More than 5M Chinese Visitors expected in Thailand next year

[newnative]

      Browsing thru Yahoo this morning and just saw an article stating that almost half of the Chinese passengers on 2 flights from China to Italy tested positive for covid, prompting Italy to impose mandatory covid tests.   Thailand may need to re-think its policy and do the same--it's likely to get far more Chinese visitors than Italy.   

[simon43]

Almost all of my online Chinese students and their parents have told me that they currently have tested positive for Covid.  Fortunately, the youngsters only have mild symptoms and their parents a little less mild.  The fact that Covid is now running rife in China is IMHO a good thing.  It means that the vast majority of the citizens will gain natural immunity to this virus.

 

Now, what about Xi's stupid policy over the last couple of years thinking that he could beat the virus down to zero cases?

Edited December 29, 2022 by simon43

[sqwakvfr]

Quote

 

More than half of passengers on a flight from China to Italy have tested positive for COVID-19 - as China prepares to open up its borders despite a huge surge in infections.

 

1) For those who thought Quarantine, COE, Covid 19 Health Insurance and the Thailand Pass were in the past, think again.

2)  Everyday more and more countries are putting entry restrictions on any traveler who departs from China. Is this prejudice or racism?  Is this just being cautious? 

3) If indeed 5 Million or Chinese enter Thailand in 2023 will they be allowed to just fly in and wander the country without any restrictions.  We shall see.

[nigelforbes]

That news about 50%+ of passengers testing positive for covid is being widely circulated but appears to have originated on Twitter. I'm not certain how reliable the news is.

[connda]

15 hours ago, roo860 said:

Had it twice and didn't know I'd got it, (had to test Sunday and Wednesday, the company I worked for rules.)

Interesting world we live in where you need to get a test to determine that you're sick, otherwise you wouldn't know.  ????

[mikeymike100]

44 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

More than half of passengers on a flight from China to Italy have tested positive for COVID-19 - as China prepares to open up its borders despite a huge surge in infections.

 

1) For those who thought Quarantine, COE, Covid 19 Health Insurance and the Thailand Pass were in the past, think again.

2)  Everyday more and more countries are putting entry restrictions on any traveler who departs from China. Is this prejudice or racism?  Is this just being cautious? 

3) If indeed 5 Million or Chinese enter Thailand in 2023 will they be allowed to just fly in and wander the country without any restrictions.  We shall see.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64111492

 

USA has now implemented Covid tests from anyone going in to the USA from mainland China!

 

 

 

 

[sqwakvfr]

39 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

That news about 50%+ of passengers testing positive for covid is being widely circulated but appears to have originated on Twitter. I'm not certain how reliable the news is.

Guido Bertolaso, Lombardy regional councillor for welfare, told a news conference: "On the first flight, out of 92 passengers 35 (38%) are positive. On the second, out of 120 passengers 62 (52%) are positive."

[Road Warrior]

ow dear money before sense .Thailand 1/10  

[gunner1]

I wonder is Thailand is going to do the same thing that other Nations are doing and that is requiring a negative kovid test to enter the country? according to the international news, China has a big problem with kovid AGAIN!  If they don't test, get ready for another lock down. 

 

[Daithi85]

2 hours ago, connda said:

Interesting world we live in where you need to get a test to determine that you're sick, otherwise you wouldn't know.  ????

There's a hell of a lot of illnesses you wouldn't know u had unless you got tested.

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, connda said:

Interesting world we live in where you need to get a test to determine that you're sick, otherwise you wouldn't know.  ????

Yes, it is called screening! I am sure a lot of women who had early diagnosis of breast or cervical cancer were glad of it! 

Some folks do talk nonsense!

[Salerno]

2 hours ago, connda said:

Interesting world we live in where you need to get a test to determine that you're sick, otherwise you wouldn't know.  ????

Interesting world we live in when facts and science are increasingly ignored ????

[nigelforbes]

2 hours ago, connda said:

Interesting world we live in where you need to get a test to determine that you're sick, otherwise you wouldn't know.  ????

I really don't understand why people don't get that it's not about them, it's about the other guy who is old or ill or can't handle a virus like covid, a person who could easily die if they contract the virus. Did we stop caring about or wanting to help each other all of a sudden. I mean really, that's one very sound reason to wear a mask, even if people think it's stupid and wont protect them, it might protect somebody else, yet still there are people who think it's a crazy idea..

[Puccini]

3 hours ago, mikeymike100 said:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64111492

 

USA has now implemented Covid tests from anyone going in to the USA from mainland China!

I see no information about what the countries testing arriving passengers from China for Covid-19 are doing with the passers who test positive.

 

Also this article in another publication does not mention it:

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3790837-nearly-half-of-passengers-from-china-to-milan-have-covid-italian-officials/

 

What plans does Thailand have in this regard?

[samtam]

4 hours ago, mikeymike100 said:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64111492

 

USA has now implemented Covid tests from anyone going in to the USA from mainland China!

 

 

 

 

Add to that India and Japan. Thailand is just looking at the tourist $$$, but the cost of lockdowns etc, should they be required, will far exceed the perceived financial benefits. 

 

This is all sounding too similiar to January 2020, when the 10,000 from Wuhan came to Thailand for Chinese New Year. It will be a real test of whether the now high rate of vaccinated population in Thailand (as opposed to in 2020), have sufficient protection to weather the viral storm, (into whatever form it has now mutated).

 

Edited December 29, 2022 by samtam

[sqwakvfr]

I think the next step will be to establish quarantine hotels or facilities for anyone who started their flight from China.  I could be wrong but what do you do if new arrivals from China start showing symptoms? The last thing anyone in LOS wants to see is a massive Covid outbreak in early 2023.  I have a selfish interest in saying this because I have at least 3 or more international trips planned for 2023.  

 

Foolish of me to think it was finally over and I could travel again? 

[sqwakvfr]

11 minutes ago, samtam said:

Add to that India and Japan. Thailand is just looking at the tourist $$$, but the cost of lockdowns etc, should they be required, will far exceed the perceived financial benefits. 

 

This is all sounding too similiar to January 2020, when the 10,000 from Wuhan came to Thailand for Chinese New Year. It will be a real test of whether the now high rate of vaccinated population in Thailand (as opposed to in 2020), have sufficient protection to weather the viral storm, (into whatever form it has now mutated).

 

If this happens again I could be a test case because I have had 4 shots of Pfizer and the last one was with the Bivalent vaccine.  My last dose was 3 months ago.  Let’s see If I am well protected or not? 

[Marco100]

What about same measure as Japan , USA  , Taiwan ? Chinese Tourist need to negative Covid test to travel and present it at arrival ? It's not much but at least a minimum precautions would be logic ????????‍♂️

[TingTonger]

8 hours ago, mikeymike100 said:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64111492

 

USA has now implemented Covid tests from anyone going in to the USA from mainland China!

 

 

 

 

President Biden Incredible Job 

[mikeymike100]

7 minutes ago, TingTonger said:

President Biden Incredible Job 

Whilst it is a good decision, it didn't come from Biden, but the CDC?

Lets hope Thailand takes the same precautions!

[Maestro]

On 12/28/2022 at 10:26 AM, connda said:

No doubt half of Thailand will die of Covid.  Well, at least according to the status quo MSM...

What do you mean with "status quo MSM"?

[rabang]

21 hours ago, anrcaccount said:

Mike, you're normally sensible on covid. The issue with restarting any travel testing / border restrictions is,  where does this end? 

 

By this logic, why hasn't Thailand been restricting arrivals from Japan, where they recorded 1M cases last week?  If they do this for China, next it'll be the US ( still lots of covid there), the UK, Japan, where next and we'll be back to 2020. It's a slippery slope. 

 

The virus is well established in Thailand and has been for a year. No new variants of concern have actually eventuated globally in over a year.  Yes some surveillance testing is warranted but only for the purposes of checking for new variants. 

 

I am also disappointed in Mike's reaction as he tends to speak sense and keep his head cool especially considering covid. What the hell are people thinking they can achieve with more restrictions, testing etc.? Haven't people learned already how harmful and eventually useless those measures are? It is not like the virus will be contained in one single place. Thailand has probably millions of cases every day already. Japan, USA and a few other countries are doing it clearly for political reasons, especially in Asia. First it is for Chinese visitors and next for everyone else. It looks like the same madness is spreading again. We need to stop before it even begins!

[nigelforbes]

1 minute ago, rabang said:

I am also disappointed in Mike's reaction as he tends to speak sense and keep his head cool especially considering covid. What the hell are people thinking they can achieve with more restrictions, testing etc.? Haven't people learned already how harmful and eventually useless those measures are? It is not like the virus will be contained in one single place. Thailand has probably millions of cases every day already. Japan, USA and a few other countries are doing it clearly for political reasons, especially in Asia. First it is for Chinese visitors and next for everyone else. It looks like the same madness is spreading again. We need to stop before it even begins!

This is about managing the strain on the health system and hospitals. The degree of covid in the population here at present is being managed with existing medical resources at a comfortable level. Add a couple of hundred thousand unmasked, unvaccinated covid cases from China and the spread becomes much more difficult to manage plus the strain on the medical system will potentially break the system.

[thaibeachlovers]

Oh the joy. Start the celebrations, wave the welcome flags.

 

Sarcasm alert.

[rabang]

5 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

This is about managing the strain on the health system and hospitals. The degree of covid in the population here at present is being managed with existing medical resources at a comfortable level. Add a couple of hundred thousand unmasked, unvaccinated covid cases from China and the spread becomes much more difficult to manage plus the strain on the medical system will potentially break the system.

Fear is a strong addiction. No amount of testing will help for that.

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, rabang said:

Fear is a strong addiction. No amount of testing will help for that.

You should really think about Covid as a truly reprehensible virus unlike the Flu and Cold virus, and stop with the "fear is a strong addiction" comments.

 

Covid misinformation is what creates the bigger picture, not Fear 

 

https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.nytimes.com/2022/12/28/technology/covid-misinformation-online.amp.html?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From %1%24s&aoh=16723269562999&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2022%2F12%2F28%2Ftechnology%2Fcovid-misinformation-online.html

 

It’s easy to forget that health misinformation, including about Covid, can still contribute to people not getting vaccinated or creating stigmas,” said Megan Marrelli, the editorial director of Meedan, a nonprofit focused on digital literacy and information access. “We know for a fact that health misinformation contributes to the spread of real-world disease.”

Edited December 30, 2022 by ThailandRyan

[rabang]

10 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

You should really think about Covid as a truly reprehensible virus unlike the Flu and Cold virus, and stop with the "fear is a strong addiction" comments.

 

Covid misinformation is what creates the bigger picture, not Fear 

 

https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.nytimes.com/2022/12/28/technology/covid-misinformation-online.amp.html?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From %1%24s&aoh=16723269562999&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2022%2F12%2F28%2Ftechnology%2Fcovid-misinformation-online.html

 

It’s easy to forget that health misinformation, including about Covid, can still contribute to people not getting vaccinated or creating stigmas,” said Megan Marrelli, the editorial director of Meedan, a nonprofit focused on digital literacy and information access. “We know for a fact that health misinformation contributes to the spread of real-world disease.”

My personal covid experience was like a strong flu or cold and a very mild cold (second time). Move on with your lives, people.

[nigelforbes]

2 minutes ago, rabang said:

My personal covid experience was like a strong flu or cold and a very mild cold (second time). Move on with your lives, people.

For YOU! But not for many many people over 70, not for people who are sick and not for people with compromised immune systems.

 

You move on, we'll wait here.

[ThailandRyan]

14 minutes ago, rabang said:

My personal covid experience was like a strong flu or cold and a very mild cold (second time). Move on with your lives, people.

Yet millions of others have had it so bad they are hospitalized or even died. Stop trying to trivialize it. 

Edited December 30, 2022 by ThailandRyan

[rabang]

18 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Yet millions of others have had it so bad they are hospitalized or even died. Stop trying to trivialize it. 

Oh, people die. Stop the press.