Phuket Opinion: Trapped Sandbox tourists need test and release

[merijn]

8 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

An idiot?

Or people who live on Phuket and want to return home.

[khunPer]

I'm now, after the latest news, this story and the one about two kids, seriously in doubt of that the sandbox scheme will receive the predicted 120,000 arrivals during thee month.

[ronbat]

I was on this flight EK 378 on 6 July and there is an almost universal spread of misinformation about the "14 passengers saga" 

 

1. The flight was half full

2. Deplaning at Phuket were about 70-100 passengers. That was surprising. 

3. The people who were quarantined were those in close proximity to the infected passenger and his family of 13 people. None of us were made aware of this apart from reading it in various websites a day or two after our arrival.  

4. No way any of us knew why they were coming to Phuket. If holiday it is quite puzzling and ill advised. 

5. I was in the front of the plane and had no contact with them nor did the vast majority of the passengers. 

6. Crew were in full hazmat gear and safety and sanitation standards were extremely high 

7, Only a small number of passengers continued on to Bangkok

These are the facts... now the speculation. 

 

Likely one of the children was infected. The story of the German lady is truly distressing if, as she claims no help was given to her and she had to fend for herself in finding an alternative accommodation. I think there is more to this than reported but unlike so many posts here about this event I see no reason to speculate when I have no real information. 

Edited July 12, 2021 by ronbat
faulty information

[Katipo]

Everyone: Covid is the worst thing to happen to Phuket.

 

Thai Government Officials: Hold my beer.

 

[Espanol]

8 hours ago, HampiK said:

As you can read in the text (in the link), she had become the phone call not on the day arriving for being transfered. So probably at that time, the airline staff already left phuket!

Airplane inmediatele after Phuket continued flight to Bangkok, where rest of passengers had destination.

After a more than 8 hours flight to Thailand, I assume that they went to hotel in Bangkok for R&R before flying back home next day.

Edited July 12, 2021 by Espanol

[Espanol]

7 hours ago, impulse said:

Do you have a link to her interview for those of us who are curious?

 

https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-sandbox-good-idea-gone-wrong-80641.php

 

 

 

[Espanol]

3 hours ago, ronbat said:

1. The flight was half full

2. Deplaning at Phuket were about 70-100 passengers. That was surprising. 

...

7, Only a small number of passengers continued on to Bangkok

 

It seems that Phuket is now a better alternative to ASQ hotels in Bangkok and most people returning to Thailand prefer that option.

 

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by Espanol

[eyup]

6 minutes ago, Espanol said:

Airplane inmediatele after Phuket continued flight to Bangkok, where rest of passengers had destination.

After a more than 8 hours flight to Thailand, I assume that they went to hotel for R&R before flying back home next day.

No! The logistics of Flight Crew Duty Limitations are much stricter for night flights than day flights. It is well within limitation to operate a two sector day flight . And, as it is a triangular operation,  for the crew to overnight in BKK makes sense. Especially as EK may have other services to BKK that crew can be rotated on to or not. 

[riclag]

It was a gallant effort for Petri Phuket imop ! The variant and the current situation through out all of Thailand makes one wonder why someone would want to sacrifice their vacation in the future, knowing it was possible that they could be stuck in quarantine because they had close contact with someone infected ! Welcome to the new normal ! 

[Espanol]

12 minutes ago, eyup said:

No! The logistics of Flight Crew Duty Limitations are much stricter for night flights than day flights. It is well within limitation to operate a two sector day flight . And, as it is a triangular operation,  for the crew to overnight in BKK makes sense. Especially as EK may have other services to BKK that crew can be rotated on to or not. 

Yes, that's what I mean:

 

"Airplane inmediatele after Phuket continued flight to Bangkok, where rest of passengers had destination.

After a more than 8 hours flight to Thailand, I assume that (once in Bangkok) they went to hotel for R&R before flying back home next day".

 

[Albert Zweistein]

9 hours ago, merijn said:

What does her name has something to do with it ??

Her name has nothing to do with it but Hungarian people being locked up for a long time behind the iron curtain are still not really aware of what is going on in the rest of the world. The same goes for the other ex communist countries. I don't mean it humiliating.

[zhounan]

One thing is sure: those people will remember this experience for the rest of their lives.

[GrandPapillon]

how can anyone be foolish enough to come over here for a vacation? LOL

[connda]

16 hours ago, webfact said:

Just how much damage the forced quarantine of tourists who test negative for COVID-19 has done to the Phuket Sandbox scheme remains to be seen.

Sweet Mother Mary.  Don't tell me they never gamed out that scenario?
"You're such a pessimist."
Not at all.  You could see this coming weeks ago. Which is exactly why myself and others who are even mildly gifted with a little bit of foresight have been mocking this from the get-go just to balance the unconstrained exuberant of the Thai government officials.

12 days in and it's finally dawning on them.  <laughs> 
You can't make this up.  It's better than Monty Python.

Edited July 12, 2021 by connda

[connda]

16 hours ago, merijn said:

It was not the plane load .....

Not this time!  But, given enough time?

[connda]

12 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

nterestingly only tourists were forced into quarantine, no mention of airline staff... Are they not deemed "high risk contacts" as well?

Funny how that works isn't it? 

[simon43]

1 hour ago, Albert Zweistein said:

Her name has nothing to do with it but Hungarian people being locked up for a long time behind the iron curtain are still not really aware of what is going on in the rest of the world. The same goes for the other ex communist countries. I don't mean it humiliating.

Um, the Iron Curtain fell in Hungary some 32 years ago..... ????

[chalawaan]

17 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Who on earth is going to book a holiday knowing your entire plane load could be quarantined if one passenger tests positive  ?

 

 

 

I used to think the term "more money than sense" was an envy call, I mean how can a person have loads of money with almost no sense?

 

Then I learned about the Thai Elites ...and the cashed-up tourists who actually believed them.

 

[mancub]

This lady also believed that her compulsory Covid insurance would most likely not cover her ASQ hotel bill, as she has not actually tested positive and been in need of any hospital care. All screwed up. 

[Peabody]

Did they bother to test her AT ALL, even an Ag/Ab test? How about another PCR test?

This stinks of $GRAB$.

And isn't it pretty easy to turn an SHA+ room into an ALQ room?

Edited July 12, 2021 by Peabody

[merijn]

1 hour ago, mancub said:

This lady also believed that her compulsory Covid insurance would most likely not cover her ASQ hotel bill, as she has not actually tested positive and been in need of any hospital care. All screwed up. 

I think that almost no insurance (maybe some special ones) will pay for this as there is no positive Covid result for her.

[Albert Zweistein]

4 hours ago, simon43 said:

Um, the Iron Curtain fell in Hungary some 32 years ago..... ????

Yes but many of them still have the same mentality, just look at their leader Orban.

[gim12]

the German lady states she is being charged 52,000 thb for the 14 day quarantine quarantine thats @  $113 a night, looks like  putting people in quarantine is  a money making deal

[utalkin2me]

My god why would they not just let them in. Tell them they are infected and put them up at the nicest beachfront hotel in Phuket for two weeks. This isn’t the the bubonic plague. 

[ThailandRyan]

11 minutes ago, utalkin2me said:

My god why would they not just let them in. Tell them they are infected and put them up at the nicest beachfront hotel in Phuket for two weeks. This isn’t the the bubonic plague. 

Not the way Thailand deals with someone who was infected or in close proximity.  They isolate and quarantine to ensure there is no spread.  However, is traveling really a necessity to a country that is in the throws of a spreading Delta and Alpha variant where just a little of over 4% of the population is vaccinated and being vaccinated still does not keep one from catching the virus or this spreading it, especially as we are now finding out about the Sinovac vaccine being fairly ineffective, especially amongst the medical workers with so many now infected and even dying.  Travel at your own risk and learn all of the possible outcomes is what I would suggest for anyone coming to Thailand.  The news has now made it throughout the world that the Sandbox is tainted and you will end up in quarantine and your vacation ruined, unless you were just returning home like many are doing.

[merijn]

24 minutes ago, gim12 said:

the German lady states she is being charged 52,000 thb for the 14 day quarantine quarantine thats @  $113 a night, looks like  putting people in quarantine is  a money making deal

This includes 3 meals a day but you are right it's still a good for the hotel.

[merijn]

2 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Not the way Thailand deals with someone who was infected or in close proximity.  They isolate and quarantine to ensure there is no spread.  However, is traveling really a necessity to a country that is in the throws of a spreading Delta and Alpha variant where just a little of over 4% of the population is vaccinated and being vaccinated still does not keep one from catching the virus or this spreading it, especially as we are now finding out about the Sinovac vaccine being fairly ineffective, especially amongst the medical workers with so many now infected and even dying.  Travel at your own risk and learn all of the possible outcomes is what I would suggest for anyone coming to Thailand.  The news has now made it throughout the world that the Sandbox is tainted and you will end up in quarantine and your vacation ruined, unless you were just returning home like many are doing.

Most people who travel to Phuket has a good reason to travel and only a very small number are tourist.

4% is for the whole of Thailand, Phuket has a vaccination of more then 70%

[ThailandRyan]

3 minutes ago, merijn said:

Most people who travel to Phuket has a good reason to travel and only a very small number are tourist.

4% is for the whole of Thailand, Phuket has a vaccination of more then 70%

70% vaccinated with at least 1 jab not 2.  It is also the sinovac vaccine, and they are now moving towards giving them the second of AstraZenica. 70% is what the government is saying, but it is not truly correct, as they have many believing you only need one Jab.

[MajorTom]

How hard is it to understand that these sandbox arrivals are the safest individuals in the country at the moment? And should be subject to less restrictions than anyone else when tested negative..

Unvaccinated arrivals from BKK can come to Phuket with no restrictions or SHA+ BS with a negative test. How many covid+ close contacts must they have had in the days prior to arrival, on skytrains, MRT, Domestic flight etc. 50? 200?

[MajorTom]

This reminds me a bit of the story about the flooding in BKK in 2010. The interior minister then rented a number of tugboats, placed them in the chao-praya river north of bkk to thrust against the flow in an attempt to slow down the river... Its a true story, it was reported and discussed on this forum.

 

Point is: Sending fully vaccinated, multiple times tested arrivals into ALQ is just as futile. While the province is fully open to high risk domestic travel.

Sometimes you think you live inside a Monty Python show.