Incarcerated in Bang Lamung

[Sup3rfarang]

I entered Thailand with Test and Go.  First test at hotel was negative. 

A week later I'm told to go to Bang Lamung hospital to get tested.

At the time of the test they collected my info including email address. 

Evening of the next day I get a phone call.  Female voice says I'm positive and I need to report to Bang Lamung Hospital 8am the next morning for 10 day quarantine. 

I check my email.  No record of the test has been sent to me.

So I get up early, skip breakfast, and take a taxi to the hospital to make it by 8.

I'm told to go to the big green building behind the hospital. 

Funny thing about the green building is it has no parking lot. Or any other concrete around it. It stands in a dirt field. 

I walk inside dragging my now beat up carry on and find a giant room full hundreds if not thousands of people, almost all Thai. 

I'm directed to a corner where maybe 50 foreigners are sitting and getting special processing. 

This ia a giant processing center and the most surreal scene I've ever seen. 

Nothing medical happens here.  There are only two women processing all these foreigners and there is no A/C.

I sat there for hours tired, hungry, and soaked in sweat. 

If you get the call don't come at 8.  Come at 11. Thai time.

After they copied my passport they had me sit in front of the money guy.  I was given the options of private vs shared room and Thai vs "European" food with prices.  I chose private room and European food for a total of $1100 USD.  The other options weren't much cheaper. 

I showed them my covid insurance I had to buy as part of Test and Go and asked if it would reimburse me for this. They promised 100% reimbursement. I would receive a medical report at the end of quarantine that I could use to file a claim. 

Don't know what would have happened if I didn't have my credit cards with me. 

After waiting another hour in the heat we are taken outside and loaded on to baht busses.

The bus rolls through town and deposits me in the courtyard of Grand Villa Hotel where I am now an inmate.

There are lots of strong words I could use about what I think is going on here.  But I'm going to bite my tongue for now as I'm still at their mercy. 

 

Has anyone else completed this quarantine?  Did the insurance fully reimburse you?  I have AXA Sawasdee insurance. 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

From the AXA Sawasee website's FAQ:

 

[Sup3rfarang]

4 minutes ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

From the AXA Sawasee website's FAQ:

 

Thank you.  I'm so close to painting the page blue but I have to control myself.  They must figure that Thai tourism is dead and not coming back. Now they're stripping the carcass. 

[CharlieH]

Wel,l no way would I accept that. I would want to see the test show positive in ftont of me.

A simple phonecallĺ of "positive go here" , stinks of possible manipulation and a money grab in my opinion.

 

Medical cover is for medicine and care not accomadation to my knowledge so you are gonna take that $1100 hit probably.

 

[habanero]

Just out of curiosity. If they had put you in a hospital room, would your insurance then pay for it?

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Just now, habanero said:

Just out of curiosity. If they had put you in a hospital room, would your insurance then pay for it?

 

AXA Thailand's Sawasdee product appears to only cover medically necessary expenses. If the hospitalization was mandatory but not medically necessary, I suspect AXA Thailand would deny the claim.  Whether the claim gets paid might also depend in part on how the hospital describes treatment and fills out the claim form. But AXA is probably well aware of this issue and would possibly look closely at any claims submitted.

[thaiman]

did you ever see a printout of your test result?

[Sup3rfarang]

Just now, thaiman said:

did you ever see a printout of your test result?

Nope.  Once I am out these are issues I will be pursuing probably with a lawyer. 

[Kinnock]

There's been quite a few reports of Negative on departure, but positive on Arrival.  

 

With the old COE system, you had to have 14 nights quarantine anyway, so there was no incentive for a positive test result - but now there's a $1000 bonus if the test result is positive, so that is a potential conflict of interest.

 

Any chance of getting an independent test?

 

Also, maybe you could develop some symtoms!

[clivebaxter]

Sounds more like China, worrying to say the least. best no answer the phone or look at emails then. What right have they to test you again a week after a negative result?

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

14 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

 

Medical cover is for medicine and care not accomadation to my knowledge so you are gonna take that $1100 hit probably.

 

I think the Covid insurance required in order to get the Thailand pass is intended to address the larger issue of visitors incurring significant medical expenses as a result of severe, symptomatic Covid. I think it probably does that fairly well.

 

The issue of forced hospitalization or isolation in hotels hasn't been adequately disclosed to incoming visitors (or even expats) and the fact that most insurers won't cover these expenses is also not well understood. Better disclosure is needed both from the Thai government and insurers.

 

 

 

 

[clivebaxter]

9 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

There's been quite a few reports of Negative on departure, but positive on Arrival.  

 

With the old COE system, you had to have 14 nights quarantine anyway, so there was no incentive for a positive test result - but now there's a $1000 bonus if the test result is positive, so that is a potential conflict of interest.

 

Any chance of getting an independent test?

 

Also, maybe you could develop some symtoms!

He was negative on arrival

[Sup3rfarang]

1 minute ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

 

The issue of forced hospitalization or isolation in hotels hasn't been adequately disclosed to incoming visitors (or even expats) and the fact that most insurers won't cover these expenses is also not well understood. Better disclosure is needed both from the Thai government and insurers.

They lied to my face.  Sincerely promised 100% reimbursement.  I re-asked the question several times to be sure.

 

[Kinnock]

2 minutes ago, clivebaxter said:

He was negative on arrival

Semantics ..... he was negative when he left and then positive after arrival.  Same issue of potential conflict of interest.  There should be a fully independent testing regime.

 

And I also though home isolation was now an option, which would remove the potential conflict?

[fredscats]

Recently read of farang allegedly testing positive, he refused to comply with request for visit to hospital  from the hotel he was staying, hospital staff and police arrived took him away,complained he did not have that sort of money,and was placed in some god awful ,Thai,only accommodation for the duration

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

4 minutes ago, Sup3rfarang said:

They lied to my face.  Sincerely promised 100% reimbursement.  I re-asked the question several times to be sure.

 

To whom was the question addressed? If it was asked of someone in authority at the insurance company, then that's one thing. If it was asked of someone who works at the hospital, that's another.  It isn't the hospital that can say whether something is covered, it's the insurer. 

 

Also, be wary of verbal confirmations from anyone. They aren't worth the paper they're written on.

[Sup3rfarang]

2 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

 

And I also though home isolation was now an option, which would remove the potential conflict?

An expat sitting next to me was allowed the option of home isolation.   Going back to my hotel room was not an option.  They dont seem to be allowing it for the Thais though.  Every day they bring busloads of Thais to the hotel.  I'm sure they're not paying farang price but dont know how they can afford a multi hundred dollar bill. Must be ruining some of them. 

[Sup3rfarang]

8 minutes ago, fredscats said:

Recently read of farang allegedly testing positive, he refused to comply with request for visit to hospital  from the hotel he was staying, hospital staff and police arrived took him away,complained he did not have that sort of money,and was placed in some god awful ,Thai,only accommodation for the duration

This is what I sensed would happen if I struggled. Better to pay up.  They got you by the balls.

[stigar]

Tragic story.I warned about this in another topic.Ia a reason why they open alot of hospitels.

They will try to suck out every dime from tourists.

[fredscats]

10 minutes ago, Sup3rfarang said:

This is what I sensed would happen if I struggled. Better to pay up.  They got you by the balls.

Think Id be looking for a chargeback on your credit card once your term is finished,give them the details accuse them of lying

[clivebaxter]

So are you out now or still couped up?

[Sup3rfarang]

1 minute ago, fredscats said:

Think Id be looking for a chargeback on your credit card once your term is finished,give them the details accuse them of lying

Already on my list of things to do,  thanks!

[Sup3rfarang]

2 minutes ago, clivebaxter said:

So are you out now or still couped up?

Still locked in a box.  That's why I'm hoping to hear from folks that made it out the other end.

[fredscats]

6 minutes ago, Sup3rfarang said:

Already on my list of things to do,  thanks!

Id start the process now,see how they cope with that,they might,but might not take you to a dump or just leave you in hotel for isolation

[clivebaxter]

22 minutes ago, Sup3rfarang said:

Still locked in a box.  That's why I'm hoping to hear from folks that made it out the other end.

At least you got wi fi, but probably not free!

[stigar]

And i thougth travel to norway was difficult.Much easier here then thailand.

Coronavirus in Norway_ Travel advice - helsenorge.no.mhtml

[Sup3rfarang]

20 minutes ago, clivebaxter said:

At least you got wi fi, but probably not free!

Free hotel wifi plus three very mediocre meals a day. Thousand year old semi-fossilized towels are a highlight.  Big room with hard echoing walls.  Balcony overlooking courtyard.  You can see the other inmates sitting forlornly on their balconies.   Hotel is advertised as 4 star.  Um, maybe in 1963 it was.  A/C works good.  I have complete privacy. No one has come to enter the room.  They just leave stuff on a little table outside the door.

[Sup3rfarang]

Another big problem I have with all this is if, indeed, this is coming out of my pocket then I should be able go to the quarantine certified hotel of my choice and compare prices.   But I wasn't given that option.  Instead I'm paying $100 a day, under duress, for this dive.

 

So why does it have to be this hotel and no other?  Well I can't say but I think most of you are smart enough to figure it out. 

[nightfox]

I saw a YouTube video of a falang in Phuket who tested positive for covid and was forced to go to a local Thai quarantine facility. The place looked like straight from a banged up abroad episode.

[Guest Isaanlife]

4 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

From the AXA Sawasee website's FAQ:

 

Any person with 1 ounce of intelligence would have to question why this is?

 

Thailand is forcing you into quarantine as a condition of your supposed Covid Status.

 

No different than being confined to hospital room.

 

The fact the fee is so high and the insurance is not paying tell me someone is making some money here.

 

A week later you walk out of the hotel $1100 poorer and mysteriously cured?