Countryside Town or Province EXTRA Quarantine?

[moon47]

Is any one else having problems in other provinces/towns outside of major cities?

 

I just arrived in a small town just south of Phetchabun in Phetchabun province.

 

We just finished our mandatory 14 day Quarantine in Bangkok and drove straight to our house in the country.

 

The town headsman is requesting all of our info (14day official quarantine proof, vaccination proof...) and is telling us we have to quarantine in a rented room for 7 more days. We can not stay in our own house with our own family because there are children and old people living there.

 

Is this whole country gone bonkers?

 

We would have to do this AGAIN even if we went to another town for ONE night and came back home. We will have to do that several times to go to a hospital in the closest city as my wife, myself and her daughter need to see doctors while we are here.

 

Again this is a VERY small town in the country not a major city. My wife tells me her cousin won't go to see a funeral of his family because the rules of this town and the town where the funeral is. If you know anything about Thai people, they will go through great lengths to visit family for any marriage, funeral, etc. So for him to decide not to go means these rules are difficult for the local Thai to swallow.

 

Any experience with expats in the country towns and provinces would be helpful.

 

Thank you.

 

M

[zzaa09]

I believe you'll find that all of these recent local regulations and respective protocol will be varying greatly throughout the country. 

Locale dependent and local politics play a hand. 

 

There's no universal national dictate directed towards the respective provinces or local municipalities. 

Some might have attained quite ridiculous, some more moderate and reasonable and some not observing/enforcing whatsoever.

[Denim]

Petchabun is a red zone and these rules are being applied everywhere as far as I know.

My wifes sister from Bangkok came to visit her mother and also had to do isolation. 

My wifes friend and her husband got covid here , probably from attending a crowded funeral. My wife and all her other friends opted not to attend.

As for the friend who did attend , her and her husband had to go into a temporary hospital until clear of infection. She is now out but her husband is still in and has deteriorated a bit.

 

Since this friend has her own hairdressing shop her business has been wiped out with all her regulars scared to use her any more.

 

This Delta wave is being taken very seriously and even small villages are carrying through all the mandatory regulations. In addition, in small towns and villages where everyone knows everyone else there are no secrets and new arrivals are noticed.

[Kenny202]

My wife got a similar story when she was going back to her village to be vaccinated as the queues in the city months away. Her village is actually in the same province as we live. This "headman" <deleted> is so archaic. I have lived in several villages and the headman usually barely has a 6th grade education. Usually voted in because of money handed out in the right places and large family... and generally any government money spent or improvements made in the area to the poh yai bans family's financial advantage and in the area they live. Just another greedy paw in the cookie jar.

[Dazinoz]

My girlfriend went home to Ubon last week to a small village. The local health official took her details and told her to stay at home 2 weeks and not to go out. At the home lives her grandparents, both in their 80s, her parents in their 50s, her 33 year old sister and her 2 year old niece. All of those can go out. Plus the other day she video chatted with me and a builder and his girlfriend were there doing some work inside no masks.

 

People get so tunnel vision on a rule they fail to look at the big picture.

[lanng khao]

I live in chok chai 30 kl outside of korat, when I arrived in a taxi here from my asq there was 2nurses waiting outside the house with there temperature guns at the ready, 

I tested at 38+, I could see the panic on there faces, I told them the Aircon in the taxi wasn't good so they let me go inside for 5minutes were l duly went and put my head in the freezer part of the fridge.

Came out was 36.7,all smiles and they went, never even mentioned nothing about the ice cube tray stuck to my head..

 

[ifmu]

guys this is NOT our choice we are guests here and we DO what is asked of us   even if we disagree    and cut the complaints and insults   they just show how poor a tourist you are 

[Dazinoz]

20 minutes ago, ifmu said:

guys this is NOT our choice we are guests here and we DO what is asked of us   even if we disagree    and cut the complaints and insults   they just show how poor a tourist you are 

Seriously? I am not complaining, disagreeing or insulting, I am just stating the facts. If they fall into any of those 3 categories then so be it.

 

I am not a tourist I have lived here over 8 years. I get tired or people saying we are guests. Guests are usually invited and don't normally pay over a million baht a year into the economy.

 

We are expats and chose to live here but doesn't mean you have to agree with everything. Yes, cannot do anything about it but don't have to agree.

[marin]

45 minutes ago, ifmu said:

guys this is NOT our choice we are guests here and we DO what is asked of us   even if we disagree    and cut the complaints and insults   they just show how poor a tourist you are 

Maybe that is true in your case. But for me its home 33 years here. Raised two kids who now choose to live and work outside Thailand. Do you understand this is home and we that choose to put in a few words here and there are well entitled to.  Do you mind if I ask when you plan on continuing your travels?

[Russell17au]

57 minutes ago, marin said:

Maybe that is true in your case. But for me its home 33 years here. Raised two kids who now choose to live and work outside Thailand. Do you understand this is home and we that choose to put in a few words here and there are well entitled to.  Do you mind if I ask when you plan on continuing your travels?

There is 1 question I will ask you first. Are you a Thai citizen with Thai citizenship papers? Now all because you have lived here for 33 years does not automatically make you a Thai citizen and if you are not a Thai citizen then you are only a temporary resident of Thailand. It maybe home for you but you do not have any legal rights except those of a temporary resident. Which is no rights at all. A friend of mine from Belgium moved to Australia with his family when he was 4 years old and he lived and worked in Australia on a Residents visa and when he retired he moved here to Thailand and after several years the Australian government notified him that his residents visa was being cancelled and his pension was being stopped because he is not an Australian citizen and has left Australia. The thing that he forgot to do was to become an Australian citizen so he was classed as a temporary resident. He has now returned to Australia to his family and he had to wait for 2 years before he could re-apply for his pension again. Unfortunately he will never be able to return to Thailand as he is now 86 years old and failing health. My point is that if you are not a citizen of a country then you are only a temporary resident until the country decides to kick you out no matter how long you have lived there and there is not a thing you can do about it..

[kiwikeith]

On 9/18/2021 at 12:49 PM, zzaa09 said:

I believe you'll find that all of these recent local regulations and respective protocol will be varying greatly throughout the country. 

Locale dependent and local politics play a hand. 

 

There's no universal national dictate directed towards the respective provinces or local municipalities. 

Some might have attained quite ridiculous, some more moderate and reasonable and some not observing/enforcing whatsoever.

Do not forget, village headmen get commissions, My wifes, friends BF was a Headman he used to take us out when we visited his area, but he never paid, we all paid, and the GF told my Wife he gets fee food /beer everywhere and other things free.

That goes with the job , so probably the headman sees a falang returning and Bingo he's got someone a customer, and a commission, they got to live.

[marin]

1 hour ago, Russell17au said:

There is 1 question I will ask you first. Are you a Thai citizen with Thai citizenship papers? Now all because you have lived here for 33 years does not automatically make you a Thai citizen and if you are not a Thai citizen then you are only a temporary resident of Thailand. It maybe home for you but you do not have any legal rights except those of a temporary resident. Which is no rights at all. A friend of mine from Belgium moved to Australia with his family when he was 4 years old and he lived and worked in Australia on a Residents visa and when he retired he moved here to Thailand and after several years the Australian government notified him that his residents visa was being cancelled and his pension was being stopped because he is not an Australian citizen and has left Australia

 I hold permanent residency and have for quite a while. I am sorry about your friend but that in no way relates to me. As I said this is home, I have no fear, and am not the paranoid type like you. I wont go into anymore details but it seems to me you have never met a long term expat who married got ahead and made a nice life here.  Which is a pity. Many of my close friends live here in the same situation I do and also feel quite comfortable.

[scorecard]

15 minutes ago, marin said:

 I hold permanent residency and have for quite a while. I am sorry about your friend but that in no way relates to me. As I said this is home, I have no fear, and am not the paranoid type like you. I wont go into anymore details but it seems to me you have never met a long term expat who married got ahead and made a nice life here.  Which is a pity. Many of my close friends live here in the same situation I do and also feel quite comfortable.

"...after several years the Australian government notified him that his residents visa was being cancelled and his pension was being stopped because he is not an Australian citizen and has left Australia."

 

He may be able to return to live in Australia for 2 years to gain/achieve 'residence qualifications' which would mean he is qualified to receive the full OAP (old age pension). In this situation (if he accepted to gain 'residencecy' he would receive the OAP immediately in Australia. If he can gain 'residence' then after 2 years in Australia he would also be entitled to 'portability' which means he could get his full pension paid into a bank account abroad for the rest of his life and not need to personally ever return to Australia.

[recom273]

Yup, we had to do the same (not the rented room) 

 

The village headman didn't want to us to move into a house that we rented - this is after months of planning a move of 1700km. They waited until the moment we had packed the trucks and handed back the keys on our old place before calling to break the good news.

 

On the day of the flight the municipality made a rule of 14 days self-isolation on the day we moved, so we were saved, but really there was nothing we could have done apart to stick to the plan.

 

So yeah, its all balls, the headman can make his own rules.

 

In our instance, we were a couple of days into our self isolation, which was fine, and we heard the news that if it would have been any later we would have had to do two weeks quarantine in a school sports hall.

 

Ask you village headman about the vaccination program .. sinovac is the only word our guy knows. 

 

 

[GreasyFingers]

1 hour ago, marin said:

 I hold permanent residency and have for quite a while. I am sorry about your friend but that in no way relates to me. As I said this is home, I have no fear, and am not the paranoid type like you. I wont go into anymore details but it seems to me you have never met a long term expat who married got ahead and made a nice life here.  Which is a pity. Many of my close friends live here in the same situation I do and also feel quite comfortable.

Similar situation to the OP in our Phetchabun village with a Thai national returning from UK. Quarantine in house for 2 weeks after doing ASQ in Bangkok on return from UK. The nearest known infections are 10km away in an ethnic village.

[zzaa09]

6 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Similar situation to the OP in our Phetchabun village with a Thai national returning from UK. Quarantine in house for 2 weeks after doing ASQ in Bangkok on return from UK. The nearest known infections are 10km away in an ethnic village.

In most instances this double provincial quarantine business might be OTT. 

Rural scenarios shouldn't be pressed with such procedures, most certainly if you've already completed your 2 weeks in BKK and everything checks out. 

 

What could be done as a more logical option, might be to ask the returning individual to strongly practice mitigation measures - masking, distancing, etc for their duration - en lieu of "home prison quarantine". 

[malthebluff]

It's crazy each town making up their own rules  nobody knows the rules fully or not understand them but it goes further. I am flying to bangkok from surat and staying maybe 2 nights and when I asked what I need they told me just my passport. Unconvinced I asked a few airlines and they all told me different fully vaccinated covid test and quarantine. So I asked again vietair and again only passport needed.  So only need a passport to go from a red zone into a green zone with some airlines which dosnt make any sense but its Thailand after all 

[zzaa09]

7 minutes ago, malthebluff said:

It's crazy each town making up their own rules  nobody knows the rules fully or not understand them but it goes further. I am flying to bangkok from surat and staying maybe 2 nights and when I asked what I need they told me just my passport. Unconvinced I asked a few airlines and they all told me different fully vaccinated covid test and quarantine. So I asked again vietair and again only passport needed.  So only need a passport to go from a red zone into a green zone with some airlines which dosnt make any sense but its Thailand after all 

From the start, they're not all on the same page - nor really have given all of this <deleted> any sensible thought. 

Much of said COVID and political measures have been born of knee-jerk. 

[Harveyboy]

57 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Similar situation to the OP in our Phetchabun village with a Thai national returning from UK. Quarantine in house for 2 weeks after doing ASQ in Bangkok on return from UK. The nearest known infections are 10km away in an ethnic village.

yep im in phetchabun needed to travel to pattaya....satahip for doctors  appointment but cannot bern told by officials if i go must isolate on coming back ..so we are red.. Pattaya is red so is it anymore dangerous going from one to another

[GreasyFingers]

2 minutes ago, Harveyboy said:

yep im in phetchabun needed to travel to pattaya....satahip for doctors  appointment but cannot bern told by officials if i go must isolate on coming back ..so we are red.. Pattaya is red so is it anymore dangerous going from one to another

I have needed a cataract operation but was caught out by the red zone after arranging the operation in another province now in red. I can wait so hopefully you can too.

[Scott Tracy]

It would be true to say There are variations of processes everywhere. I suggest this is born of ignorance and fear.

 

Fear of the unknown and ignorance of what is best practise. But also, too many variables.

What do I do it someone comes from a deep red area? Quarantine for 14 days... Sounds logical, and best practise, until you factor in 14 days in a deep red area quarantining as you've come from another deep red area or flown in from another country.

Too many variables, therefore, reduce the variables to a manageable amount...1...

Everyone quarantined in the tent by the village hall for 14 days, if you don't come from a green area. Or lie to the Or Sor Mor and head cheese. Tell them you came from a green area...

Weird thing is, a guy, who hasn't been seen for about 15 years, married to a woman from a province far far away, came back to the village as his parents are there. Why? His wife went home to her village and he didn't want to go.  14 days quarantine. 1 option, 1 solution...easy.

[StevieAus]

13 hours ago, scorecard said:

"...after several years the Australian government notified him that his residents visa was being cancelled and his pension was being stopped because he is not an Australian citizen and has left Australia."

 

He may be able to return to live in Australia for 2 years to gain/achieve 'residence qualifications' which would mean he is qualified to receive the full OAP (old age pension). In this situation (if he accepted to gain 'residencecy' he would receive the OAP immediately in Australia. If he can gain 'residence' then after 2 years in Australia he would also be entitled to 'portability' which means he could get his full pension paid into a bank account abroad for the rest of his life and not need to personally ever return to Australia.

While what has happened to your friend sounds sad one would have to ask the question why he didn’t become an Australian Citizen.

I have met people over the years mainly from Europe who for reasons best known to themselves would not take it out when all that was required was completing a form.

If in that situation like your friend if you let your visa lapse you have to start again.

I ensured that my Thai wife obtained hers on the earliest possible date, now although we live here it’s never lost.

[Farma]

What a lot of you are missing is the fact covid is being introduced into villages from people mostly travelling back from Bangkok or other red zones.

 

I've been told by medical staff that sometimes up to 80% of my provinces daily cases can be traced to an outside arrival not quarantining then spreading it to family and friends. I imagine the same could be said for other provinces.

 

The locals, pu yai barns, volunteers and police have been told to report anyone not following the rules with police escorting non compliant people to quarantine. Word spreads fast even to neighbouring villages.

 

Just about every largervillage i drive through has it own little quarantine area.

 

I've done ASQ followed by another 14 days home quarantine. It not a big problem. 

[superal]

Me too . 15 nights in Phuket sandbox deal and 4 covid tests ( 1 in the UK ) . Sandbox deal says I am free to travel anywhere in Thailand after my 14 night stay but they forgot to tell the local Kap Choeng immigration cos when phoning them to tell them I  am back living in my village the officer said I must stay in my house for 2 weeks .

Do you think I can get my " sandbox deal "  money back ?

[NoshowJones]

Looks like this is just another Thai going on a power trip. Just like other Thai traits like making unnecessary noise and wearing uniforms.

Just what authority does this headman or whatever he is, have over the OP? Would he actually have the power to call the cops and demand that they tell the OP to do what he says? Can the OP not just tell this little Hitler where to get off?

[superal]

19 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Looks like this is just another Thai going on a power trip. Just like other Thai traits like making unnecessary noise and wearing uniforms.

Just what authority does this headman or whatever he is, have over the OP? Would he actually have the power to call the cops and demand that they tell the OP to do what he says? Can the OP not just tell this little Hitler where to get off?

No he cannot and I believe that FARMA  ( 3 posts back ) has got the correct info 

[NoshowJones]

20 hours ago, ifmu said:

guys this is NOT our choice we are guests here and we DO what is asked of us   even if we disagree    and cut the complaints and insults   they just show how poor a tourist you are 

Guests! ??????????????????????

[NoshowJones]

16 hours ago, recom273 said:

Yup, we had to do the same (not the rented room) 

 

The village headman didn't want to us to move into a house that we rented - this is after months of planning a move of 1700km. They waited until the moment we had packed the trucks and handed back the keys on our old place before calling to break the good news.

 

On the day of the flight the municipality made a rule of 14 days self-isolation on the day we moved, so we were saved, but really there was nothing we could have done apart to stick to the plan.

 

So yeah, its all balls, the headman can make his own rules.

 

In our instance, we were a couple of days into our self isolation, which was fine, and we heard the news that if it would have been any later we would have had to do two weeks quarantine in a school sports hall.

 

Ask you village headman about the vaccination program .. sinovac is the only word our guy knows. 

 

 

It seems to me that village/town headmen probably have even less of the  mentality of even the unelected PM and most of his soldiers who are making a right mess of trying to  run the country. Some maybe not even finishing High School. Brown envelopes rule. This is Thailand.

[GreasyFingers]

4 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

It seems to me that village/town headmen probably have even less of the  mentality of even the unelected PM and most of his soldiers who are making a right mess of trying to  run the country. Some maybe not even finishing High School. Brown envelopes rule. This is Thailand.

It is a direction of the Provincial Governor. The puu yai just carries out the orders, unless you do it differently in the city.

[NoshowJones]

16 hours ago, zzaa09 said:

In most instances this double provincial quarantine business might be OTT. 

Rural scenarios shouldn't be pressed with such procedures, most certainly if you've already completed your 2 weeks in BKK and everything checks out. 

 

What could be done as a more logical option, might be to ask the returning individual to strongly practice mitigation measures - masking, distancing, etc for their duration - en lieu of "home prison quarantine". 

Poor education, low mentality and little common sense. People voted into an authority with no qualifications for their job. This is Thailand. The same applies to the military ruled government, except that they were not voted in.