Measures adopted to prepare Thailand for safe reopening to foreign arrivals

[webfact]

 

Thailand’s National Communicable Disease Committee (NCDC) has approved a set of measures to control the spread of COVID-19 in preparation for the safe reopening of Thailand to foreign arrivals, said Disease Control Department Director-General Dr. Opart Karnkawinpong said Monday.

 

One of the measures calls for the adoption of a new disease control guideline, “Smart Control and Living with COVID-19”, with the aim of vaccinating as many vulnerable people as possible, such as the elderly and those suffering from underlying diseases, and to enable people to get access to free COVID-19 screening, he said.

 

This approach also covers universal prevention, through active visits by rapid response mobile teams to individual residences in communities in Bangkok and its peripherals, especially in high-risk areas.

 

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Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/measures-adopted-to-prepare-thailand-for-safe-reopening-to-foreign-arrivals/

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-08-24

 

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[ThailandRyan]

Tada, they found the magic plan that will allow reopening. Rabbit successfully pulled from the hat.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

“Smart Control and Living with COVID-19”, with the aim of vaccinating as many vulnerable people as possible, such as the elderly and those suffering from underlying diseases, and to enable people to get access to free COVID-19 screening, he said.

 

Wait, isn't that what needed to be done anyway.

[aussiexpat]

Wow, this great new plan has been step one in most other countries... about time Thailand figured it out

 

"vaccinating as many vulnerable people as possible, such as the elderly and those suffering from underlying diseases, and to enable people to get access to free COVID-19 screening;"

[daveAustin]

18 months too late but fair dos. Fess up and give us your best estimate (yes we know you haven’t got an inkling of real figures!) so people can make an informed decision of whether they want ‘universe prevention’. 
w’kers. 

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

One of the measures calls for the adoption of a new disease control guideline, “Smart Control and Living with COVID-19”, with the aim of vaccinating as many vulnerable people as possible, such as the elderly and those suffering from underlying diseases, and to enable people to get access to free COVID-19 screening, he said.

Amazing Thailand.

[ThailandRyan]

2 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Amazing Thailand.

Never knew that what was already in place in many other locations that Thailand would ever follow suit......dumb as a box of rocks they are.

[sammieuk1]

According to the covid expert and Czar the country will be open in 120 days from the 1st of July nearly half way now general or was it fake news wishful thinking or non accountable mindless drivel ????  

[hotchilli]

31 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Never knew that what was already in place in many other locations that Thailand would ever follow suit......dumb as a box of rocks they are.

It was zoned like everything else.

[Chris Lawrence]

Just get the jab. There is talk of getting a booster shot 6 months later to further protect you. Get 2 now then a third in 6 months. 

[DrJack54]

12 minutes ago, Chris Lawrence said:

Just get the jab. There is talk of getting a booster shot 6 months later to further protect you. Get 2 now then a third in 6 months. 

Curious..... where in Thailand were you able to receive 2 jabs of vaccine and which brand. 

[smedly]

I don't see a problem opening up to fully vaccinated tourists provided they drop all the stupid red tape that currently operates in Phuket, they focussed testing on the tourists when in fact it should have been the general population (locals) in Phuket that were tested (at least once a week) - test trace and isolate - the tourists were not the problem yet multiple testing was focussed on them.

 

Then the other problem they have is with their own people and vaccine rollout and being able to provide enough vaccinated locals to support and staff the services tourists require.  

 

Another issue is - how many locals have had a shot of sinovac which offers little to no protection from delta - that is a huge issue

 

The fully vaccinated tourists are not the problem

[herfiehandbag]

Given that it has taken over a year to come up with a plan to vaccinate the vulnerable I shall not hold my breath waiting for a "rapid response team"!

[djayz]

Here we go again! 

[RotBenz8888]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

by rapid response mobile teams to 

Ah, Rapid Response BMWs? Rush out to check that everybody is wearing a mask? 

[Caldera]

So smart. Amazing.

[Will B Good]

52 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Curious..... where in Thailand were you able to receive 2 jabs of vaccine and which brand. 

Applied through Intervac. First jab Sinovac (not by choice) second AZ. Both done at Phayathai 2, BKK. Jabs four weeks apart.

 

[mikebell]

48 minutes ago, smedly said:

The fully vaccinated tourists are not the problem

They are if they don't come!  Why would ANY tourist want a holiday where the air is carcinogenic; the police allow cop-killers to walk free; there are violent protests on the streets; multiple daily deaths on the roads?  It would be like trying to  sell two-weeks-in-Beirut breaks a few years back!

[Will B Good]

Just now, mikebell said:

They are if they don't come!  Why would ANY tourist want a holiday where the air is carcinogenic; the police allow cop-killers to walk free; there are violent protests on the streets; multiple daily deaths on the roads?  It would be like trying to  sell two-weeks-in-Beirut breaks a few years back!

I wholeheartedly agree......YET......many tourists are totally oblivious to this backdrop of horror stories.

 

I spent years visiting as a tourist through the riots, the coup, the financial collapse, the tsunami ......and was oblivious to the lot.

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Applied through Intervac. First jab Sinovac (not by choice) second AZ. Both done at Phayathai 2, BKK. Jabs four weeks apart.

 

Ta. 

The problem (if you call it that) is AZ jabs are being given 12 weeks apart. So personally first AZ was July 27 so that puts second jab Oct 19. 

Many still trying to obtain first jab. 

Daily vaccine numbers have been 500k+. Fantastic if that's accurate.

[Bkktodd]

1 hour ago, Chris Lawrence said:

Just get the jab. There is talk of getting a booster shot 6 months later to further protect you. Get 2 now then a third in 6 months. 

8 months if it is approved by CDC

[Mr Meeseeks]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

I don't see a problem opening up to fully vaccinated tourists provided they drop all the stupid red tape that currently operates in Phuket, they focussed testing on the tourists when in fact it should have been the general population (locals) in Phuket that were tested (at least once a week) - test trace and isolate - the tourists were not the problem yet multiple testing was focussed on them.

 

Then the other problem they have is with their own people and vaccine rollout and being able to provide enough vaccinated locals to support and staff the services tourists require.  

 

Another issue is - how many locals have had a shot of sinovac which offers little to no protection from delta - that is a huge issue

 

The fully vaccinated tourists are not the problem

I agree, but the problem then becomes that they can't just allow tourists to swan around doing what they want while restrictions are imposed on locals and local businesses.

 

They made their bed with the silly restrictive entry requirements to appease nationalist sentiment when the dirty farang countries were getting hammered and Thailand was relatively COVID free and now the have to sleep in it.

 

As I have maintained all along they have been incredibly lucky so far, even with the gross mismanagement on display from vaccine procurement and provincial containment. 

[DrMJA]

Muppets prepare Thailand for safe reopening to foreign arrivals

 

 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2021 by Jai Dee
Text formatting removed

[gk10012001]

6 hours ago, aussiexpat said:

Wow, this great new plan has been step one in most other countries... about time Thailand figured it out

 

"vaccinating as many vulnerable people as possible, such as the elderly and those suffering from underlying diseases, and to enable people to get access to free COVID-19 screening;"

I would read between the lines from a contract language point of view. It says nothing about actual numbers or percentages or vaccinating the general population.  I think the are laying the ground work to punting and declaring things in a good state and opening up to the millions of tourists the economy needs

[Almer]

4 hours ago, Chris Lawrence said:

Just get the jab. There is talk of getting a booster shot 6 months later to further protect you. Get 2 now then a third in 6 months. 

 

2 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

I agree, but the problem then becomes that they can't just allow tourists to swan around doing what they want while restrictions are imposed on locals and local businesses.

 

They made their bed with the silly restrictive entry requirements to appease nationalist sentiment when the dirty farang countries were getting hammered and Thailand was relatively COVID free and now the have to sleep in it.

 

As I have maintained all along they have been incredibly lucky so far, even with the gross mismanagement on display from vaccine procurement and provincial containment. 

"Lucky so far"

[gearbox]

3 hours ago, mikebell said:

They are if they don't come!  Why would ANY tourist want a holiday where the air is carcinogenic; the police allow cop-killers to walk free; there are violent protests on the streets; multiple daily deaths on the roads?  It would be like trying to  sell two-weeks-in-Beirut breaks a few years back!

That sounds terrible. I expect the chaotic scenes from the evacuations in Afghanistan to be repeated soon by the expats here...one advice, don't hang on the landing gear, it retracts.

[oldcpu]

4 hours ago, smedly said:

.  

Another issue is - how many locals have had a shot of sinovac which offers little to no protection from delta - that is a huge issue

 

The fully vaccinated tourists are not the problem

A fairly large number of Phuket locals have received two jabs of a vaccine (352,343 people as of 22-August-2021) which I suspect is mostly Sinovac.   If one counts both 1-jab and 2-jabs then as of 22-August, then 428,114 is the official number of people vaccinated in Phuket. 

 

As for Sinovac not working well against Delta for preventing infections, sadly the same is also true for 1-jab of AstraZeneca, where its 8 to 10 weeks in between the 1st and 2nd jab of AstraZeneca.   Further, Thailand struggles to get AstraZeneca deliveries, and hopefully the recent news of 60-million AZ doses to be delivered by end of year-2021 is accurate, as I think many are skeptical.   I have also read articles (Israel for example) where Pfizer is not stopping Delta infections.  

 

Back to Thailand :  given the AstraZeneca shortage, and given ongoing studies that have indicated a Sinovac followed by AstraZeneca jab, is superior to BOTH 2-jabs Sinovac and superior to 1-jab AstraZeneca, its good to see the Thai government trying to recover from a far too slow start in vaccinating the country by offering this mix.  A caution thou - any one thinking of traveling internationally, this mix may not be recognized, as vaccination typess are becoming a political football between international governments.  

 

Phuket, despite its increasing # of cases every week, is still managing wrt hospitals/hospitels for those infected, compared for example to some cases in Bangkok, where some hospitals in Bangkok were overloaded and could not handle the # of people infected. 

 

I think the hospitals tell the story, and for those willing to look (with help from someone who can read Thai ) there are figures available for Phuket where one can see the infected/hospital situation in Phuket to a certain degree - and it IS far better shape than some of the more heavily hit provinces in Thailand.  ... That suggests the vaccines (Sinovac w/2-jabs and AstraZeneca) while FAR from being as good as the mRNA vaccines are helping - and are saving lives.

 

Having Sinovac save lives must really iritate the China haters, who love to put down anything Chinese.

Edited August 24, 2021 by oldcpu

[GStewart70]

8 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

A fairly large number of Phuket locals have received two jabs of a vaccine (352,343 people as of 22-August-2021) which I suspect is mostly Sinovac.   If one counts both 1-jab and 2-jabs then as of 22-August, then 428,114 is the official number of people vaccinated in Phuket. 

 

As for Sinovac not working well against Delta for preventing infections, sadly the same is also true for 1-jab of AstraZeneca, where its 8 to 10 weeks in between the 1st and 2nd jab of AstraZeneca.   Further, Thailand struggles to get AstraZeneca deliveries, and hopefully the recent news of 60-million AZ doses to be delivered by end of year-2021 is accurate, as I think many are skeptical.   I have also read articles (Israel for example) where Pfizer is not stopping Delta infections.  

 

Back to Thailand :  given the AstraZeneca shortage, and given ongoing studies that have indicated a Sinovac followed by AstraZeneca jab, is superior to BOTH 2-jabs Sinovac and superior to 1-jab AstraZeneca, its good to see the Thai government trying to recover from a far too slow start in vaccinating the country by offering this mix.  A caution thou - any one thinking of traveling internationally, this mix may not be recognized, as vaccination typess are becoming a political football between international governments.  

 

Phuket, despite its increasing # of cases every week, is still managing wrt hospitals/hospitels for those infected, compared for example to some cases in Bangkok, where some hospitals in Bangkok were overloaded and could not handle the # of people infected. 

 

I think the hospitals tell the story, and for those willing to look (with help from someone who can read Thai ) there are figures available for Phuket where one can see the infected/hospital situation in Phuket to a certain degree - and it IS far better shape than some of the more heavily hit provinces in Thailand.  ... That suggests the vaccines (Sinovac w/2-jabs and AstraZeneca) while FAR from being as good as the mRNA vaccines are helping - and are saving lives.

 

Having Sinovac save lives must really iritate the China haters, who love to put down anything Chinese.

Zzzzzzzzzzz................

Yeah imagine hating the country that has never apologised for unleashing a new virus that has killed, left long lasting effects, and destroyed the emotional and health lives of millions.

Then add insult to injury when WHO are impedied from finding out what actually happened in Wuhan, in order to make sure it doesn't happen again.

 

 

[Will B Good]

4 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Ta. 

The problem (if you call it that) is AZ jabs are being given 12 weeks apart. So personally first AZ was July 27 so that puts second jab Oct 19. 

Many still trying to obtain first jab. 

Daily vaccine numbers have been 500k+. Fantastic if that's accurate.

Yes, that is a huge gap and obviously leaves you almost(?) as vulnerable as having no jab.

[oldcpu]

23 minutes ago, GStewart70 said:

Zzzzzzzzzzz................

Yeah imagine hating the country that has never apologised for unleashing a new virus that has killed, left long lasting effects, and destroyed the emotional and health lives of millions.

Then add insult to injury when WHO are impedied from finding out what actually happened in Wuhan, in order to make sure it doesn't happen again.

 

 

Indeed - so many then like to bad mouth anything Chinese - even if it saves lives.  

[gearbox]

44 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

A fairly large number of Phuket locals have received two jabs of a vaccine (352,343 people as of 22-August-2021) which I suspect is mostly Sinovac.   If one counts both 1-jab and 2-jabs then as of 22-August, then 428,114 is the official number of people vaccinated in Phuket. 

 

As for Sinovac not working well against Delta for preventing infections, sadly the same is also true for 1-jab of AstraZeneca, where its 8 to 10 weeks in between the 1st and 2nd jab of AstraZeneca.   Further, Thailand struggles to get AstraZeneca deliveries, and hopefully the recent news of 60-million AZ doses to be delivered by end of year-2021 is accurate, as I think many are skeptical.   I have also read articles (Israel for example) where Pfizer is not stopping Delta infections.  

 

Back to Thailand :  given the AstraZeneca shortage, and given ongoing studies that have indicated a Sinovac followed by AstraZeneca jab, is superior to BOTH 2-jabs Sinovac and superior to 1-jab AstraZeneca, its good to see the Thai government trying to recover from a far too slow start in vaccinating the country by offering this mix.  A caution thou - any one thinking of traveling internationally, this mix may not be recognized, as vaccination typess are becoming a political football between international governments.  

 

Phuket, despite its increasing # of cases every week, is still managing wrt hospitals/hospitels for those infected, compared for example to some cases in Bangkok, where some hospitals in Bangkok were overloaded and could not handle the # of people infected. 

 

I think the hospitals tell the story, and for those willing to look (with help from someone who can read Thai ) there are figures available for Phuket where one can see the infected/hospital situation in Phuket to a certain degree - and it IS far better shape than some of the more heavily hit provinces in Thailand.  ... That suggests the vaccines (Sinovac w/2-jabs and AstraZeneca) while FAR from being as good as the mRNA vaccines are helping - and are saving lives.

 

Having Sinovac save lives must really iritate the China haters, who love to put down anything Chinese.

Samui, which is almost as vaccinated as Phuket, has so far more than 400 cases, one death (not vaccinated), and I think at the moment no people in intensive care. Not big number of cases as a sample but still some indication whether the vaccines work or not.