BANGKOK (NNT) - The government has assured that Songkran celebrations next month will be allowed to take place, while noting that health and safety precautions will still need to be taken.

 

According to Government Spokesperson Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said all associated activities and inter-provincial travel will be permitted during the Songkran festival taking place from April 13-15.

 

The spokesperson stressed, however, that the public must strictly adhere to "VUCA" or Vaccine, Universal Prevention, COVID-Free Setting, and antigen test kit (ATK) precautions during celebrations.

 

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The prime minister has strongly advised anyone attending water-throwing celebrations to get their booster vaccinations and take an ATK test both before and after traveling. The premier also recommended that vulnerable groups, such as those aged 60 and older, people with underlying illnesses, and pregnant women, get fully vaccinated before the festival.

 

Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control (DDC), noted that COVID-19 infections may have already peaked since infection rates detected using RT-PCR and ATK methods have decreased over the last 2-3 days. He added that the infection rate in the Kingdom and neighboring countries has remained between 60 and 70% in recent weeks.

 

The Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) will convene on March 18 to discuss additional safety precautions for the Songkran celebrations.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2022-03-09

 

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4 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

The prime minister has strongly advised anyone attending water-throwing celebrations to get their booster vaccinations and take an ATK test both before and after traveling.

Hard to imagine people aren't going to comply with that.....!!

Let her rip and then the whole country will be infected.  How can one party like it is the new year and still maintain health and safety precautions, wear a body suit with a hood and mask.  Bring on Songkran I will be ready

So when are these arriving?

 

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

He added that the infection rate in the Kingdom and neighboring countries has remained between 60 and 70% in recent weeks.

What does that mean? 60-70% of Thais have had Covid, or, when testing, 60-70% are 'positive'?

Hoping to get to Angeles City 9 days of it in Pattaya (12-20) is a big hassle burn out.

18 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Hoping to get to Angeles City 9 days of it in Pattaya (12-20) is a big hassle burn out.

Enjoy the Phils, Angeles can be nice, Davao is also good as well as Cebu.  Manila not so much. Just my view from having lived there when I decided to take a break from Thailand after my divorce, but after getting mugged twice, well that was it and I moved back and bought my condo here in Silom.

51 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Enjoy the Phils, Angeles can be nice, Davao is also good as well as Cebu.  Manila not so much. Just my view from having lived there when I decided to take a break from Thailand after my divorce, but after getting mugged twice, well that was it and I moved back and bought my condo here in Silom.

PI is a sh**h*le

8 minutes ago, PJ71 said:

PI is a sh**h*le

Everyones a critic, care to explain your personal experience, if you don't have one well nuff said....

Excuse me if I interrupt the  other topic but would just like to say that  here in my  north east vicinity there  is no excitement brewing about being  able to annoy each other with  inappropriate  dousings of  water. The last couple of years leading to a return of the more  respectful traditions  has  rekindled appeal  for it .

I think it's great, about time!

I hate Songkran, so booooo to this idea.

3 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Hoping to get to Angeles City 9 days of it in Pattaya (12-20) is a big hassle burn out.

Good idea but the hurdles coming back are still a PITA

45 minutes ago, Nojohndoe said:

Excuse me if I interrupt the  other topic but would just like to say that  here in my  north east vicinity there  is no excitement brewing about being  able to annoy each other with  inappropriate  dousings of  water. The last couple of years leading to a return of the more  respectful traditions  has  rekindled appeal  for it .

 

That could be just your interpretation.

 

I think the youngsters might have another idea - 2 years deprived - they'll be out in force(probably with their parents blessing)  ????

3 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Enjoy the Phils, Angeles can be nice, Davao is also good as well as Cebu.  Manila not so much. Just my view from having lived there when I decided to take a break from Thailand after my divorce, but after getting mugged twice, well that was it and I moved back and bought my condo here in Silom.

Where did the muggings take place - I would guess Manila? 

With a month to go till Songkran, how can the government be so sure of itself? The infection rate could explode in that time, and lets not forget that Putin could destroy the whole world in the coming month

12 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Let her rip and then the whole country will be infected.  How can one party like it is the new year and still maintain health and safety precautions, wear a body suit with a hood and mask.  Bring on Songkran I will be ready

One hand made for every tourist!!! FREE

It was mentioned Two days ago that the final decision on whether Songkran will go ahead will be made on Fri. 18th March.

That is if anybody can afford fuel by then.:)

8 hours ago, TimBKK said:

Where did the muggings take place - I would guess Manila? 

You are spot on, in Manila in the parking garage for a condo I was staying at.

I'm praying that Malayasia offers a special 'Songkran Visa" to help us get away from this nonsensical rubbish holiday.

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The government has assured that Songkran celebrations next month will be allowed to take place, while noting that health and safety precautions will still need to be taken.

Two things immediately sprung to mind. The authorities wondering why there's a huge spike in cases around 4 or 5 days after Songkran has finished and the other, "health and safety precautions will still need to be taken"! Really, you're having a laugh...??? What precautions and who will enforce them..???

1 hour ago, prakhonchai nick said:

With a month to go till Songkran, how can the government be so sure of itself? The infection rate could explode in that time, and lets not forget that Putin could destroy the whole world in the coming month

Europe might be toast if they don't get the power back on at Chernobyl. Thailand however wants to rekindle the water tossing wars....

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The government has assured that Songkran celebrations next month will be allowed to take place, while noting that health and safety precautions will still need to be taken.

But bars & clubs remain closed?

Makes perfect sense.

Songkran is good for go this year?

Oh dear.

With every silver lining there is a cloud.

a couple of points here...the suspended virus particles will drop to the ground faster...social distancing will not apply...if one was to get vaccinated in readiness (as advised), the recipient will not have enough time to generate antibodies...hmm!

11 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Everyones a critic, care to explain your personal experience, if you don't have one well nuff said....

Sure, in no particular order:

 

- Horrible food

- Terrible annoying accent

- Big gun culture

- Bad typhoon season

- Awful public transport

- Lots of poverty

 

Only good thing about PI ( IMO ) is it has some amazing beaches, if that's your thing, Palawan and Boracay in particular stick out.

That's great.

Ok to throw misiles at moving cars and motorbikies but cannot enjoy a beer.????

1 minute ago, PJ71 said:

Sure, in no particular order:

 

- Horrible food

- Terrible annoying accent

- Big gun culture

- Bad typhoon season

- Awful public transport

- Lots of poverty

Someone else from Middlesbrough

Big push by the PM there for vaccines and booster shots.

 

Do these stop people catching this glorified flu ?

36 minutes ago, bluemoon58 said:

Two things immediately sprung to mind. The authorities wondering why there's a huge spike in cases around 4 or 5 days after Songkran has finished and the other, "health and safety precautions will still need to be taken"! Really, you're having a laugh...??? What precautions and who will enforce them..???

But really, who cares about Omicron now?

 

It's a mild cold for 3-4 days, that's about it.

 

Just about everyone i know has had it, no biggie.