35 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

And a vaccine could be years away.

The Chinese and Russians are administering their vaccines already. Health practitioners in the UK are being told to get ready to start giving out vaccines by Christmas.  How effective these vaccines might be is not clear yet but they're certainly not years away.

 

GPs in England told to be ready to administer Covid vaccine by Christmas

The thai government is in a difficult situation right now .

On one side they get pressure from the people who live from the income foreigners bring in , on the other hand , if they make a mistake and the Corona situation worsens in Thailand , they will be held responsible for that .

The best approach is what they are actually doing now .

Testing , quarantine , and testing again before allowing tourists to move freely around the country .

That will not save the tourism industry , but , at least , they show that they are willing to do something .

 

They want foreign money and less risk of becoming contaminated at the same time ?

Attract the long time stayers by allowing foreigners to own a rai of land ... many would come ( after proving that they are free of Covid ) and bring in money to build houses , buy cars , pay taxes etc ... PR for buying an expensive Condo is a good idea as well .

Better they focus on the long time stayers who provide a reliable source of income , than the few short time tourists who bring in little money , but , may be , big problems ...?

 

51 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

Costa Rica has no quarantine. I was thinking of going there although I've never been.

Belize is even nicer ...

The army's advice to wear Buddhist Amulets to fend off the virus will be put forward to TAT next week for approval. The period of quarantine will be limited to 7 days chanting in a temple. 

9 hours ago, Kadilo said:

If you’re not wanting 14 days quarantine, you’re not wanting 10 days. Makes sod all difference to anyone contemplating a holiday which would be typically 2-3 weeks. 
Think again. 

10 days however makes a small difference in quarantine costs for those SLV-tourists that don't mind quarantine, when anyway staying in Thailand between 90 days and 270 days. 2-3 week tourists are not mentioned in the Thai wish-list right at the moment...????

Just make it an even week-it sounds better, and it’s a single digit 

46 minutes ago, khunPer said:

10 days however makes a small difference in quarantine costs for those SLV-tourists that don't mind quarantine, when anyway staying in Thailand between 90 days and 270 days. 2-3 week tourists are not mentioned in the Thai wish-list right at the moment...????

According to official Thai stats, there’s almost no statistical difference between 10 and 14 days - risks are tiny. So it makes sense to reduce. I am now on 14th and last day of ASQ and could have been out spending money for 4 days by now (well admittedly mostly on beer????).

 

The other thing the Thais can do quite safely is let anyone in who is prepared to do quarantine. No need to stick to limited categories for COE. Numbers won’t go up dramatically, but every little helps.

2 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

Costa Rica has no quarantine. I was thinking of going there although I've never been.

It is lovely and very safe to boot. Great eco-tourism and very friendly people.

3 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

 You do not seem to understand that opening the country to potentially infected tourists from Europe or the US or India , is a risk that is not worth taking .

Do you think that tourism will be back to the 40 million from 2019 ?

The unrealistic dreamer is YOU .

Test quarantine test. What more do you want.  Let those that will pay come in.  

2 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

The thai government is in a difficult situation right now .

On one side they get pressure from the people who live from the income foreigners bring in , on the other hand , if they make a mistake and the Corona situation worsens in Thailand , they will be held responsible for that .

The best approach is what they are actually doing now .

Testing , quarantine , and testing again before allowing tourists to move freely around the country .

That will not save the tourism industry , but , at least , they show that they are willing to do something .

 

They want foreign money and less risk of becoming contaminated at the same time ?

Attract the long time stayers by allowing foreigners to own a rai of land ... many would come ( after proving that they are free of Covid ) and bring in money to build houses , buy cars , pay taxes etc ... PR for buying an expensive Condo is a good idea as well .

Better they focus on the long time stayers who provide a reliable source of income , than the few short time tourists who bring in little money , but , may be , big problems ...?

 

Long time stayers are still guests of the Kingdom.  We can not buy land.  Many ALREADY have condos, homes, extended families and cars in Thailand but Thailand has refused our entry.  I stay in Thailand a month at a time and seem to spend 40,000-50,000 b easily each time.  Thats money dumped into the thai economy that benefits top down.  There 1000s of expats waiting to return. Silience from thailand , just noise from expats already in Thailand 

Last time I checked, 97.3% of infected people show symptoms within the first 11.9 days. The 10 day quarantine notion is useless – either 14 days or no quarantine at all. I have said for the longest time that Thailand should just open up their borders fully without the tens of fiery hoops to jump through. 

Now watch the hotel prices rise to meet the 4 day drop, so they will still rip of the farang.

6 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

I wonder who other than the Chinese will qualify and will they be wearing tracking devices ...............LOL

The Chinese come equipped with tracking aps installed on their smart phones. The Thai authorities only need to log into the server in Beijing to access the respective tracking data.

Does anyone believe that "true tourists" will care if the quarantine is 5 days, 10 days or 14 days.  Most people have only a limited number of vacation days saying nothing about the extra expense of staying in a quarantined hotel.  They will travel to other vacation destinations that are open rather than travel to Thailand.  

Aussie Ex-Pats and visitors will recall what Kevin ""Bloody" Wilson told The Telephone Operator.... Same applies to this latest initiative.

'' foreign tourists from countries with the same or slightly higher contagion risk as Thailand.''

 

Not many countries in that category -- and not many visitors likely to come from them either!

14 hours ago, greenhornfarang said:

Still 10 days too many, even with 0 days they will not see regular tourism numbers for the next decade.

I hear that millions of tourists are chomping at the bit to get to Thailand to spend 14 days in a hotel room after paying through the nose for insurance so to do, its nice to get out more dont you think?

Any   risk  is risk  

Thailand  Gov  you are  not of  correct mind

No thought  for your  general population

For  tourism until vacine 

China  will  not eat  you  ..maybe  some  wealthy  will be  not happy 

But  look after  people   have  a  social  security   welfare  system  use  your reserves on the people  not  war  products  

War  products  is a joke anyway  what could a little  country  like Thailand do if  a  super power  wanted your resouces of  Soy   dogs  

The rich could  throw  their  billions  at them  hope they run away  ...lol

Like  a comical  movie  this   situation  control  in Thailand ....only the general  population  suffer  from all these  games 

Good Luck Thailand 

 

5 hours ago, Thaiophil said:

According to official Thai stats, there’s almost no statistical difference between 10 and 14 days - risks are tiny. So it makes sense to reduce. I am now on 14th and last day of ASQ and could have been out spending money for 4 days by now (well admittedly mostly on beer????).

 

The other thing the Thais can do quite safely is let anyone in who is prepared to do quarantine. No need to stick to limited categories for COE. Numbers won’t go up dramatically, but every little helps.

There were two cases mentioned in the news today that tested positive to Covid-19 after 11 days and 12 days in quarantine...

 

11 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

They started to entertain ideas that minimize the impact of COVID and reduce restrictions. They must be getting desperate.

 

The new visa they expect tourists to have has other heavy burdens however, which the average holiday goer will probably not accept. The insurance and charter flights cost how much now?

to much for a flue anyway...

Same as everybody, i and my Thai family are waiting for they stop this scam to come back home. It is very long, but we have no other choice.

5 hours ago, Chiang Mai Bill said:

'' foreign tourists from countries with the same or slightly higher contagion risk as Thailand.''

 

Not many countries in that category -- and not many visitors likely to come from them either!

All the countries that doesn't test, as Lao does for example.

But never mind, COVID is just a flue. This comedy story time should stop. To long for a world VVIP scam.

4 hours ago, jerolamo said:

to much for a flue anyway...

Same as everybody, i and my Thai family are waiting for they stop this scam to come back home. It is very long, but we have no other choice.

I could come now if they let Americans apply for the STV, but I'm not out of principle. I can fly business class to Belize or Costa Rica and do a monthlong stay at a resort, all expenses paid, and I'm just crossing the amount of money it takes to get me to Thailand alone.

 

I get the pre-flight tests and the quarantine, even if I don't like it; I'm usually useless the first 1 1/2 weeks after I arrive anyway, and I'm more than happy to have someone serving me three meals a day while I sleep off the jetlag. But this need to show 500K baht in a bank account over 6 months is preposterous. My money is out making me money, I ain't got time for it to be sitting around doing nothing to please some MFA grunt. Besides, no other country that's open to tourism and worth their salt is doing those kinda shenanigans right now. This requirement is there for a reason. They do not want tourists here. They want wealthy businessmen to buy up all the distressed properties from the tourism industry they destroyed under cover of the virus.

11 hours ago, nong38 said:

I hear that millions of tourists are chomping at the bit to get to Thailand to spend 14 days in a hotel room after paying through the nose for insurance so to do, its nice to get out more dont you think?

I do not know about millions, weren't there only 11 tourists on the first STV arrival?  And whatever happened to the second, third and fourth arrival of the successful wealthy tourists?

15 hours ago, Bkktodd said:

Test quarantine test. What more do you want.  Let those that will pay come in.

Yes, test on entry then quarantine and test again for 14 DAYS... the idiots who want to chip away at the safety net are wrong, they talk now of reducing it to 10 days, someone else said eventually 7 days, then what....

sheer madness.

The number of Thais returning with Covid is the indicator that it is not safe to open up the country to tourism [quarantine yes] but not the country until 14 days are over.

[I don't care about the roads, that's another issue entirely]

11 hours ago, khunPer said:

There were two cases mentioned in the news today that tested positive to Covid-19 after 11 days and 12 days in quarantine...

Under 14 day ASQ you get tested at the beginning and near the end. If they reduced to 10 days, they would test and pick up the positive cases earlier. I read that they would likely test more often

21 hours ago, roxnadz said:

They need to let all the tourists who can show they don't have COVID in.

Fundamentally flawed, at this point in time no one can prove they do not have covid on arrival.

Quarantine is the only feasible solution and even that is not 100% effective. Thailand does not have the resources for mass quarantine so the tourist sector must accept it is a lame duck until quarantine is no longer necessary, either through reliable rapid testing on arrival or vaccination.

UK reported today to be looking at a 5 day quarantine.

On 11/6/2020 at 10:08 AM, Thaiophil said:

This change is clearly aimed at STV long stayers who can renew up to 9 months or so.

 

It’s probably also leading to travel bubbles. According to the Bkk Post, they are trying to get a bubble with China before Chinese NY

they should start a Bubble with Singapore and HK.

19 hours ago, Chiang Mai Bill said:

'' foreign tourists from countries with the same or slightly higher contagion risk as Thailand.''

 

Not many countries in that category -- and not many visitors likely to come from them either!

I am on that list and start my quarantine on the 12th, I hope I can get out early but if not I will sit it out.

After I have finished I am going to my home in Khonkaen but I am not sure it is on the list of approved provinces,  If I get out early I might book a room in Pattaya until I am free to travel.

4 hours ago, Thaiophil said:

Under 14 day ASQ you get tested at the beginning and near the end. If they reduced to 10 days, they would test and pick up the positive cases earlier. I read that they would likely test more often

If you read the article I linked to, the other cases were 9 days, and two each after 4 days, so seems like they already test several times, which is also my impression from the news articles. It probably should be the same procedure in all quarantine places. Out of 5 cases, 2 were after 10 days quarantine, i.e. 40 percent. My point is that it seems like 10 days quarantine might not be fully safe; however the persons might have been infected during quarantine, some news articles also suggested that possibility...????