Hard truths about travelling to Thailand, right now

[Blumpie]

It's important to stop and understand what professionals are saying about a vaccine, and it hasn't changed.

The virus is hardly mutating which is why they are so confident in a vaccine.  WHO and independent scientists all say by the 2nd quarter 2021.  This has not changed for some months now.  What they have in the pipeline all work in theory, they are still testing though.  Much fear mongering and clicks are generated by barfing out half truths, and keeps the prison planet wing nuts touching themselves at night.  

 

As has been stated, until a vaccine is present and is WIDELY AVAILABLE, life will not be normal.

 

This year will be a total write-off, and so will next year.  The vaccine will not be widely available next year.  Perhaps the year after.

 

The hurt has only just begun for tourism earth wide.  And no, kids, it's not just Thailand.  

[Artisi]

Just highlights the problem and the poor management of governments over the past years of putting all its eggs in one basket, tourism. Instead of developing a technically educated skilled workforce employed in meaningful industries, it's been easier to rely on tourist income without any plans in place anything else to support the country. 

I have absolutely no sympathy for the country as a whole but do for the normal hardworking Thai people now suffering for the poor useless management of the country and  their long term survival. 

[weedywhaoo]

I don't agree that quarantine hotels are expensive. I'm staying at Landmark Hotel now. They charge 55 000 baht for 15 nights. This includes airport transfer and 3 Corona tests, thats about 20 000 baht. The food is fantastic, great breakfast, 3 course lunch and dinner, that's about 1000 baht per day. Left is room charge of about 20 000 baht for the period. On top of this there is the hospital staff at place that also costs money.

In my mind it's cheaper to stay at this hotel now than in normal circumstances. 

[Brickbat]

On the plus side, less pollution , less consumption . Back to basics and simple living. Hopefully this virus has taught us some valuable lessons. 
 

but no doubt the greedy businesses and folks hungering for pleasures will start the ball rolling again towards eventual destruction . 

[2 is 1]

6 minutes ago, weedywhaoo said:

I don't agree that quarantine hotels are expensive. I'm staying at Landmark Hotel now. They charge 55 000 baht for 15 nights. This includes airport transfer and 3 Corona tests, thats about 20 000 baht. The food is fantastic, great breakfast, 3 course lunch and dinner, that's about 1000 baht per day. Left is room charge of about 20 000 baht for the period. On top of this there is the hospital staff at place that also costs money.

In my mind it's cheaper to stay at this hotel now than in normal circumstances. 

It's not expensive to you! And even you get great meal in prison it's still prison!

[Deli]

1 hour ago, steven100 said:

It's got nothing to do with fraud,  just because one has an elite visa doesn't exempt them from having the virus. It's not the governments fault that a virus impacted everyone regardless of their visa situation.

But it's the Government who closed the borders in fear of a flue.

[kingdong]

5 minutes ago, 2 is 1 said:

It's not expensive to you! And even you get great meal in prison it's still prison!

and you get an even better meal and choice when they shoot you at dawn.

[vandeventer]

The next 10 years will be nothing like the last 10 years. The vaccine will have a effective rate between 30 to 50 % so do we still let the flood gates open? The Chinese lie about how bad the virus is there.  Do we still let them in to save tourism? This government needs to think long term for Thailand not short term fixes.

[2long]

For me, the solution is simple.

Open the borders and let everyone in, but continue to have zero testing for the general public, and the incoming tourists. Then Thailand will continue to proudly have near-zero cases. Prayuth still needs his E.D., but I am sure he will find an excuse for that.

Covid is already rife here, as it is everywhere. There's no testing here (apart from in quarantine), whereas the UK is testing like crazy, and probably inflating figures.

We should all call Covid's bluff and get on with life.

[sandyf]

"But the ‘Thailand’ you were probably expecting is not currently operating."

 

In a nutshell, all about who is expecting what. I have just had another few days up north under the "we travel together scheme", in a fairly large hotel which was fully booked, they were certainly not expecting any more tourists.

[josephbloggs]

2 hours ago, Grumpy John said:

Why?  Is it a power game?  Prayuths much loved emergency decrees seem to be coming every month on a regular basis now.  Honestly I am finding it hard to understand how they can destroy the economy and effect many millions when only 59 have died.

Ever considered that only 59 have died precisely because of the tough measures and border closures?  Look at the UK - a country with a similar population - and over 42,000 deaths to see what could have been.  Your argument is a fallacy.

I'm not saying the government have done everything right but had they thrown open the doors then you certainly would not be looking at only 59 deaths.  

[Jeffr2]

2 hours ago, Grumpy John said:

I read the other day 38 have died this year because of dengue fever with 60.000 effected.  Many thousands die on the roads each year and little is done to curb that.  The flu takes many many people each year.  People die from diabetes, cancer, lung disease, suicide.  So,  to those in power and to us normal people death is an everyday thing, it happens everyday for whatever reason yet the Wuhan China virus is being treated differently.  Why?  Is it a power game?  Prayuths much loved emergency decrees seem to be coming every month on a regular basis now.  Honestly I am finding it hard to understand how they can destroy the economy and effect many millions when only 59 have died.

Thailand's not the only country to have shut it's border.  Many have.  Medical experts much smarter about this than any of us have made these decisions.  Hard to second guess them, but many do.  One big reason they have shutdown here is the medical infrastructure would collapse if the virus raged.  They just aren't equipped to handle it.

[sandyf]

21 minutes ago, Deli said:

But it's the Government who closed the borders in fear of a flue.

Obviously you are familiar with 'flues'.

"a duct for smoke and waste gases"

[Jeffr2]

2 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Ever considered that only 59 have died precisely because of the tough measures and border closures?  Look at the UK - a country with a similar population - and over 42,000 deaths to see what could have been.  Your argument is a fallacy.

I'm not saying the government have done everything right but had they thrown open the doors then you certainly would not be looking at only 59 deaths.  

Look at the US.  An absolute disaster.  Glad we're here!

[Jeffr2]

5 minutes ago, 2long said:

Covid is already rife here, as it is everywhere. There's no testing here (apart from in quarantine), whereas the UK is testing like crazy, and probably inflating figures.

We should all call Covid's bluff and get on with life.

Covid isn't rife here.  If it was, we'd be seeing pics of overloaded hospitals.  I've been in several recently, they're pretty much empty.  Sad some think it's a bluff.  It's not.

[douglasspade]

3 hours ago, thaitero said:

"useful, science-based plan to re-open the borders"

Indeed, usefull = corrupted, science based = coverup lies, re-open = line gov pockets, 

Truth is covid has done more hurt than we think around the world, tourist numbers will not pick up in a year or two, especially with the directionless leadership here - it will take some time to lure tourist in to blow their bucks again.

[blazes]

That photo at the head of the OP would be enough to put me off coming to Thailand.  It looks dowdy and dingy, and bears NO relation to those "Amazing Thailand" ads they show all over the world, where the beaches are as pure and white as the driven snow.

 

Quite apart from the ludicrous 14 day hotel imprisonment (many  countries will allow you to quarantine with family or some other easily checked-out place) there is the daylight robbery of being MADE to pay health insurance on TOP of the insurance you already have from your own country.

 

It would be staggeringly AMAZING if more than a handful of "tourists" turn up.....

[stouricks]

3 hours ago, Rob CFC said:

bad a sad read

Re-read what you have typed before clicking SUBMIT.

[Donga]

2 hours ago, baansgr said:

UK has social distancing, mask wearing and other practices in place yet had over 20,000 new cases a few days ago. Tourists won't wear masks in bars and restaurants, they won't distance and within a few weeks of open borders 10s of thousands new cases will be reported.

 

UK been allowing everyone back from Spain and other non-safe countries without any testing at the airports. Their contact tracing is poor. Don't believe they temp check anywhere. Wouldn't follow their lead at all.

Germany and Singapore by comparison are allowing people from safe countries, with testing, but without quarantine. This is they way for Thailand to go. Most of the region is now safe.

In Japan, South Korea, Australia, NZ, Malaysia and Singapore, the chances of someone having Covid-19 is now less than one in 20,000 compared to around one in 1,000 average in Europe and higher in the US.

Taiwan, Vietnam one in a mill and China one in 8 mill.

Thailand can open up it's tourism to safe countries (less than 1/20,000, risk prior to testing) with tiny odds of any outbreak, which the Thais know how to manage, as they did before.

Too many people are suffering, bring them in safely.

 

Edited October 6, 2020 by Donga

[jaiyen]

Before thinking about all the visa problems and where to stay, where to go etc.  There is a bigger problem.    THERE ARE NO PLANES !!!!!!!

[nobodysfriend]

Just a quick Analysis :

 

The Covid virus is still surging in many countries outside Thailand . The mortality rate of the virus is low , but infected persons require medical care , sometimes ICU .

Thailand is still regarded as a ' safe ' country to stay and travel to . It's reputation in these difficult times is good .

If they keep the borders nearly closed and limit tourism by imposing strict rules , there will be just a few foreigners arriving here , nothing compared to the ' mass tourism ' same before ... it will be of little help for the business that depend on ' foreign ' money ... many will close forever or just stay out of business .

Nothing new here ...

If they open the borders and the quantity of people arriving in Thailand will rise , the risk of ( asymptomatic ) virus carriers arriving will rise proportionally .

That will put strain on Thailand's medical care system . If the potential virus carriers infect more people here , it might lead to a 2nd wave of infections . That would ruin Thailand's reputation of being a  safe ' country to travel to and bring out critics of the government's handling of the situation . That will lead to ( re ) imposed restrictions and the economy will suffer even more than before .

If they keep the strict measures in place and limit the amount of ' tourists ' Thailand will become some kind of 'exclusive' and expensive place to travel to . No more ' mass tourism ' , but no more related income any more as well . 

After all , that is what Thailand wanted to become even pre-covid anyway ...

But a big Recession is pre-programmed for Thailand in this case .

 

So , to cut it short , just a few possibilities ...

 

1. A vaccine that provides a long lasting immunity to the virus is found and rapidly distributed ... and everything back to

' business as usual ' ... ( not very probable )

2. Limited access to Thailand only for ' the selected few ' stays in place and the imposed security measures can control the potential risk .

That is the best thing to do in my opinion ... Thailand does it now already ...

3. The lack of income for many Thais leads to social unrest in the long term , and the government is forced to open the borders to mass tourism again . That is a big risk to take , what finally may lead to the collapse of a good part of the Thai economy . ( 2nd wave ) .

Would be better to avoid this .

 

After all , the presently imposed regulations by the Thai government seem reasonable and the best thing to do in the current situation .

 

Enjoy your day ...

 

Edited October 6, 2020 by nobodysfriend

[sandyf]

6 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

Covid isn't rife here.  If it was, we'd be seeing pics of overloaded hospitals.  I've been in several recently, they're pretty much empty.  Sad some think it's a bluff.  It's not.

Exactly, I use Bang Saen hospital which has seen a few cases but the last few times i have been the hospital has been very quiet compared to normal.

My niece is a junior doctor at a fairly big hospital in Bangkok and as she did her degree in China she dealt with a lot of the Chinese that came to the hospital back in Feb/March. They didn't see the first case till mid March. One of her colleagues got the disease and was quarantined, niece had to come home and isolate for a couple of weeks but she never had it. Think the hospital has only had about 50 cases all told, hardly what you would call "rife".

[Artisi]

38 minutes ago, Deli said:

But it's the Government who closed the borders in fear of a flue.

Tell the families and friends of the hundreds of thousands who have died of "a flu" that it's only a flu. 

[StevieAus]

If you think it’s hard here try getting back into Australia even as a citizen or permanent resident,

There are thousands stranded overseas, the government is restricting the number of flight arrivals, then a A$. 3000.00 fee for quarantine.

[PremiumLane]

Great article

[Artisi]

4 minutes ago, jaiyen said:

Before thinking about all the visa problems and where to stay, where to go etc.  There is a bigger problem.    THERE ARE NO PLANES !!!!!!!

Don't let the fact of no planes get in the way of any visa or accommodation concerns, priorities, priorities ????

 

[alant]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

It’s time to replace fear with professional management of this inconvenient virus.

agree

 

[alant]

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

I have a feeling nothing will change until the population are vaccinated.

 

I fear you are right but how far off is that, 2 to 3 years?

[nobodysfriend]

1 hour ago, Blumpie said:

The virus is hardly mutating which is why they are so confident in a vaccine

----> "Compared with HIV, SARS-CoV-2 is changing much more slowly as it spreads. But one mutation stood out to Korber. It was in the gene encoding the spike protein, which helps virus particles to penetrate cells. Korber saw the mutation appearing again and again in samples from people with COVID-19. At the 614th amino-acid position of the spike protein, the amino acid aspartate (D, in biochemical shorthand) was regularly being replaced by glycine (G) because of a copying fault that altered a single nucleotide in the virus’s 29,903-letter RNA code. Virologists were calling it the D614G mutation.

In April, Korber, Montefiori and others warned in a preprint posted to the bioRxiv server that “D614G is increasing in frequency at an alarming rate”¹. It had rapidly become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 lineage in Europe and had then taken hold in the United States, Canada and Australia. D614G represented a “more transmissible form of SARS-CoV-2”, the paper declared, one that had emerged as a product of natural selection. " < ---

 

It seems that this D614G strain is not the one that was present in Thailand . It is much more contagious . If it arrives here , the rate of infections will increase .

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02544-6

Edited October 6, 2020 by nobodysfriend

[apetryxx]

3 hours ago, Grumpy John said:

I read the other day 38 have died this year because of dengue fever with 60.000 effected.  Many thousands die on the roads each year and little is done to curb that.  The flu takes many many people each year.  People die from diabetes, cancer, lung disease, suicide.  So,  to those in power and to us normal people death is an everyday thing, it happens everyday for whatever reason yet the Wuhan China virus is being treated differently.  Why?  Is it a power game?  Prayuths much loved emergency decrees seem to be coming every month on a regular basis now.  Honestly I am finding it hard to understand how they can destroy the economy and effect many millions when only 59 have died.

Grumpy is echoing just what I’ve been saying since all of this hysteria over the WuFlu started. It’s much more about control than about your health. This all makes about as much sense as roaring down the highway on a scooter going against traffic with no helmet but wearing a mask to ward off Covid! It’s a world gone mad.