1 hour ago, Thunglom said:

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 neighboring countries - just not feasible at present.

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

Bangkok used to be the most visited city in the world. It wasn't just "tourists" coming here but business travelers to hold meetings and conduct trade, commerce and deals. Hotels used to earn major revenue with meetings/conventions too (MICE). All gone for the last two years, and arguably in decline since May 2014. These business travelers were what the Thai goverment might have deemed to be "High Quality" and they certainly were high spending and staying at 5 star hotels and dining at expensive restaurants. . . The Thai economy needs all and every type of traveler back ASAP bringing money into the country and sustaining jobs and a thriving ecenomy.Other countries around the world are realising that this pandemic has to be reclassified as endemic and get life and business back to normal now.

 

 

47 minutes ago, Polaky said:

It all come down to.....

Do you feel Lucky?

I was. Twice with two entries since last November. Chilling to now realise the consequences of testing positive.

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

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.

Got that right... test positive and your nightmare begins.

2 minutes ago, fredscats said:

Private hospitals   the absolute scourge of ex pats life, criminals, criminal activities masked in white coats,do anything  lie cheat,operate on you,open you up even to get at that wallet of yours

I quite agree, but I have been to one local hospital in Pattaya, where I saw families of the sick person in the emergency room , and also , one day waiting my turn saw cockroaches running about.  I quickly changed to Pattaya international , and also one visit to Bangkok Pattaya , both which I found absolutely spotless and good doctors.  One thing I found in the private hospitals they had problems doing my blood tests, not finding the vein, whereas as at a private test center near Tony’s gym they were very compétant,  Question: why do blood tests results arrive very quickly in Thailand, whereas in France, where we have a fantastic service at the many laboratories, they take mainly 10/hrs to a day , or more, depending on test ???

4 hours ago, gt162 said:

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

Yes sure,  ,it saves the Government  having to financially help...

Until "endemic" becomes the new buzz word of gazetted choice why would you come to LOS as a tourist?

I'm curious; since Thai social security is accepted as insurance, how does one use it in a situation described in the article? 

10 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Got that right... test positive and your nightmare begins.

What would happen if you test positive but refused to pay upfront for quarantine, take you to court for the bill or just deport you?

3 hours ago, kimamey said:

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.

Agree. The possibility of a "close contact" situation is nerve wracking since none of the insurance companies will cover it. When I came back last month, I didn't want to be near anyone...still don't.

7 minutes ago, wombat said:

Until "endemic" becomes the new buzz word of gazetted choice why would you come to LOS as a tourist?

"A rose by any other name..." 

If it is in every country it is a pandemic , and I guess in order that it is in every country it must be endemic to every country. 

I don't think the virus cares what you call it , as long as you call it.  LOL 

4 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

 

Empathise completely with you buddy.

 

I am booked to return to Blighty on 20th April. I’m on my third postponement  since my original booking for September 2020.

 

I am now thinking I might have to postpone once again, until these disproportionate protocols and the mandatory health insurance cover are consigned to history. I am desperate to get back to deal with a few issues, but like yourself, I am paralysed by the present, and ever changing protocols …. lunacy      

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

4 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

I have decided to go regardless as I have not seen family and friends since 2019. So flights are booked and I am going end of June and returning end of July. Hopefully, by then, common sense will prevail and all these ridiculous money making scams will have gone! 

13 minutes ago, Leatherneck said:

Agree. The possibility of a "close contact" situation is nerve wracking since none of the insurance companies will cover it. When I came back last month, I didn't want to be near anyone...still don't.

When covid first kicked off there was a German woman here in Phuket who was sat near by a guy on the plane who tested positive, although she was negative was still dragged off to 14 dys in quarantine and still negative after 14 days, I think she said the total bill was 52,000 baht + the test it seems she was lucky the insurance she got from Emirates covered the bill,  

I should have added 14 other people on that same flight were quarantined 

It's their (stupid) rules, but if you want to travel to Thailand, then you are accountable for your choice, whining after that is pointless.

Should I need to travel, I would definitely contact my insurance company, explain them how things are being done in Thailand and, if possible, have them to agree for any upfront payment requested by the hospital.

Caught between a rock and a hard place.  Don’t dare visit family & friends in America, for fear of return complications.  And thanks to ADP’s gloomy job report (300,00 jobs lost) currency traders have dumped the Dollar, fearing a delay or cancellation of promised interest rate hikes this year.

This is an advertisement for insurance, not an "article". Most people are not being sent to private hospitals, hardly any are. If they have mild symptoms, or are asymptomatic, they are moved to a quarantine hotel, the cost of which are quite reasonable. There are a few horror stories floating around, yes. But overall people are overwhelmingly just confined to a hotel where they are basically free to mingle around inside. 

I arrived 7 months ago in Thailand and tested positive for covid on the first pcr test while in asq. They moved me to a hospitel where I stayed for the next 14 days. I was never asked to pay anything upfront. Only provide my insurance information. I recovered and was released and no hidden fees costs or insurance reimbursements were required. I walked out of there not paying a dime except what I paid for insurance before arriving.

None of this was new to me when I came back last month. From our first PCR test before the trip we stayed away from everyone. I had thought about getting separate rooms when we got to Bangkok for my wife and I but took the chance and just got the one. The hotel had me sign a paper saying I knew the risk. Hired a taxi to take us to our home to avoid mass transit and stayed in the house until we had to go in for our day 5 PCR test. The hotel had given us the two antigen test to take with us. We used them before going in for our day 5 test just so we had a heads up if there was a chance of a positive.

The problems lies with asian countries as well...Most of them, if not all, have quite a harsh approach to Covid, while european countries (finally) realize this can't go on forever....It costs too much the society.

9 minutes ago, chickin said:

But overall people are overwhelmingly just confined to a hotel where they are basically free to mingle around inside. 

Several Thai work colleagues have tested ATK positive in Bangkok in the last 2 weeks.

 

Even with minor Omicron symptoms, all were pushed through the ‘system’ with x-rays, PCR tests and a hospitel stay, being fully confined to their room. Seems 7-10 days is the range of average stay. All covered by the company insurance with a local provider. 

 

It’s not just the tourists that are getting fleeced…

My wife has been wanting to visit family for over a year, with multiple aborted plans.

 

It also follows a very familiar pattern.

 

"OK I'm going to take vacation and go visit for a few weeks"

 

30 minutes on her laptop

 

"Screw this, I'm not doing this cr#$p"

Pure and simple scam - LOS at its worst.  How many new millionaires has Covid created here?  I want to visit family in UK but dread the return. My family will not visit me under this regime; we are effectively imprisoned in Stalag Thailand - unless we make the move out permanent!

Welcome to Scamland!  The Truth is finally out this is a financial scam.

 

I have said it all year. You cannot test negative, get on a plane, land in Thailand and test positive.

 

 

1 hour ago, klauskunkel said:

Do the hotels then get a "finder's fee" from their partner hospitals? Does the visitor get a refund from hotel when he has to cut short his stay because he has to go to the partner hospital?

No. It specifically states that if found positive, no refund will be given. Quite a racket. There are such a mountain of deterrents built into this program designed by greedy cowards, one wonders how it is expected to succeed. 

This government will not tell you what will happen to you because they are trying to make money from you where ever they can.

That's the way the Thai government works here.

 

So many bad things happening in Thailand now.

 

Pork prices up over x4.

Egg prices up

Petrol prices up

Thai government tax up

Thai PayPal now tax sellers

Thai Post international shipping is now double price from a year ago, they just increased again on 2 Feb another 20 baht.

 

How are normal people going to make it? My wife is very angry at this government. Now besides not doing anything to help Thai's, they are making it harder than ever.

2 hours ago, Polaky said:

It all come down to.....

Do you feel Lucky?

And as somebody went on to say, "Well, do ya, punk?"

"For a while, she and her network was able to extract patients with residence in Thailand from the grip of the hospitals “who only follow the rules” and transfer them to self isolation in their homes or to public hospitals, but this loophole was recently plugged."

 

From the article: don't like the sound of the 'self isolation' at home "loophole" now being off the table. The Day 1 / Day 5 hotel+test requirement is fine for tourists who generally need to stay in a hotel anyway but lunacy for anyone with a permanent address here. It also applies to Thai Nationals so we can't say it's a 'foreigner only' problem.

 

Also, what happens if you have family/friends come to visit and they stay with you other than Day 1 / Day 5, and one of them tests positive on Day 5 ... how far does the 'close contact' net get spread (no need to answer, it's a rhetorical question).

 

 

This is not an originating Thailand website... one should ask, "why are TAT not putting this information out" ? I mean TAT must consider themselves an honest organisation and not trying to rip off unsuspecting tourists ?

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

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

Some anyway.   For many, it's like when you try to separate dogs in heat with obstacles but still leave a difficult to navigate path (with water traps, rope barriers, etc.) for them just to see how hard they try.   

10 minutes ago, bstafford214 said:

How are normal people going to make it? My wife is very angry at this government. Now besides not doing anything to help Thai's, they are making it harder than ever

Sure, because they know that only a few students will “complain” and they can easily handle that.