Thai hospitality magnate calls on govt to allow vaccinated foreigners entry into Thailand

[joecoolfrog]

7 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

All this bluster about allowing Vaccinated Foreign Tourists back into Thailand completely misses the point IMO

Any Tourist that vacates in Thailand will most probably have to undergo a further 2 weeks of Quarantine upon their return to their Native Country.

A Country that has of this date, not even started to Vaccinate its Population, is way  behind the curve, and the Countries that have inoculated people will not allow them to transmit the Virus back in just for 2 weeks of Holiday time.

The price is too high.

Hienecke should be writing to Prayut in order to get the Thai population vaccinated, and as a leading Business person, that is what I would have expected of him.

Precisely this !

As international tourism rises from the ashes it will be driven by vaccination levels.

It wont matter a damn if certain sectors had a high covid death toll , once they achieve a particular level of immunity then their citizens will be free to travel.

By the same token those countries lagging behind the vaccination curve , will not be viewed as safe or desirable destinations.

[jkcjag]

9 hours ago, paddypower said:

He was the idiot who said '' we needed this coup'', when it happened. Ironically, now that the Govt. appears to be doing all to control the virus  and hand out helicopter money (classic military govt. thinking), he is unhappy. The only reason he is popping up his head now, is he is profit driven. why is it that once you get super wealthy, it is never enough?

If he wasn’t profit driven he wouldn’t be running the company for much longer would he? The point is that the livelihood of thousands workers are at stake.

[Clarkey611]

Dear Bill,

 

No.

 

Yours,

 

Dennis

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

9 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

Word is that even after vaccinated you can just say acquire the virus which will then hitch hike (carry) in your nose or throat cavity. This means you will test positive, but have no ill effects, but have potential to be a possible spreader. So before any doors are opened, this could possibly be a Pandora's box.

 

That is indeed the problem with his notions... The current vaccines, to the extent they work successfully, only prevent the vaccinated person from getting seriously ill or dying from COVID. There's no evidence thus far AFAIK that vaccinated people either a] can't contract the virus or b] that they can't/won't spread it thereafter.

 

Quarantine is, for all its negatives, the only reasonably sure way to ensure that imported tourists, whether vaccinated or not, aren't carrying the virus with the potential to spread it into the country. Because of the virus' ability to infect and make people contagious BEFORE the infection will show up on current CV testing.

 

Until Thailand gets to the point where a large majority of its population has been treated with effective vaccine(s) against whatever versions of the virus are circulating.

 

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Blumpie]

I'm sorry Thailand, you need the vaccine.  And you didn't get any.  

And now you're paying for it and will.  That's why you went from everyone vaccinated in 2021 to 2022.  I am willing to bet it may even be 2023 now.  

Things are changing fast - hope that it's much quicker.

[bkk6060]

Sounds selfish, out of touch and all about the money. 

[Artisi]

should they allowed vaccinated tourists in and he is of the opinion that everything is kosher, I would suggest that he mans the front desk of his major property and deals face - to -face with his guests, - wonder if he sees this as  any problem.

[mrfill]

An American megaphone telling the Thai government what to do.

 

Not the greatest recipe for success...

[Miss Pickle]

I would not consider doing it until everyone has had both Injections .I am from the UK and travelling to Thailand on the 21March and Happy to do quarentine although I will have one vaccine by then .I would hate to have it on my conscious that I had spread Covid to anyone in Thailand.

[Whale]

1 hour ago, phantomfiddler said:

Name one businessman who's opinion is based on reducing his profit ! Heinecke is a very successful businessman for good reasons, excellence of product being one of them.

As I said, I have met him and work associated. I keep my opinion.

[captpkapoor]

I do agree that those foreigners who can produce valid vaccination certificates from their home countries should be exempt from this 14 day ASQ. Despite owning a condo in Bkk and having valid re-entry visas, my wife and I are extremely reluctant to return until this 14 day ASQ quarantine is lifted. We will be getting our shots soon, as over 50s are being prioritized in our country.

[tandor]

..self appointed critic..needs to pull his head in and wait to be told, what, where and how.

Just because you're vaccinated means nothing..you have to show by a follow up anti-body titre.

Edited February 1, 2021 by tandor

[mrfill]

11 minutes ago, captpkapoor said:

I do agree that those foreigners who can produce valid vaccination certificates from their home countries should be exempt from this 14 day ASQ. Despite owning a condo in Bkk and having valid re-entry visas, my wife and I are extremely reluctant to return until this 14 day ASQ quarantine is lifted. We will be getting our shots soon, as over 50s are being prioritized in our country.

The vaccines do not confer immunity, they reduce the symptoms to a manageable level, which means that you can still catch covid. What is not certain is whether you can still spread it. Until that is established, it makes sense to retain quarantine.

[holy cow cm]

5 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

So, at what point DO you open up. You cannot stay locked down forever. At some point you HAVE to take a risk. This virus will be with the world forever potentially (thank you china), mutating into new strains and then waiting a new vaccine. Like others I want to get back to my family.

 

I agree with this guy. If you can prove you have been vaccinated (with an approved vaccine - in my UK probably AZ whish Thailand would approve), then you should be able to travel. If not, the vaccines are worthless and you may as well lock countries down for the next 20 years !

I'd like to see my 4 year old before she reaches 20 !

You remember we had a few conversation prior about this. Vaccines are not worthless, but they need to pinpoint and demographic target the vulnerable folk regardless of poor or the rich or the doctors on the front lines or whatever. Why my absence on TV? Some poster did not like what I said about China and my pinpointing the virus and reported me, so I went on a pretty extended vacation from TV. The rest of time after that is I chose to not get back into it until now because you can guess all the above as you want to guess.

Anyway, inoculate all the vulnerable first and then open the country up and then see what happens. Thailand depends on exports too much. Tourism is a slower second. Honestly for me, for TV, I only really care about immigration notices updates. I believe in t he inoculations. Something that re-enters your nose or throat cavity will not effect you.  So even now I am not proactive TV at this point and will retract from posting on the level I did before. Just don't believe any more in this ........ But there are definitely some good people posters here. Cheers Richard! 

s 

[joecoolfrog]

54 minutes ago, Miss Pickle said:

I would not consider doing it until everyone has had both Injections .I am from the UK and travelling to Thailand on the 21March and Happy to do quarentine although I will have one vaccine by then .I would hate to have it on my conscious that I had spread Covid to anyone in Thailand.

The fact remains that whilst quarantine remains in place , there will be next to no international tourism.

How will Thailand cope with millions unemployed , next to no social safety net and perhaps 20% of its GDP gone ?

[Jen65]

11 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

Word is that even after vaccinated you can just say acquire the virus which will then hitch hike (carry) in your nose or throat cavity. This means you will test positive, but have no ill effects, but have potential to be a possible spreader. So before any doors are opened, this could possibly be a Pandora's box.

correct !!  there is too little known yet about whether vaccinated persons can still transmit the virus and the very latest strain of the virus - South African strain - is worrying  many in that it appears to be able to mutate quicker and scientists still need to study this.   Opening up Thailand before more is known about how transmittable the virus might be in vaccinated persons is definitely opening a "pandoras box "   

[holy cow cm]

17 minutes ago, joecoolfrog said:

The fact remains that whilst quarantine remains in place , there will be next to no international tourism.

How will Thailand cope with millions unemployed , next to no social safety net and perhaps 20% of its GDP gone ?

The powers that be. Are they not wealthy already? I would gather their concern is only superficial level at best which is100% inconsequential to all the peons of Thai. They do not care about anything except for their own forced domineering governing fraternity. Nothing changes. 

[Autonuaq]

Think this man totally not understand the problems that are there with vaccination and protection. just tje king of people who as long as their bank account is filled they not care about the problems.

SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19) just showed the sources of spreading are just this kind business and they super spreading highways HORECA makes possible. also the recent events of last week like the closure of Perth australis is linke to traveling as well the recent spreading of the Brazilian mutation in Europe is linked to traveling.

[holy cow cm]

59 minutes ago, joecoolfrog said:

The fact remains that whilst quarantine remains in place , there will be next to no international tourism.

How will Thailand cope with millions unemployed , next to no social safety net and perhaps 20% of its GDP gone ?

There should be no tourism entry until they safeguard as in inoculate the most vulnerable first and now. Many of minority from here already went through having it the beginning of January 2020 to experiencing then 1 week later or then 14 days later. Test me and I am one of them maybe who has already has it then. Have the antibodies already I would think..  Richard.. I am not saying not open up now, but the looks as of the virus, everyone may lose a family member and close friend. One more hop from the smart Thai Government hop. Problem/Answer is ?????  Don't answer me please and stay safe.... 

[Caldera]

He has acquired Thai citizenship, subsequently renounced his American citizenship and yet he writes his prime minister in a foreign language. Weird.

 

As for his idea, we live in hope, but there's no proof that vaccinated people can't still spread the virus. There's also no proof that any given vaccination is effective against all present and future strains. At this point, this amounts to nothing more than wishful thinking.

 

[onebir]

5 hours ago, JohnHans said:

When someone receives the vaccination and the booster. they are protected from Covid-19 from making them seriously ill BUT will still catch the infection AND pass it on to other people.

Unclear, and at least one epidemiologist thinks it's unlikely:

Quote

Dr. Gili Regev-Yochay, director of Sheba’s Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit, and her staff will follow up for more than a year with vaccinated volunteers to continue studying the interaction between the virus and the vaccine.

Regev-Yochay said it is unlikely that vaccinated people can still spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus to others, but that’s not yet proven.

I'm hoping the Israeli data will clear this up in the next couple of months.

[kiwikeith]

14 hours ago, paddypower said:

He was the idiot who said '' we needed this coup'', when it happened. Ironically, now that the Govt. appears to be doing all to control the virus  and hand out helicopter money (classic military govt. thinking), he is unhappy. The only reason he is popping up his head now, is he is profit driven. why is it that once you get super wealthy, it is never enough?

Profit driven, yes.

But the biggest dribble in the letter is that neither he nor the vaccine manufacturers knows yet if the vaccinated will be able to pass the virus or how long immunity will last. 

 

They also don't know if those vaccinated can be reinfected. 

 

Another alarming fact is that the elderly were never tested during trials for side effects. 

[joecoolfrog]

2 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

The powers that be. Are they not wealthy already? I would gather their concern is only superficial level at best which is100% inconsequential to all the peons of Thai. They do not care about anything except for their own forced domineering governing fraternity. Nothing changes. 

Absolutely correct !

I guess I was commenting on what an inclusive , competent government should do rather than what this shambles will not do.

[Zap800]

I’ve been saying this since the announcement of a vaccine. 

[MuayThaiGuy]

They openly admit that the vaccine won't protect you from getting "covid", or transmitting it.

Many people have tested "positive" for covid after receiving the vaccine.

You'd have to have the discernment of a peanut if you're willing to inject yourself with a rushed, experimental mRNA vaccine because you were scared of a so-called "virus" that 99.7% of people survive (and most people don't even know they have).

[Albert Zweistein]

13 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

All this bluster about allowing Vaccinated Foreign Tourists back into Thailand completely misses the point IMO

Any Tourist that vacates in Thailand will most probably have to undergo a further 2 weeks of Quarantine upon their return to their Native Country.

A Country that has of this date, not even started to Vaccinate its Population, is way  behind the curve, and the Countries that have inoculated people will not allow them to transmit the Virus back in just for 2 weeks of Holiday time.

The price is too high.

Hienecke should be writing to Prayut in order to get the Thai population vaccinated, and as a leading Business person, that is what I would have expected of him.

Thailand is on the EU list of safe countries. No quarantine required upon return.

[sirineou]

For those who want 100% safety, I recement bubble wrap. 

[mbenson]

Stole the Copper Pan from Kim. Have little sympathy for him.

 

He is not idiot thought that is for sure. Interesting life story.

[Bkktodd]

5 hours ago, mrfill said:

An American megaphone telling the Thai government what to do.

 

Not the greatest recipe for success...

Thai-American  businessman. And do you see the Thai government doing anything to help its millions of unemployed Thais ?  im waiting 

 

plenty of expats in negativity mood here. Now i see why some of my friends stopping reading it.  Everyone is a ‘medically trained expert’  and somehow has destain for any ideas to bring Thailand back from the brink of disaster.  Collectively the expat community with its experience can work with Thais to offer assistance in someway.  
 

or just sit back and drink cheap beer and act more like an American tourist  with a megaphone 
 

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by Bkktodd

[Alidiver]

He's an idiot. 

I'm an excile, due my first jab tomorrow and there's nothing more I'd like than to return. 

But. 

Having the vaccine does not stop me from being a carrier and infecting others, it protects me from severe symptoms.