Phuket Sandbox: All tourists to wear location tracking wristbands

[Niteowl45]

Seriously, though, why would anybody want to go to Phuket, or even Thailand right now...?

 

I said it before and I'll say it again, unless we have other reasons like business or girlfriends/family going to Thailand now is just utter insanity.

 

Everything's closed, no freedom, tracking devices, social distancing... behind with vaccinations, the list goes on

People are free to throw away their money any way they want, but yeah, that's all going there would be now, a colossal waste of time and money.

 

Cancellations? It's a miracle they got any takers to begin with. It's really true that there's one born every minute ????

[kiwikeith]

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

All required testing should be at the expense of the desperate Thai govt. 

I think they might have a problem, the wrist bands they' ordered are to big for children and will fall off. 

Cable ties to the rescue. 

Source Only Joking. 

[kiwikeith]

8 hours ago, bolt said:

 

 

you will need to agree to ALL measures before boarding, you CANNOT refuse

If by chance you get in without knowing about wrist bands and refusing to wear one you could always be sent to a readjustment camp. 

[wasabi]

They may add a rule if you do not walk at least 10,000 steps a day you will pay double for health insurance. Might as well put the wristband to full use.

 

 

[Jalasko]

The idiot thai authoritarians really are out of touch with what a holiday is about, I hope they are taught a brutal lesson with dismal arrivals for the prison box.

[terryofcrete]

19 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

the actual models used are a suppository device.

 

not wristbands.  

Well then they go where they can stick their Sandbox ! 

[Mywayboy]

20 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

They really don't have a clue how Westerners think, or how this tracking bracelet will be received.

I can see people arriving in Thailand and blankly refusing to wear them.

We don't like authoritarianism and this action exemplifies it.

Gestapo tactics it's not going to attract any tourists. 

[HansumFarang]

Richard Barrow says that the wristband is only for people who have no smartphone.

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1405485701148282882

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[redwood1]

I think the new name for the Phuket  Sandbox is the Phuket Litterbox...

[billd766]

5 hours ago, shy coconut said:

I've not really been paying attention, so is there a country that you can just book a 

flight to and have a nice holiday with absolutely no restrictions? 

 

I'm in the UK and the list of places I can visit without having to quarantine on my return

is ridiculously small and virtually impossible to get to like the Falklands and St Helena.

 

Aus and NZ are ok but I'm not sure are open to tourists right now.

 

I live in Thailand and from what I read of the UK you are correct. Thailand however is a different kettle of fish. Here the government and sometimes the provinces make their own plans which are often changed 2 or 3 times in a week.

Thailand also has a list of countries that they will accept tourists from plus there are many restrictions before you even get near a flight plus you must have been fully vaccinated before applying to enter.

 

These are the latest suggestions from the local government in Phuket and if you follow the link you will see what the expats think about it.

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1220758-phuket-sandbox-all-tourists-to-wear-location-tracking-wristbands/page/2/

Posted 19 hours ago (edited)
Just so that I am clear
1.    Supply proof of vaccine
2.    Apply for visa
3.    Complete COE registration
4.    Covid insurance of at least 100,000 dollars
5.    Register SHA+ hotel (which will be overpriced)
6.    Arrange flight directly to Phuket (which will be overpriced)
7.    PCR test 72 hours before I leave UK
8.    Possible PCR test on arrival
9.    Load up tracking app on phone
10.    Wristband to track my every move
11.    Two PCR tests during my 14 day stay on Island (at my own cost)
12.    Entertainment venues closed
13.    Tracked by facial recognition
14.    Large fines for breaking rules (not sure what they are but will try to mindread when I get there)
15.    Unable to visit other islands, (Phi Phi, Coral etc)
16.    Wear mask at all times (Even when I am asleep on the beach??)
17.    No alcohol on beach.
18.    No alcohol with my meal
19.    10 day quarantine on arrival in UK
Or
1.    Fly to Portugal.
2.    Enjoy holiday
3.    Fly home

 

 

[bbbbooboo]

Hmmm.... this will have tourists flocking to Phuket in their tens of thousands. What a diabolically cunning way to attract tourists to a place?

[dsj]

13 hours ago, Kleepanna said:

50% population vaccinated and they have the best vaccines in the world

 

Almost 50% of the population is vaccinated and they have the BEST vaccine medicine 

66% of the population have been vaccinated in Canada,  which is better than 50%

[pizzachang]

22 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

No tourists in the right mind would put themselves through this

For the most part, I think you're correct. IMO, there is a type of tourist who might well submit. It is the "cruise ship" variety. As long as food and drink are included or some incentive to make them imagine they are 'getting a deal', this "day care" variety of tourist, might just be interested. But, from what I've observed in this country, the instigators have a long way to go before such a thing is possible. It might be because, they don't have any real investment, as do the hardworking capitalists that support the tourist industry...by investing, owning and running the businesses that made this nation a "great" tourist destination.

 

[Excel]

38 minutes ago, dsj said:

66% of the population have been vaccinated in Canada,  which is better than 50%

Any advance on 66% ? ????

[ChipButty]

This is not going down to well on social media getting a lot of bad publicity

[hotchilli]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

Officials said they expect approximately 129,000 foreigners to visit Phuket under the Sandbox scheme. 

Delete the zero's and you're still being optimistic.

[hotchilli]

22 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

You can take your meal in your room and buy alcohol at a mini-mart,

or has consumption of the "devils brew" been completely banned for the duration of ones stay in the sandbox?

You can do that at home... why fly around the world at huge expense to do the same?

[Hanaguma]

I imagine the only people willing to put up with all this are not tourists. They are people who already have ties with Thailand (sorry....) and just need to get back into the country.  Quarantine on an island is marginally better than quarantine in  a hotel near Suvarnabhumi.  So they will grin and bear it. 

But regular tourists? For my wife and I, we would need to go through a total of 7 Covid tests to vacation in Thailand, plus the island quarantine, etc. The tests alone would add something line 50,000 baht to our costs!

[thommo46]

Hurry up your days are up cat. My turn next.

[redwood1]

3 minutes ago, thommo46 said:

Hurry up your days are up cat. My turn next.

 

Is the cat going poo poo in the sandbox?

[spidermike007]

5 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

I think they might have a problem, the wrist bands they' ordered are to big for children and will fall off. 

Cable ties to the rescue. 

Source Only Joking. 

Since only 500 or so tourists will show up for this plan, they will need to find a secondary market for the wristbands. Ebay panic page? 

[BernieOnTour]

10 hours ago, Steve80 said:

5. International arrivals must download the MorChana app (english version), insert the CoE number and agree to 'share location'. Each hotel will have a SHA manager who will inform the relevant authorities if you switch off the share location permission

 

Does anyone know, if the MorChana app is storing locations, if you have no connectivity?

... thinking about the „airplane mode“ or „your battery is low“ ????

 

By the way: 

I really hope, those ATTA guys only know, how to „len Fate book“ or Instagram and have no bloody idea about IT.

 

I assumed, they would at least try to keep your data confidential and only use it, when the need for contact tracing is arising...

 

So:

HOW can a so-called „SHA manager“ in a hotel

(who is essentially an employee, not hiding fast enough, when they were looking for volunteers)

find out, that you switched off the share location permission 

.. and then inform the „relevant“ authorities ???

 

Edited June 18, 2021 by BernieOnTour

[bolt]

I’ve completed 1 ASQ and 1 ALQ, anything is better than those.

my bucket and spade are ready.

 

Phuket here I come  

[bolt]

5 minutes ago, BernieOnTour said:

So:

HOW can a so-called „SHA manager“ in a hotel

(who is essentially an employee, not hiding fast enough, when they were looking for volunteers)

find out, that you switched off the share location permission 

.. and then inform the „relevant“ authorities ???

 

they won't care, it was same for ASQ as long as you waive your phone thats enough

or even show a screen shot with the QR code,

 

 

During my previous visit to LOS  I activated the tracking application linked to your COE

So I can show them that and they wont know

 

Edited June 18, 2021 by bolt

[A Los for words]

On 6/17/2021 at 8:44 AM, clivebaxter said:

They'll be made in China so won't work for 14 days anyhow ????

You can always get another from the 20 baht shop..... and a card full of batteries.

[A Los for words]

For the cost of a dog collar for a soi dog, tourists can 'relocate' their wristbands and enjoy the freedom of Phuket while police try to arrest a pack of tourists congregating on the beach and in rubbish tips. 

[NoshowJones]

On 6/17/2021 at 8:46 AM, KarenBravo said:

They really don't have a clue how Westerners think, or how this tracking bracelet will be received.

I can see people arriving in Thailand and blankly refusing to wear them.

We don't like authoritarianism and this action exemplifies it.

What do you expect from a unelected "PM" in a country under military rule?

[BobinBKK]

Here is yet another deterrent to traveling to Phuket. It appears that tar balls are covering many of the beaches on the island as reported the the "Thaiger" media outlet.

 

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/environment/tar-balls-wash-ashore-on-several-phuket-beaches

[Hanuman2547]

This is a very poorly planned idea.  Few tourists are going to come to Phuket knowing that they are going to be GPS monitored (and who knows what else) during their stay on Phuket during the 14 day quarantine.  Tourists will cancel their plans and seek another holiday destination that is less restrictive.

[bolt]

20 minutes ago, Hanuman2547 said:

This is a very poorly planned idea.  Few tourists are going to come to Phuket knowing that they are going to be GPS monitored (and who knows what else) during their stay on Phuket during the 14 day quarantine.  Tourists will cancel their plans and seek another holiday destination that is less restrictive.

Where in the so called free world are we NOT monitored with GPS tracking