COVID alert for Phuket Thai Smile flight from Bangkok

[webfact]

The COVID alert issued this afternoon (July 14). Image : Phuket Info Center

 

By The Phuket News

 

PHUKET: Phuket officials have issued an alert for all people sitting in high-risk areas near a person now confirmed as COVID-positive who travelled on a Bangkok-Phuket flight on July 7.

 

The alert was issued by the Phuket Info Center, operated by the Phuket office of the Ministry of Interior, this afternoon (July 14).

 

The passengers affected are those who were on Thai Smile Airlines Flight WE287 from Bangkok to Phuket, departing Suvarnabhumi airport at 5:20pm on July 7, said the alert.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/covid-alert-for-phuket-thai-smile-flight-from-bangkok-80682.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2021-07-15

 

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[RichardColeman]

All people sitting in the seats marked were asked to be tested for COVID-19 at a hospital near their homes and if required be detained in a place designated by the government.

 

And that's exactly why they probably wont !

[redwood1]

Even if you were there who's stupid enough to say they were....People may be dumb but they are not that dumb....

Edited July 14, 2021 by redwood1

[Espanol]

An alert 7 days after the flight landed is completely useless. 

 

If some of those passengers got infected, they already spread infection. 

 

While measures to prevent foreign tourists been infected are enormous, there is a big lack of control of Thai people entering Phuket from red zone Bangkok. 

[impulse]

53 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

Even if you were there who's stupid enough to say they were....People may be dumb but they are not that dumb....

You don't figure they can find them by the airline manifest that requires a gub'ment ID?

 

One thing worse than testing is being arrested for ducking Covid restrictions.  And this is a gub'ment that doesn't hesitate to arrest people retroactively to make an example of them.

 

 

Edited July 14, 2021 by impulse

[Cake Monster]

7 hours ago, Espanol said:

An alert 7 days after the flight landed is completely useless. 

 

If some of those passengers got infected, they already spread infection. 

 

While measures to prevent foreign tourists been infected are enormous, there is a big lack of control of Thai people entering Phuket from red zone Bangkok. 

And it is from some Red Zone that the Virus will enter Phuket, not from Foreign Tourists.

Of this fact you may be certain, and its not if, but when the Delta Virus will take hold in Phuket.

This is the 3rd such flight alert in as many weeks. if these are the numbers for Flights, I wonder how many are infected that traveled into Phuket by Road.

My guess would be that there are several Thai Carriers right now in Phuket spreading the Love everywhere they go.

Tick Tock

[phetphet]

And today they open Samui to the same risks.

[Burma Bill]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

The passengers affected are those who were on Thai Smile Airlines

I bet no smiles now!!

[pokerface1]

10 hours ago, Espanol said:

While measures to prevent foreign tourists been infected are enormous, there is a big lack of control of Thai people entering Phuket from red zone Bangkok. 

Agreed a huge problem on the Covid horizon. Perhaps they should have segregated the international tourists from the local tourists if there not forced to follow the same rules.  

[superal]

I thought that there were no domestic flights entering Phuket , as per sandbox rules , only international flights 

[LivinginKata]

5 hours ago, superal said:

I thought that there were no domestic flights entering Phuket , as per sandbox rules , only international flights 

 Domestic flight are still flying into Phuket

[superal]

8 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

 Domestic flight are still flying into Phuket

Apologies cos I got it wrong . I just checked the " sandbox rules " which say only direct international flights to Phuket are allowed for " sandbox applicants . This does not make sense as domestic flights from the red zone of Bangkok are still allowed and probably bringing in the covid virus and this is a contradiction of the " sandbox " scheme . Or am I missing something ?

[kimamey]

16 hours ago, superal said:

I thought that there were no domestic flights entering Phuket , as per sandbox rules , only international flights 

There are domestic flights but only for those already in Thailand and the requirements are less as well. Unless it's changed you need to be vaccinated or have a negative test even if you've come through the Bangkok that has a high rate of infection whereas if you arrive on an international flight you need both. That's the case even if you depart from a low or medium risk country or transit through one. I'm not sure of the rules if you transit through a high risk country. 

 

So it's not safe to transit through BKK if you arrive from another country but it is safe if you are in Thailand already.

 

I think that's right. Perfectly sensible apparently.

[kimamey]

1 hour ago, superal said:

Apologies cos I got it wrong . I just checked the " sandbox rules " which say only direct international flights to Phuket are allowed for " sandbox applicants . This does not make sense as domestic flights from the red zone of Bangkok are still allowed and probably bringing in the covid virus and this is a contradiction of the " sandbox " scheme . Or am I missing something ?

If you are missing something then you're probably not the only one and that includes me.  I've just posted on the same subject and not for the first time.

[Burma Bill]

For reference:-

Flights that have just arrived or shortly due to arrive in Phuket:-

 

 https://www.flightradar24.com/data/airports/hkt

 

4:45 PM	FD3017	Bangkok (DMK)	Thai AirAsia	320		Scheduled
4:55 PM	VZ306	Bangkok (BKK)	Thai Vietjet Air	320		Scheduled
5:05 PM	LY81	Bangkok (BKK)	El Al Israel Airlines	B788 (4X-ERB)		Landed 4:38 PM
5:15 PM	SL768	Bangkok (DMK)	Thai Lion Air	B738 (HS-LUH)		Estimated 4:57 PM
5:20 PM	FD4110	Bangkok (BKK)	Thai AirAsia	320		Canceled
5:40 PM	VZ308	Bangkok (BKK)	Thai Vietjet Air	320		Scheduled
5:50 PM	PG277	Bangkok (BKK)	Bangkok Airways	ATR		Canceled
6:15 PM	VZ2304	Bangkok (BKK)	Thai Vietjet Air	320		Scheduled   The El Al flight has passengers for Bangkok and Phuket. Phuket passengers do not leave the plane in Bangkok as all formalities are completed on arrival in Phuket.

[JCP108]

And, why don't they follow this same procedure or international arrivals?

[impulse]

12 hours ago, kimamey said:

So it's not safe to transit through BKK if you arrive from another country but it is safe if you are in Thailand already.

 

I think that's right. Perfectly sensible apparently.

With between 10-20% of Thai people testing positive, requiring a test within 7 days of getting on a domestic flight to HKT is a recipe for disaster, especially if they don't require another test on arrival before running rampant in the Sandbox.  The odds that a Thai local has been exposed to someone with Covid in the 7 days leading up to the flight are about 100% unless they hid in their basement, drove themselves to the airport, and stayed at least 20' from everyone else in the airport.  And it's just as bad if they're crossing by land.

 

The issue, of course, is that reliable testing (RT-PCR) costs 3000 baht or more in a country where people often make 1/10 of that in a day, if they even have a job during the Covid mess.  Unemployed locals coming to Phuket to cash in on the tourist money would be out weeks of salary up front if they had to follow the same requirements as the vaccinated, tested (and tested again and again and yet again) tourists.

 

[kimamey]

11 hours ago, impulse said:

With between 10-20% of Thai people testing positive, requiring a test within 7 days of getting on a domestic flight to HKT is a recipe for disaster, especially if they don't require another test on arrival before running rampant in the Sandbox.  The odds that a Thai local has been exposed to someone with Covid in the 7 days leading up to the flight are about 100% unless they hid in their basement, drove themselves to the airport, and stayed at least 20' from everyone else in the airport.  And it's just as bad if they're crossing by land.

 

The issue, of course, is that reliable testing (RT-PCR) costs 3000 baht or more in a country where people often make 1/10 of that in a day, if they even have a job during the Covid mess.  Unemployed locals coming to Phuket to cash in on the tourist money would be out weeks of salary up front if they had to follow the same requirements as the vaccinated, tested (and tested again and again and yet again) tourists.

 

Correct of course and I feel for those here and in other countries that due to their low financial status are more negatively affected than those more financially stable. It's not a distinction covid makes unfortunately.