Thai Covid-19 Situation Center agrees to restore nationwide green zones, cancel Thailand Pass, eases mask mandate, and more

[aussiexpat]

39 minutes ago, bluemoon58 said:

What a sensitive soul you must be if it's just a little old mask keeping you out...!!!

 

I wore the mask diligently for four months throughout the hot and humid Mar-May. It even got to the stage I would give the evil stare to falang who either wore it under their nose, over their chin or on their sweaty elbow...

 

5 weeks back in the freedom of Aussie I've vowed never to be made to wear a mask outside again...pretty simple

[aussiexpat]

33 minutes ago, darrenr said:

I wonder if they will scrap the mandatory insurance as well ?

Covid insurance has also been scrapped from 1 July

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, aussiexpat said:

5 weeks back in the freedom of Aussie I've vowed never to be made to wear a mask outside again...pretty simple

Never say never as is said......

Freedom of Oz..... quite ironic don't you think with some of the Covid measures they made there earlier in the pandemic.

 

[ikke1959]

Still the stupid mask wearing... So outdoors no problem, but in a  shoppingmall ,crowded bar/restaurant, club, you have to wear it??? Why not let the people decide to wear it where and when . If they feel safer with a mask they can do but no obligation.. Probably only reason to keep the maskwearing for the protests to control....

[CygnusX1]

43 minutes ago, bluemoon58 said:

What a sensitive soul you must be if it's just a little old mask keeping you out...!!!

It’s keeping me out as well, probably for good, as I suspect the masks will be staying forever indoors and on public transport. The Thai Pass would have only been a minor irritation, and the insurance a negligible amount of money.

[Chongalulu]

17 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

<deleted>. Travelling in August. Wonder if I will get a refund on my Covid insurance from AXA ????

 

My friend arrived yesterday using only standard U.K. travel insurance cover. You wasted your money anyway ! ???? 

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, CygnusX1 said:

It’s keeping me out as well, probably for good, as I suspect the masks will be staying forever indoors and on public transport. The Thai Pass would have only been a minor irritation, and the insurance a negligible amount of money.

As is your right..... 

Personally I find that quite ridiculous.

The masks will not be staying forever, unless pollution fills the void Covid leaves behind. That is being somewhat paranoid. 

[aussiexpat]

I just realised, I guess we can all delete our useless Morchana app now ???? 

[actonion]

15 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

or the roundabout....

Just like the   above   no body   kmows how to use them

[jacko45k]

Just now, aussiexpat said:

I just realised, I guess we can all delete our useless Morchana app now ???? 

Got rid of the Thaichana one a few weeks back, never even installed that one. 

[Chongalulu]

17 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

So no Thailand Pass will be needed, wonderful for my family to visit now with no types of restrictions tikns and they can  one in on a 30 day exempt.  

They’ll have to invent another excuse not to come to see you! ???? 

[Chongalulu]

17 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

You are a perfect example of why Thailand thinks it needs silly rules.

Thailand needs no excuses to invent  silly rules ! ???? 

[Chongalulu]

16 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Always baby steps.... but there really aren’t that many steps left to take.

 

 

This could have happened back in April....   At least Thailand is moving in the right direction which sends out the message to tourists who were sitting on the fence that they can go ahead. 

 

Combined with 45 day Visa on entry (should really be 90) and temporarily no need for *TM6 at Immigration (reducing Immigration queues), things are looking better for tourists. 

 

Now Thailand only has to deal with its ‘insurance’ issues... i.e. insist all arrivals have insurance, or included an insurance in the price of the ticket, or just stop complaining about it and agree to treat emergency cases on Thailands national health system with the understanding that the additional medical costs incurred by tourists are a tiny **percentage (0.03%) of the income tourists bring to the country... 

 

 

*It seems immigration have shunted the TM6 responsibility to the airlines who submit in bulk (if I’m not mistaken), this seems like it could be the first ‘baby-step’ towards getting rid of those unnecessary pieces of paper. 

 

** In 2019 it was reported that there was THB700 Million in unpaid medical bills from tourists. 

In the same year it was reported that revenue from Tourism was US$62 Billion (THB 2.165 Trillion)

Which begs the question: Does Thailand really need to be getting upset about 0.03% cost of its tourism revenue to the medical industry ????

All very valid points,but with the demise of Thailand pass surely that effectively means the end of Covid insurance ? How are they to police it then - on arrival? I don’t think airlines can differentiate between policies- I guess they just waved it through when passengers had already proved it by virtue of thailand pass.

In any case my friend arrived yesterday using only standard U.K. travel insurance 

[worrab]

17 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

<deleted>. Travelling in August. Wonder if I will get a refund on my Covid insurance from AXA ????

 

I am getting a refund from FWD as my return is 30th July. They have stated it will take 30 to 45 days to do this!! What!!!!

[simple1]

4 hours ago, starky said:

Unlikely anyone could possibly be ingnorant when it has been on constant rotation on every single news outlet 24/ for the best part of 2 years including not only death rates but the number of people infected. 

  Sorry to hear about your wife but when people get saturated with that much information it tends to have a numbing effect. People wish to move on with their lives.

Personally I consider deniers and conspiracy theorists "ignorant'; regretably there are plenty of them around.

[worrab]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

So no more covid insurance correct?  The story doesn't address that specifically.

The minimum health insurance coverage of 10,000 USD for foreigners will also be lifted.

Thai gov to remove mask mandates for outdoors, scrap Thailand Pass in July

By Erich Parpart

[starky]

35 minutes ago, simple1 said:

Personally I consider deniers and conspiracy theorists "ignorant'; regretably there are plenty of them around.

Cool not sure how that applies to anything I said. But good luck to you.

[jacko45k]

6 hours ago, japanese said:

 

 wrt these mRNA vaccines. It is claimed they are 70% effective against  Omicron variant...but.... that efficacy wanes over time, as does protection received from prior infection.  People will not continue with further 'boosters' which is what they keep telling us is required.

 

I do feel I was misled in the early days as to the benefits of vaccination. I thought 2 jabs and it was done with back then. 

[4MyEgo]

23 hours ago, simple1 said:

My wife here in Oz has been infected by Covid for the past two days. I can assure you she's having a nasty experience.

 

Unfortuneately too many people are still rather ignorant of the effects of Covid and consequences of infection.

Sorry to hear that she is having such a horrible experience but I believe the majority of people, like myself and the entire family, and everyone else that I know that has had it, believe it to be similar to a mild flu.

 

That said, I also believe it depends on how the individuals immune system responds, from what I have heard and seen from my wife, age 40 and the other women above 40, they were in bed for 2 days or so, wife would cat nap in the afternoon but still went about her day to day routine, I also believe if you are one of those types of people who eats right, takes your supplements and is active, you will fair better.

 

 

[HappyExpat57]

18 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

<deleted>. Travelling in August. Wonder if I will get a refund on my Covid insurance from AXA ????

 

That IS a rhetorical question?

[AlbionBob]

I often chuckle when I read all the outrage on here about Thailand Pass etc!  I am just applying for a Travel Visa for my Thai wife to come to England !!  You guys would have heart attacks seeing the amount of documentation required !!  Getting to Thailand for me is and has been a  stroll in the park !!

 

[Kwaibill]

17 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

"Now Thailand only has to deal with its ‘insurance’ issues... i.e. insist all arrivals have insurance, or included an insurance in the price of the ticket, or just stop complaining about it ...

** In 2019 it was reported that there was THB700 Million in unpaid medical bills from tourists. 

In the same year it was reported that revenue from Tourism was US$62 Billion (THB 2.165 Trillion)

Which begs the question: Does Thailand really need to be getting upset about 0.03% cost of its tourism revenue to the medical industry ????"

I question the reliability of the THB700 million figure anyway; true cost, or inflated "farang" pricing plus other padding? Rampant under US  Medi(don't)care. Where is the surcharge intended to cover the shortfall?

Surcharge away and Institute universal non-profit cover for all. There are examples, (Brazil, e.g.) and expats working in Thailand can already enroll in the Social Security medical scheme. I would suggest enrolling every visitor for accident services for THB 500 (less than $15, or 50 cents a day) per 30 days "permission to stay".  

Just my thoughts.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Kwaibill
Punctuation

[HappyExpat57]

12 minutes ago, AlbionBob said:

I often chuckle when I read all the outrage on here about Thailand Pass etc!  I am just applying for a Travel Visa for my Thai wife to come to England !!  You guys would have heart attacks seeing the amount of documentation required !!  Getting to Thailand for me is and has been a  stroll in the park !!

I have a friend in the US who discovered the technology that created whatever screen you are reading this on. He also had multiple sclerosis and was severely limited in his ability to get around. I tried to get a Thai friend of mine a job as an in-home nurse for him. The MOUNTAIN of paperwork and infinite hoops to jump through made the task basically impossible.

 

I just renewed my own extension of stay, and once you understand the process, you realize just how good we have it!

[Bangkok Barry]

17 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Praying your wife has it ease of soon and that she does not loose her smell or taste like my GF and I did.

Losing your sense of smell is a very good thing if you need to walk beside some of Bangkok's klongs. How some people live beside them is beyond my understanding.

[Bangkok Barry]

19 minutes ago, AlbionBob said:

I often chuckle when I read all the outrage on here about Thailand Pass etc!  I am just applying for a Travel Visa for my Thai wife to come to England !!  You guys would have heart attacks seeing the amount of documentation required !!  Getting to Thailand for me is and has been a  stroll in the park !!

 

The reason for that is that some Thais (not only Thais) are known for being a little liberal with the truth and they see nothing wrong with telling porkies if the end game is to get what they want. And so all Thais become subject to rigorous screening. Many decades ago in my first job in the UK we had the same situation when dealing with the Irish.

[Kwaibill]

17 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

On the skytrain in Bangkok they announce every 2 minutes that, without a mask, you could be liable for a fine of 20,000 baht. Wonder, as a private enterprise, how long they will/can keep up that regulation.

The BTS lines are owned by BMA, a governtmental agency. BTS is run under concession from the government.

[shackleton]

Well it's a step in the right direction 

Can only get better one hopes 

[DJ54]

IMO masks should be mandatory for anyone with a bad case ugliness … … just saying… 555

[alphonse]

17 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Well then we were not the vast majority, of course we did not need to be hospitalized, but it was a miserable 2 weeks........3 months later the GF is still loosing hair in bunches, and its hard for her to run without having deep lung issues.

Are you sure the hair issue is covid related? Get it checked out?

[spidermike007]

This is so long overdue. The continuation of the pass system for this long, has contributed to further sabotage of the tourism industry. Now, that they have finally scrapped it, they might be able to attract up to 250,000 tourists a month for the next few years. Maybe. Everything has changed, and Thailand has been forgotten, and left behind. The unemployed know who to blame for that, and hopefully they will finally be ousted in the next election. One can only hope it happens in a humiliating manner. Cha Cha will only be a very, very bad memory, in the years to come.