Multi-ministry drive to open up Thailand to foreign tourism by October 1st, tourism minister

[SiSePuede419]

Yes, I have noticed there's a lot of twins in Thailand.  Must be something in the water. ????

 

 

[ThailandRyan]

2 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

A few remaining tourists is not going to do much, they needs millions coming in.

Does moving a million baht from the US into a fixed deposit account for retirement just like I did count?  Nope didn't think so.  Does paying cash and buying a new 1.5 million baht car and a 170,000 baht Motorcycle count, nope did not think so again.  However, If I was from the UK and spent 300,000 baht to fly here, go into quarantine and jump through the other hoops, and then spend another maybe 30,000 baht and then turned around and returned back to whence I came, at least in there eyes that is better than what those of us already here can do for them.....Go figure

[FarFlungFalang]

Just now, DrTuner said:

"Too expensive" was the answer when asked about antibody testing (Plipat @ FCCT interview, IIRC ).

Yes that's what they said but if they saw the value of saying to the world we have herd immunity it would now be too expensive to not test for antibodies but it would mean a huge loss of face and we can't have that no matter the cost.

[FarFlungFalang]

3 minutes ago, Polaky said:

Ahh the old twinning countries trick, smart!, get.

Ahh the old I'm a country member trick.One needs to be a member country to participate.

[geoff65]

9 hours ago, JoePai said:

As long as they are quarantined properly I can see no problem

Agree and if it goes ahead the only ones who will stuff this are the ones who decide to leave their rooms and not follow the quarantine period or decide they want services in their room. You only had to see what happen in Australia with morons not following the rules.

[Blumpie]

Gobbley-gook from the ministry of "oh no, the people are going to freak out by the end of the year".  

[tribalfusion001]

26 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Does moving a million baht from the US into a fixed deposit account for retirement just like I did count?  Nope didn't think so.  Does paying cash and buying a new 1.5 million baht car and a 170,000 baht Motorcycle count, nope did not think so again.  However, If I was from the UK and spent 300,000 baht to fly here, go into quarantine and jump through the other hoops, and then spend another maybe 30,000 baht and then turned around and returned back to whence I came, at least in there eyes that is better than what those of us already here can do for them.....Go figure

I meant millions of people not money.

[ThailandRyan]

1 minute ago, tribalfusion001 said:

I meant millions of people not money.

Sorry, I thought you were being sarcastic, and of course so was my reply. Tongue in cheek

[Vicki Coghlan]

I am not holding my breath.  Thai authorities cannot be trusted.  I want to see what authorities will demand of farungs before I'll be booking a flight to Bangkok.  

[Miami007]

Slow newsday, if the announcement that a plan will be coming soon gets a post of its own.

 

Anyone betting on which country will be the first "twin"?

10:1 odds it will be .......... China

[geoff65]

2 minutes ago, Vicki Coghlan said:

I am not holding my breath.  Thai authorities cannot be trusted.  I want to see what authorities will demand of farungs before I'll be booking a flight to Bangkok.  

Money.

[tribalfusion001]

9 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Sorry, I thought you were being sarcastic, and of course so was my reply. Tongue in cheek

No problem, I should have put people. Me, sarcastic sometimes and serious sometimes and sometimes talking complete nonsense 555.

Edited August 19, 2020 by tribalfusion001

[Miami007]

19 minutes ago, geoff65 said:

Agree and if it goes ahead the only ones who will stuff this are the ones who decide to leave their rooms and not follow the quarantine period or decide they want services in their room. You only had to see what happen in Australia with morons not following the rules.

Good luck getting tourists to quarantine.. only returning residents or snowbirds will even consider. 

 

Btw, you know that there is asymptomatic transmission and Thailand doesn't test many people to begin with. What are chances that they miss people without symptoms?

[ThailandRyan]

2 minutes ago, Miami007 said:

Good luck getting tourists to quarantine.. only returning residents or snowbirds will even consider. 

 

Btw, you know that there is asymptomatic transmission and Thailand doesn't test many people to begin with. What are chances that they miss people without symptoms?

They just posted a case of a returnee who cleared quarantine only to fall ill a few days later while out of quarantine and when tested is now positive.......stay tuned.  Asymptomatic folks walk amongst us.

[Andrew65]

9 minutes ago, Vicki Coghlan said:

I am not holding my breath.  Thai authorities cannot be trusted.  I want to see what authorities will demand of farungs before I'll be booking a flight to Bangkok.  

A COVID19 test not more than 72 hours before travel???

[tribalfusion001]

1 minute ago, ThailandRyan said:

They just posted a case of a returnee who cleared quarantine only to fall ill a few days later while out of quarantine and when tested is now positive.......stay tuned.  Asymptomatic folks walk amongst us.

You maybe one of them 555. If it's anything like Europe at present, then most are asymptomatic and not getting sick. Rising cases, downward trend on deaths and hospital admissions. I read yesterday somewhere it's mutated and lost strength in Europe.

[DrTuner]

7 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

You maybe one of them 555. If it's anything like Europe at present, then most are asymptomatic and not getting sick. Rising cases, downward trend on deaths and hospital admissions. I read yesterday somewhere it's mutated and lost strength in Europe.

Probably my post about an article of an Italian doctor claiming so.. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-virus/new-coronavirus-losing-potency-top-italian-doctor-says-idUSKBN2370OQ

 

Yes, ICUs seem to cope, although positives go up. Better testing, better early treatment and possibly another mutation. I haven't checked nextstrain in ages, maybe there's something visible there: https://nextstrain.org/ncov/global

 

Or it could simply be that the virus has claimed the low hanging fruits. Elderly, immuno-compromised, etc.

Edited August 19, 2020 by DrTuner

[Raphus]

Well, well.. I wondered how long it would take !!
Now all the large hotel chains and other influential businesses have turned around and told the Thai government "Unless you open the country back to tourism, we are going to either go bankrupt, or we will leave Thailand with so many debts, that it will not be sustainable for us to return and continue operating".
Now the government has p00ped its pants and is starting to act upon this current DIRE financial situation.

 

[tribalfusion001]

2 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

Probably my post about an article of an Italian doctor claiming so.. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-virus/new-coronavirus-losing-potency-top-italian-doctor-says-idUSKBN2370OQ

 

Yes, ICUs seem to cope, although positives go up. Better testing, better early treatment and possibly another mutation. I haven't checked nextstrain in ages, maybe there's something visible there: https://nextstrain.org/ncov/global

 

Or it could simply be that the virus has claimed the low hanging fruits. Elderly, immuno-compromised, etc.

I think the low hanging fruit and increased testing when a hotspot appears. Not sure where I read about mutation, might have been on the BBC or Guardian or Mail websites.

[elliss]

10 hours ago, Rmac442 said:

Being ridiculously optimistic ..

   

 So sad ...

   Beggar's  believe ...

 

 

Edited August 19, 2020 by elliss

[FarFlungFalang]

14 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

I read yesterday somewhere it's mutated and lost strength in Europe.

Do they call the mutation Zombid-19?

[tribalfusion001]

7 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Do they call the mutation Zombid-19?

Plenty of zombies still walking around afraid of other humans, I'm tempted to go "boo" at them and watch them run away 555.

[0815]

10 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Thailand and China. 

+ Kauliiiiiii

[Airbagwill]

11 hours ago, JoePai said:

As long as they are quarantined properly I can see no problem

Average length of holiday for most is 2 to 4 weeks - add in 14 days quarantine, medical insurance and 72 hour certification with Thai embassy before travel....... the extra cost and hassle is bound to put people off.

[Expat Tom]

Welcome Chinese to your vassal state to the south. We love you!

[maqui]

At Frankfurt airport, a private lab company offers Covid PCR tests with a turnaround time of 4 hours instead of days.

Test 1 week before departure. Test on the day of departure. Test upon arrival and again 1 week later. Provide all those dangerous tourists with a tracker wristband to deal with cases in which the incubation period might be longer than the week between the first test and the test upon arrival. Release people from their quarantine hotel "cells" the next morning. Fine any tourist who does not wear a mask 10,000 Baht, as in a couple of European countries, to support the learning curve - masks reduce cross-infection risks by >85%. Problem solved.

The tests, combined with masks, should reduce the risk by 99.9%. If Thai society cannot cope with a risk of 0.1%, then they should consider their traffic fatality rates (ca 10,000 p.a.), where Thailand holds one of the global top ranks without causing much concern in the population. To quote Auric Goldfinger: "Mr. Bond, drivers kill 60.000 every year." Apparently, there are risks that even Thai society accepts without breaking a sweat.

[androokery]

19 minutes ago, maqui said:

At Frankfurt airport, a private lab company offers Covid PCR tests with a turnaround time of 4 hours instead of days.

Test 1 week before departure. Test on the day of departure. Test upon arrival and again 1 week later. Provide all those dangerous tourists with a tracker wristband to deal with cases in which the incubation period might be longer than the week between the first test and the test upon arrival. Release people from their quarantine hotel "cells" the next morning. Fine any tourist who does not wear a mask 10,000 Baht, as in a couple of European countries, to support the learning curve - masks reduce cross-infection risks by >85%. Problem solved.

The tests, combined with masks, should reduce the risk by 99.9%. If Thai society cannot cope with a risk of 0.1%, then they should consider their traffic fatality rates (ca 10,000 p.a.), where Thailand holds one of the global top ranks without causing much concern in the population. To quote Auric Goldfinger: "Mr. Bond, drivers kill 60.000 every year." Apparently, there are risks that even Thai society accepts without breaking a sweat.

Let’s hope the cost of the PCR tests comes down since you just suggested a solution that would cost 20,000+ baht just for testing. 

Edited August 19, 2020 by androokery

[Robin]

Thailand only wants the 'right sort' of tourists:-

Rich people that stay in expensive hotels, eat at expensive restaurants, go on organised tours, fall for all the scams going.

This probably excludes most of the members of TV.

Categories specifically to be excluded from any new plans include back-packers, sex tourists, anyone with a Thai wife or friend, anyone who has ever travelled by local bus.

No-one at TAT or in the government is no going to miss this opportunity to reset the type of tourist welcome. 

[Jumbo1968]

A friend who works in a Tour Agency in Pattaya tells me she has loads of Chinese people on daily tours albeit they could reside in Thailand.

[EricTh]

Let's hope we don't get any cases from some infected countries like in the past such as Egyptian and Sudanase or Thailand will close its doors quickly again.

 

Edited August 19, 2020 by EricTh