Restaurants demanding a recent Covid antigen test that is.

 

Have you heard the local expat radio ad saying if they don't ask, you walk?

 

In general I'm in favor of Covid mitigation measures but this I find ridiculous and the ad seriously grating and goody two shoes.

 

What do you think?

 

On a similar note a local restaurant is running an ad claiming they are Covid free. They can't possibly know that.

 

 

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/pattaya-restaurants-ignoring-health-tests-on-entry-388546

 

Pattaya “restaurants” ignoring health tests on entry

 

BY BARRY KENYON

 

Thai law is explicit. When you enter an eatery, whether one serving hearty meals or a booze bar offering stale nuts, you should prove you have had an antigen test within the last 72 hours or submit to one at the entrance administered by staff. In the optimistic words of the government-friendly Pattaya radio ad, “If they don’t ask, you walk.”

It's not an actual law just a mandate, mask wearing is in the same category.

I have not been asked for a test result in any bar or restaurant yet although I know people who have been & it was added to their bill at a certain well known place in Cozy Beach popular with the Thai selfie brigade.

It is against the law though to ride a motorbike without a helmet but that seems to be ignored now for the most part as long as 2,3,4 or more people riding it are wearing a mask.

No issue really seeing as road deaths, especially relating to bikes because they are so low as not to register year in year out, year in year out....

Outstanding 102FM is a local government sycophant but has no choice or it will be shut down, they live under damocles' sword unfortunately for them & us, most times it's an outstanding broadcaster with proper old school dj's & will be a real lose to us if they go under in 2 years time with the threats ahead to them & the expat radio industry.

I think its one of them laws/mandate where people don't bother to enforce, certainly not restaurant's owners that even without it business is sluggish and if the'll start asking for ATK test i can see them shutting shop quickly...

11 hours ago, Jingthing said:

On a similar note a local restaurant is running an ad claiming they are Covid free. They can't possibly know that.

 

Oh I put that on a par with 'The Best Pizza in Town' claims.... Covid free on the last round of staff tests. 

For some drama queens to walk if they aren't asked for a ATK test is up to them, a simple temp check at the door is good enough for me and there's been times I entered bars/restaurants/markets and their temp checker wasn't even working and I still entered. 

If they DO ask i walk.

Just find a photo of a negative ATK test, download it onto your phone, then if anyone asks for it tell them it was your negative test result from two days ago, lol.

54 minutes ago, Henryford said:

If they DO ask i walk.

As most people would, adding to the absurdity of the advert.

41 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

As most people would, adding to the absurdity of the advert.

 

Ditto. I'm fully jabbed and boosted (2xAz + 1xPfiz) if that's not enough for them then neither is my $$$. 

Are there any other countries playing this silly show a test to eat at restaurants game?

 

I'm not aware of another one but of course needing to show vaccination proof is still a thing some places internationally.

Somebody mentioned fever checks. I wish that went away. It's mostly theater. People get fevers for lots of reasons including vaccine side effects. Omicron is less associated with fevers and people can just take Tylenol anyway.

1 hour ago, Henryford said:

If they DO ask i walk.

this

12 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

Ditto. I'm fully jabbed and boosted (2xAz + 1xPfiz) if that's not enough for them then neither is my $$$. 

you need to get Omicron to complete the set. best option is one of the late night speakeasies in Patts. That's how I picked it up at the end of December ????

Just now, Lemsta69 said:

you need to get Omicron to complete the set. best option is one of the late night speakeasies in Patts. That's how I picked it up at the end of December ????

I'd rather not.

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I'd rather not.

fair enough, not for everyone. I went out of my way to catch it once I heard it was floating around Pattaya. one of my sisters got it twice; ancestral in London and Delta in Croatia. she survived with only mild symptoms and no hospitalisation so I figured I'd be OK too.

 

now that I've had it life is soooo much more enjoyable because I don't have to worry about it any more. 

3 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

fair enough, not for everyone. I went out of my way to catch it once I heard it was floating around Pattaya. one of my sisters got it twice; ancestral in London and Delta in Croatia. she survived with only mild symptoms and no hospitalisation so I figured I'd be OK too.

 

now that I've had it life is soooo much more enjoyable because I don't have to worry about it any more. 

Up to you but be clear no legitimate doctor would recommend intentional infection.

I went into a bar the other night and the cashier asked me if I'm sick with coivd, I said no and she pulled an already used negative ATK kit from under the counter and placed it off to the side, I sat and counted the number of customers in the bar and it matched up with the number of ATK kits off to the side, she said it's just in case the police come and check.

9 minutes ago, bbko said:

I went into a bar the other night and the cashier asked me if I'm sick with coivd, I said no and she pulled an already used negative ATK kit from under the counter and placed it off to the side, I sat and counted the number of customers in the bar and it matched up with the number of ATK kits off to the side, she said it's just in case the police come and check.

Unintended silly consequences of this silly policy.

But I reckon totally predictable in this superficial land of Make Believe.

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Are there any other countries playing this silly show a test to eat at restaurants game?

I am not sure Thailand is playing it...never, ever been asked yet and only 2 hours out of a restaurant!

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

I am not sure Thailand is playing it...never, ever been asked yet and only 2 hours out of a restaurant!

Well at least they're playing at it.

So, any other country?

Personally, I think this thailand smoke screen is a complete joke

 

(1) no bars allowed, but feel free to pretend to serve food and call yourself an SHA restuarant 

 

(2) must wear a mask at all times, but feel free to wear one under your nose, under your chin or not at all

 

(3) no GoGo's but feel free to open as a restuarant like the bars

 

(4) ATK mandatory for entry, but temp check will do

 

Why bother pretending any of it is enforced and just open up the country already

 

That seems to be some local Pattaya nonsense; I've never been asked for a Covid antigen test when dining out in Bangkok.

 

Needless to say, I wouldn't like it one bit if they ever asked me. And no, I wouldn't get tested just to be able to dine out, I'd just order deliveries until the nonsense stops.

If they asked me for an ATK test, I would walk. No restaurant did yet and I'm out daily

Just more ridiculousness from the goon squad. How practical is this? It serves as just more punishment of the little guy, more decimation of the economy, more restrictions on fun and recreation, and accomplishes nothing. 

 

If these goods were sincere about containing this why didn't they lock down the Samut Sakhon seafood market area, within a 2km. radius, and make sure nobody come in and out for 15 days, back in early December 2020, when they had 900 plus cases in one day? It was a a legendary mistake and amounted to gross malfeasance and likely blatant corruption. 

 

Not sealing off the border with Burma, with the use of the 550,000 soldiers who are supposed to protect the nation, (and likely do next to nothing daily) and allowing corrupt border officials to continue working their franchises, was another. 

 

Announcing the closure of construction sites in Bangkok, a week in advance of closing them was as bone headed as it gets. It allowed super spreaders to travel freely all over the nation, resulting in an immediate surge of nationwide cases. 

 

And the severe bungling of the vaccination program is absolutely unforgivable. 

 

You want me to go on? This is not Covid. This is Pratin 19!
 

3 hours ago, aussiexpat said:

Personally, I think this thailand smoke screen is a complete joke

 

(1) no bars allowed, but feel free to pretend to serve food and call yourself an SHA restuarant 

 

(2) must wear a mask at all times, but feel free to wear one under your nose, under your chin or not at all

 

(3) no GoGo's but feel free to open as a restuarant like the bars

 

(4) ATK mandatory for entry, but temp check will do

 

Why bother pretending any of it is enforced and just open up the country already

 

(5) Kick everyone out onto the streets at exactly the same so it's feels like rush hour instead of lettin people drift home like they used to.

 

On 2/12/2022 at 8:22 PM, Jingthing said:

In general I'm in favor of Covid mitigation measures but this I find ridiculous and the ad seriously grating and goody two shoes.

Agreed

 

21 hours ago, SidJames said:

most times it's an outstanding broadcaster with proper old school dj's & will be a real lose to us if they go under in 2 years time with the threats ahead to them & the expat radio industry.

Agreed on first point but what are the threats ahead you refer to as an issue and the specific 2 year timeframe you mention?

5 hours ago, JustAnotherHun said:

If they asked me for an ATK test, I would walk. No restaurant did yet and I'm out daily

 

Exactly.  Storm in tea cup.  

I had absolutely no idea there was such a thing as a Thai expat radio station.

Staff don’t care about the details of the tests anyway. They just want you to audibly say you took the test and wave any old piece of paper so they can have plausible deniability in case the manager catches them on camera.

 

Same goes for lots of other countries, too. Seems fewer people really take any of this stuff as seriously as the media lets on. It’s mostly all just for show.

10 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Up to you but be clear no legitimate doctor would recommend intentional infection.

Agreed, but no need to go out your way when you will get it at some point anyway. Double jabbed, you will be fine.