

Double whammy now for those poorest you appear to claim sympathy with.

 

The tsunami of the tourist industry collapse reaches far beyond the tourist areas themselves.

 

 

Spot on.

14 hours ago, ezzra said:

Plans are afoot for an airport screening of all arrivals for a check up that will take 1 and a half hours to get the results and will cost 3000 baht, other than that, can they really trust that some incommers will be virus free and ruin Thailand record of keeping the virus in check so far?...

Tests are snapshots. You still need quarantine. There are still many locked out who aren't tourists but own property in TH.

 

19 hours ago, CLS said:

Wow, 10 billion baht in 4 days. Measly 150 baht per resident.

Does buying three large Chang beers count as domestic economic activity?

May I get details where you get 3 Chang for 150 bath.????

If they simply bar US Americans, Brazilians, Russians, Indians and a few other countries they would already reduce the likelihood of imported cases by 50% plus. Most European countries, Canada, Australia, most of their neighbors, Japan, Korea, have it well under control now. It would make sense for the government to start thinking about a strategy to allow at least some level of tourist arrivals from those places.