Israeli tourist who fled quarantine in Bangkok infected with Omicron variant

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, Genmai said:

I can't believe how many commenters actually believe announcements from Thai officials at face value. Nobody is supporting the guy, just that some are questioning the media narrative in light of Thai people's begrudging sentiments towards foreigners and the fact that we haven't yet heard anything from the Israeli himself.

Yeah watch out for rushes to judgement.

[Genmai]

9 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yeah watch out for rushes to judgement.

Is that your coy way of suggesting that overall perception of foreigners in Thailand (and particularly in the media) is positive?

[Sametboy2019]

This guy is a modern miracle. Gets covid then doesnt have covid then has covid. His powers of recovery are amazing. Get him to the hospital and get some blood and create a super vaccine!

[stigar]

Many years ago the police in surin arrived my home there.Told me to go with them.I asked for what?

A foreigner had smashed his hotelroom in Prasat.So they want me to translate(yes i speak thai)

We arrived the hotel and his room look terrible..have even take a <deleted> on the floor.They fined him 20.000 bath that he couldnt pay so they brougth him to BKK detensioncenter.What happend after with him i dont know.If we brake the rules/laws in another countrie we get as deserved.I read that this israely guy will get deported and blacklisted.Im wery careful when im in another country and never brake their rules/laws.

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, stigar said:

Im wery careful when im in another country and never brake their rules/laws.

I break Thai laws all the time, drive my m/c without a helmet, drive my car without a seat belt, etc.

Not to mention bribing the police when caught without my helmet or seatbelt.

Nobody seems that bothered.

[BritManToo]

18 minutes ago, Sametboy2019 said:

This guy is a modern miracle. Gets covid then doesnt have covid then has covid. His powers of recovery are amazing. Get him to the hospital and get some blood and create a super vaccine!

I'm guessing that for his fourth test the test centre were instructed to have a positive result.

Thailand, land of scams against foreigners.

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, Silencer said:

Reporters here don't investigate anything if it has any connection to politics. They march along with the beat and 'report' what they are told. Occasionally, foreign press will break some stories.

If you're in Thailand, you do what the government says off get arrested (or buried in an oil drum).

Foreign press don't face the same penalty.

[BritManToo]

11 hours ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

either way, tourists who come to thailand might be very carefull now, because

a positive PCR ,even with "little bit virus", might put them in very expensive hospital quarantine

that is not covered by health insurance if there are no symptoms (because most insurance companies will insure only "sick" people, not just administrative quarantines).

I agree, and would go further to state foreigners entering Thailand at this time need their heads examining. Stay home, or go somewhere else, avoid the risk of extortion and possibly imprisonment.

[richard_smith237]

26 minutes ago, Genmai said:

42 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yeah watch out for rushes to judgement.

Is that your coy way of suggesting that overall perception of foreigners in Thailand (and particularly in the media) is positive?

Over the years there has been a ‘gentle’ shift in attitudes clumsily voiced by officials which shine light on their negative sentiment towards ‘foreigners’......    these subtle and sometimes less subtle pubic outburst and comments play their roll in the shifting tides of opinion towards foreigners... 

 

The behaviour of some foreigners has played its hand in a developing subtle mistrust of Thai’s towards foreigners and played into the hands of the Nationalistic Government. 

 

Fortunately the vast majority of Thai’s are polite enough and welcoming enough to make their own decisions and judgements, however, there are a minority influenced by such comments which are a dog-whistle to the media who play their part in perpetuating the ‘foreigner = bad’ myth to score hits on their news / web pages. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BritManToo]

14 hours ago, internationalism said:

Why he went to pattaya and then immediately to samui?

When I first came to Thailand, I stayed in Bangkok, didn't like it and immediately got the train to Chiang Mai. Most tourists I encounter visit at least 3 areas on their 2 week holidays.

[stigar]

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I agree, and would go further to state foreigners entering Thailand at this time need their heads examining. Stay home, or go somewhere else, avoid the risk of extortion and possibly imprisonment.

I agree with u.Thats why im NOT going back before 31st march next year.If its still the same as now i will rebooking until all this is gone.Im worry that thailand will still have alot of rules even cocid is gone.

[richard_smith237]

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

30 minutes ago, Sametboy2019 said:

This guy is a modern miracle. Gets covid then doesnt have covid then has covid. His powers of recovery are amazing. Get him to the hospital and get some blood and create a super vaccine!

I'm guessing that for his fourth test the test centre were instructed to have a positive result.

Thailand, land of scams against foreigners.

 

More a ‘face saving’ measure than anything else I suspect.....   Run the Ct cycle (replication cycle) 45 times just to make sure.... of course the normal Ct cycle of 30-35x may not have recognised the presence of the virus.

 

It is highly suspect that a Lab in Samui does not identify the presence, yet the same sample sent to Bangkok does. 

 

If anything the Israeli Tourist; Baruch and his Embassy should be demanding an independent further PCR test. 

 

The rest of the investigation should involve how he actually left the hotel, how was he allowed, did he simply ‘walk out after 24 hrs’ thinking he’d completed his ’Test & Go’ quarantine, or did he know he was ‘escaping’ and braking regulations by leaving without a negative result in hand ???

 

[Smokey and the Bandit]

11 hours ago, SteveWilts said:

I can't believe how many commenters actually support this guy!

I can't believe how many people have found him guilty already when the facts are becoming increasingly obscure!

[ThailandRyan]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

When I first came to Thailand, I stayed in Bangkok, didn't like it and immediately got the train to Chiang Mai. Most tourists I encounter visit at least 3 areas on their 2 week holidays.

Then the next time or two they visit the real Thailand, the rural one...why because they now have a Thai GF and are being taken home to the family, and there the ATM starts to pay dividends for the Family he has been made a part of.  Especially after granny and the older ladies grab the mans arms and check to see if he is strong or flabby.  The bigger the better for most as they feel he has more money if he is a big man....Okay way off topic.

 

He may have believed he was free to go as his test was negative at first, but where was his passport, and did he just checkout and leave or what as Richard has above indicated the possibility of in his post.

[Trip Hop]

5 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

It refers to the CT count. Quick tests will only show a positive result if the CT count is above 30, if I'm not mistaken. If the CT counts is below that the test will come back negative. PCR tests on the other hand  are much more precise and they will show a positive result even if the CT count is below 30. At around 30 you're almost not contagious anymore hence the "small amount" part in the article.

Not quite.  The CT value is basically the amount that the PCR test amplifies the sample.  So a person with a high viral load and infectious will show positive with say a CT value of 20 or above as it requires less amplification to be detected?  Someone with a lower viral load who is no longer infectious, won't show positive until the CT value or amplification is increased to say 30 or above?  Most PCR tests in Europe use a CT threshold of 35, however Thailand uses 40?  This is the issue, if a high enough CT threshold is used, minute amounts of the virus RNA left in the body from say an infection 2-3 months ago, will still generate a positive result?  There is a big difference between someone having traces of the virus in their body and them being infectious and capable of transmitting the virus to others?  Contrary to your beliefs, LFTs work better with higher viral loads with equivalent CT values of below 30 and whereby a CT value of <27/28, is widely considered to be the infectious range?  There are questions regarding the accuracy of some but there are actually ones out there that are independently verified to be 100% accurate at a CT<27?

[Danderman123]

3 hours ago, Daithi85 said:

I would of thought he payed his hotel when booking. 

When you check out, there is a paperwork trail.

[James105]

14 hours ago, internationalism said:

Why he went to pattaya and then immediately to samui?

Sausage allergy?

[Mavideol]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

which was positive for the Omicron variant, but in a small amount, which may be the reason why his COVID-19 tests in Samui came back negative.

if they only knew how stupid they sound/look with statements like that

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I agree, and would go further to state foreigners entering Thailand at this time need their heads examining. Stay home, or go somewhere else, avoid the risk of extortion and possibly imprisonment.

'Extortion and imprisonment’ - thats over egging the pudding somewhat... actually, its a full on egg tart of exaggeration... 

 

Extortion ? Many countries include the costs of quarantine (many more expensive than Thailand). 

Extortion ? Test positive - Insurance covers the quarantine

Imprisonment ? - Test Positive, you expect Positive cases to be free’d from quantile ?

Imprisonment ? - Negative Proximity case (there have only been 3 in the news) - not really a risk but makes for great comments, especially on this forum.

 

 

I’ve re-entered Thailand 4x over the past 15 months, as have a lot of people I know - no issues whatsoever. But, if we (my family or I) test positive on arrival, we would of course have to ‘isolate’...   Could we isolate at home? No. We’d end up in a Hospitel which insurance covers. 

 

 

[Joules]

Look, let's be clear about one thing.  There is a routine of arriving and being quarantined while waiting for a test result.  Since tests were taken before flying, these tests are always or almost always negative.  Anybody that knows anything knows about certain of these hotels that for a prepaid room and a "fee" will let you blow off quarantine and go into the city to have a good time.  Of course, if somebody tested positive and was gone, the hotel folks are going to panic and say he fled.  Nonsense.  

 

I am guessing this poor guy just went on about his vacation and was probably totally shocked when he was nabbed.  Don't be too quick to judge.  This is probably just another cock and bull Thai Story about another dirty farang that is single-handedly spreading the omicron variant throughout Thailand. 

 

I am laughing right now because somebody out there is saying, "Well they surely tried to call him!  Didn't he pick up the call?"  He probably did what I do.  He got a call from a strange number, he picked up, the caller let loose with a string of Thai, which he could not understand, he asked for English, but they kept speaking Thai -- so he terminated the call and refused to pick up any more calls from strange numbers.   But the efficient Thai police could easily follow him because he had "the app" on his phone.  It was like birds following a trail of bread crumbs.  Next thing the poor Israeli knew, he was in the hoosegow.  

 

Nice going Thailand, you really know how to open up for tourists!  

[Joules]

17 hours ago, ukrules said:

I question the whole thing, I'd like to see evidence that this was an 'escape' on cctv, they will surely have it.....

 

For all we know he might have booked his transport through the hotel and had no clue there was a problem and now they're covering it up to save face by having him arrested, possibly imprisoned and likely deported - which will be very convenient to keep him away from reporters.

Look, let's be clear about one thing.  There is a routine of arriving and being quarantined while waiting for a test result.  Since tests were taken before flying, these tests are always or almost always negative.  Anybody that knows anything knows about certain of these hotels that for a prepaid room and a "fee" will let you blow off quarantine and go into the city to have a good time.  Of course, if somebody tested positive and was gone, the hotel folks are going to panic and say he fled.  Nonsense.  

 

I am guessing this poor guy just went on about his vacation and was probably totally shocked when he was nabbed.  Don't be too quick to judge.  This is probably just another cock and bull Thai Story about another dirty farang that is single-handedly spreading the omicron variant throughout Thailand. 

 

I am laughing right now because somebody out there is saying, "Well they surely tried to call him!  Didn't he pick up the call?"  He probably did what I do.  He got a call from a strange number, he picked up, the caller let loose with a string of Thai, which he could not understand, he asked for English, but they kept speaking Thai -- so he terminated the call and refused to pick up any more calls from strange numbers.   But the efficient Thai police could easily follow him because he had "the app" on his phone.  It was like birds following a trail of bread crumbs.  Next thing the poor Israeli knew, he was in the hoosegow.  

 

Nice going Thailand, you really know how to open up for tourists!  

[Dialemco]

So many versions of this event doubt we will ever know what really happened if he has actually previously had Covid and recovered maybe could result in positive PCR test on some occasions. Just goes to show how risky it is to come to Thailand at this time better to stay at home and avoid so much hassle and expenses at the whim of some official.

[yogi yogi]

does this mean he needs to finish his quarantine?  doe he get security this time

[rudi49jr]

18 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Would be interesting to hear the medical bill for him, I'm guessing 300k+

I’m guessing he will be slapped with a huge (and I mean HUGE) fine, then deported and he won’t be able to return to Thailand for the next 25 years.

[Expat68]

Hang him up by his balls

[mancub]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I’m not supporting this guy, but it is easy for me to see how this story has evolved from a simple mistake into the current outrage.....  my point is, it may be noting more than a naive mistake. 

 

 

Especially given. ( or at least reported as such), that he left without the test result even being known . Fair enough if had already been told of a Positive outcome and was "escaping" the accompanying consequences,

Maybe, after 24hrs, he didn't want to get billed for another night, or his mini bar consumption !

If he checked out normally, then the hotel are negligent. If not, they can charge him for the key as well !????

[mancub]

3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I’m not supporting this guy, but it is easy for me to see how this story has evolved from a simple mistake into the current outrage.....  my point is, it may be noting more than a naive mistake. 

 

 

Especially given. ( or at least reported as such), that he left without the test result even being known . Fair enough if had already been told of a Positive outcome and was "escaping" the accompanying consequences,

Maybe, after 24hrs, he didn't want to get billed for another night, or his mini bar consumption !

If he checked out normally, then the hotel are negligent. If not, they can charge him for the key as well !????

[Foghorn]

Soo many people on here who happily let their wives/ employees order them about they would do well under communism, not have to think , do as you are told . Governments word and media’s word is gospel.   Won’t be happy untill you are fully controlled 

[Foghorn]

Yeah yeah , I know , good bye for now

[BritManToo]

47 minutes ago, mancub said:

Especially given. ( or at least reported as such), that he left without the test result even being known . Fair enough if had already been told of a Positive outcome and was "escaping" the accompanying consequences,

Maybe, after 24hrs, he didn't want to get billed for another night, or his mini bar consumption !

If he checked out normally, then the hotel are negligent. If not, they can charge him for the key as well !????

COVID has made checking out a bit of a nightmare.

The day Thailand closed it's borders I was in Siem Reap.

5pm I got a message from Air Asia, 'your return flight has been cancelled Thai border closes at midnight'.

So I stuff everything in my bag (I've prepaid for a week).

Leave the hotel, key at desk, and get a tuktuk to the airport.

Talk the airport desk into using my cancelled ticket on the last flight out.

Hotel got to keep my $5 towel deposit, no checkout.

(Didn't know if I was getting a flight or staying)

 

As if I gave a poop about 'checking out'.

 

PS

Hotel was full of people thinking they were going to Thailand the next week.

Quite popular with young Israeli guys and girls who just finished their national service.

"Don't worry, they'll never close the borders, you're panicking for nothing"

Wonder what happened to all of them, I landed at BKK with 15 minutes to spare.