Warning against traveling to Thailand

[webfact]

file photo

 

by Gregers Møller

 

Travelers to Thailand whose PCR tests return a positive are in a very high risk of being caught up in a web of rules that nobody warned them of before their departure.

 

The SHA+ and ASQ hotels where the travelers are required to stay, must all have contracts with a specific hospital, usually a private hospital. If a traveler staying at their hotel tests positive, the guest has no choice but to be hospitalized at that specific hospital for 7-10 days at their own cost – usually around 10.000 THB per day. In most cases, tourists are requested to pay upfront this amount and coordinate insurance claims by themselves later – holding the risk of not being compensated for their hospital expenses.

 

Sharing hotel room in close contact with a COVID patient also subjects you to quarantine 7-10 days as a high risk close contact person. This is usually not included in the insurance coverage so it would be completely at your own cost.

 

Full story: https://scandasia.com/warning-against-traveling-to-thailand/

 

-- © Copyright ScandAsia 2022-02-04

 

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[steven100]

This would have to be first most honest & accurate news article/report I have read for a long time.

 

not the usual tribe that is as murky as muddy water ...

[RichardColeman]

1 minute ago, steven100 said:

This would have to be first most honest & accurate news article/report I have read for a long time.

 

Probably get removed by TAT representatives later

[gt162]

It's all about the money. Hospitals wants their cut of the foreigner's wallet.

[RandiRona]

Thailand , Come and Enjoy Hospitality in ....... Real Hospitel!!

[ThaiPauly]

I want to go back to visit my family in the UK but am dreading returning to Thailand.

 

It's been over three years now and my young grandchildren hardly recognise who I am .

 

But coming back to this!!!

 

I'll just have to wait a bit longer, I had planned for later next month but articles like this scare the living daylights out of me..

 

Very informative article though

[ezflip]

Better to wait for the SHA+ and ASQ hotels scams to be abolished and the borders to be open like the majorities of other countries before entering Thailand.

 

I liked the last line of the original article where they use the term "detained" to describe the present situation.

[daveAustin]

Yes! More of this please. This is the kind of BAD international press that Thailand deserves and will hopefully embarrass them enough into dropping this shambolic, pathetic, ripoff system, which does absolutely F all regards the safety of the country… esp when people are picking the thing up locally. Drop this nonsense and bloody well grow up Thailand! 

[kimamey]

I'm planning on coming back soon but reading the full article is a bit worrying. If insurance covers it then ok but if not then it's a lot of money at risk.

[HappyExpat57]

42 minutes ago, ThaiPauly said:

I want to go back to visit my family in the UK but am dreading returning to Thailand.

 

It's been over three years now and my young grandchildren hardly recognise who I am .

 

But coming back to this!!!

 

I'll just have to wait a bit longer, I had planned for later next month but articles like this scare the living daylights out of me..

 

Very informative article though

Many of us in the same boat. This April was my family's annual reunion, this will be year 3 missed as well. I'd go in a New York minute if I didn't fear the convoluted return policies that change more often than I change underwear.

[ukrules]

Laughable system, once word of this gets around and by that I mean printed in every newspaper in Europe the tourists will abandon Thailand.

[smedly]

I have been warning about this in several posts on here for weeks 

 

This is nothing but a money grabbing scam and before anyone sets foot in Thailand they need to be aware of what could happen to them 

 

Meanwhile Denmark has just declared all covid restrictions have ended ......................everything 

 

They  now rate covid 19 as they do a cold or a mild flu and this is while detection rates are soring in the country 

 

is it time ?

 

I don't think the public have the stomach for any more of this, you cannot stop omicron from spreading  

[Thunglom]

Leaving your home country and then mixing with people from all over the world.

Then having to fork out for a quarantine hotel - what about missing your flight and being allowed home.

 

 

 

 I'm still not booking my return to Thailand

[steven100]

Come to Thailand for your next hell-o-day .... we will give you the hospital..ity you deserve.

[sammieuk1]

Dead LOS by the sound of it ????

[Karma80]

I've declined business trips and will not leave Thailand. It's too much of a risk. Sure, I live here, but there's no guarantee what will happen if I test positive on return. I can do without the risk of more solitary confinements. I've done enough hotel quarantines for a lifetime already.

 

In reality, if you tested every one on Phuket right now, I'd wager the numbers returning positive would be very, very high. We're caught in a vicious cycle that can only be broken with policy change.

[ikke1959]

But the Thailand Pass is a success again..... although many countries declare Thailand as a no go zone....Now with this article ........Itwill not make anything better

[ChipButty]

Then get fined for overstay wonderful 

[ezzra]

I'll be back as soon as the grow your own marijuana laws comes into effect, i have this nice piece of land i'd like to start using now...

[RJRS1301]

1 hour ago, daveAustin said:

Yes! More of this please. This is the kind of BAD international press that Thailand deserves and will hopefully embarrass them enough into dropping this shambolic, pathetic, ripoff system, which does absolutely F all regards the safety of the country… esp when people are picking the thing up locally. Drop this nonsense and bloody well grow up Thailand! 

Embarrass?? 

They do not know the meaning of the word,

[arick]

Price range from 30, 000 baht and up! You can pick your hospital out of the list. You can even pick a hotel up country you don't have to stay in Bkk 

[bluejets]

34 minutes ago, Thunglom said:

I'm still not booking my return to Thailand

Same here.

Initially I thought we will wait until things start to get back to some form of normality, perhaps September October this year.

However, it seems there is no rush to drop this "confinement".

I for one cannot see the attraction of arriving there and then spend x amount of time in a hospital or some hotel room.

Not to mention the additional cost or the risk of insurance companies going under or not being covered due to some small print.

[pokerface1]

2 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Probably get removed by TAT representatives later

I'd say there still in bed at this hour. This article will be early morning slap in the face to the TAT. 

Better not share this article as they might come knocking at my door.

The denials will be shouted by all. Involved let the cover up begin. 

[Dukeleto]

What’s the likelihood that the ASQ or SHA hotel has a kick back incorporated into the Hospital bill who their guests HAVE to go to? Further to that question, how likely are you now to get a positive result on your test and how do you verify the result without carrying your own test kits. And if you are carrying your own test kits which show you are negative and theirs are positive who is going to win and again how could you even verify your result if it has to go to a lab first. If you have been in Thailand for any amount of time you can easily compute that this scenario is all to easy occur. I concur with the stories Warning. It’s is far too risky stepping into Thailand as a tourist until all this nonsense is dismantled. Stop coming and it will happen much quicker. Keep coming and they will keep it running.

[2old4fixies]

49 minutes ago, smedly said:

I have been warning about this in several posts on here for weeks 

 

This is nothing but a money grabbing scam and before anyone sets foot in Thailand they need to be aware of what could happen to them 

 

Meanwhile Denmark has just declared all covid restrictions have ended ......................everything 

 

They  now rate covid 19 as they do a cold or a mild flu and this is while detection rates are soring in the country 

 

is it time ?

 

I don't think the public have the stomach for any more of this, you cannot stop omicron from spreading  

I'm curious how many cycles they're using in the PCR tests.  Run them beyond 30 and false positives become more common.  Makes it pretty easy to stack that game.

[Thunglom]

10 minutes ago, bluejets said:

Same here.

Initially I thought we will wait until things start to get back to some form of normality, perhaps September October this year.

However, it seems there is no rush to drop this "confinement".

I for one cannot see the attraction of arriving there and then spend x amount of time in a hospital or some hotel room.

Not to mention the additional cost or the risk of insurance companies going under or not being covered due to some small print.

I actually had an important engagement to attend, but I'm simply not going to be able to justify the risk of being confined.

I want later to return long term for business purposes but at present all that is on hold as it requires travel between Thailand and neighbouring countries - just not feasible at present.

If the delay is much longer, I'll give up on the business and do something else.

[JayClay]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

They  now rate covid 19 as they do a cold or a mild flu and this is while detection rates are soring in the country

Who is "they" and, if they're an official respectable medical body, do you have any links confirming that they "rate covid 19 as they do a cold or mild flu"?

[bondjames007]

2 hours ago, ThaiPauly said:

I want to go back to visit my family in the UK but am dreading returning to Thailand.

 

It's been over three years now and my young grandchildren hardly recognise who I am .

 

But coming back to this!!!

 

I'll just have to wait a bit longer, I had planned for later next month but articles like this scare the living daylights out of me..

 

Very informative article though

In the same boat,  I will wait

[Geoffggi]

2 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Yes! More of this please. This is the kind of BAD international press that Thailand deserves and will hopefully embarrass them enough into dropping this shambolic, pathetic, ripoff system, which does absolutely F all regards the safety of the country… esp when people are picking the thing up locally. Drop this nonsense and bloody well grow up Thailand! 

Absolutely correct, this report needs to be published in all the worlds leading news outlets plus the travel companies

[ChipButty]

If everybody stopped coming like Zero tourist might just make them think again,