BREAKING: Thailand issues NEW Covid entry requirements effective January 9th.

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, ourmanflint said:

Insurance only needed if flying out of India or China according to Thai Airways

Understood and you are correct of course... But, I’ll still print my documents and recommend others do.

 

Over the past 2 years I’ve had numerous arguments with Airline check-in staff regarding what is and what isn’t needed - they are not always up to date and have on numerous occasions misinterpreted regulations....  

 

i.e. I was travelling about a week after the Day 5 Test & Go was dropped, the Airline check-in staff were still insistent on a Day 5 Test & Go booking and were going to refuse me boarding. I’d pushed it up to supervisor level, but still a ’no-go’....  I remembered I still had an e-mail with my earlier Day 5 Test & Go Booking confirmation (Since cancelled)... I just showed this and didn't tell the airline I’d cancelled it, that was all they wanted to see.... 

 

Thus: In all the confusion, airline staff get it wrong - IMO, its always been best to travel with any documentation which may or many not be required, especially when there ambiguity due to ‘flip-flop’ announcements. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Peterphuket]

On 1/8/2023 at 11:58 AM, Skeptic7 said:

Great big T I T. Land of...Confusion, Inconsistency, Clueless, Rules, Ideas and schemes-pulled-out-of-ass then cancelled/changed/not enforced/over enforced. All of the above depending on what day of week or direction of wind. 

More and more I get the feeling it is the nature of the Thai people.

[GanDoonToonPet]

Here's a conundrum. ????

 

I'm fully vaccinated, travelling from China via Singapore. The connection in Singapore is a 'self transfer' which means the two flights aren't connected. I'll have to exit immigration in Singapore, pick up my tickets for the Thailand leg, then pass through immigration again; then rinse and repeat for the return journey.

 

I'll obviously need a PCR test to re-enter China but surely this is irrelevant as, as far as Thailand is concerned, I'm only flying from / to Singapore. This surely means that I don't need the COVID insurance as Singapore doesn't require the test?

 

My head hurts ????

[CharlieH]

Reported posts removed.

 

Do not suggest or promote falsification of documents.

[Salerno]

1 hour ago, NativeBob said:

"swab on arrival" - what exactly is it: PCR or ATK?
Who will pay for the test?

If PCR is not immediate than what? Sit in the corner?

If test (any) yields false positive what would be next?

and why insurance reduced to $10K from $100K? Thai medical care improved 10 folds?

Looks like it's supposed to be an ATK.

The traveller will - although it's allegedly going to be spot checks and none reported to date (allows them not to do any IMO).

N/A given above.

Nobody knows as the powers that be haven't clarified actions on a positive result.

Insurance was reduced before restrictions where initially dropped. Likely due to data on positive results being false positives or mild cases therefore, actual costs falling well within $10K.

 

[NativeBob]

1 hour ago, Salerno said:

Looks like it's supposed to be an ATK.

The traveller will - although it's allegedly going to be spot checks and none reported to date (allows them not to do any IMO).

N/A given above.

Nobody knows as the powers that be haven't clarified actions on a positive result.

Insurance was reduced before restrictions where initially dropped. Likely due to data on positive results being false positives or mild cases therefore, actual costs falling well within $10K.

 

If we'll develop some "conspiracy theory" with this fuss than things will fit into perfect picture: 

 

As I reckon there was quite a difference between ATK prices over LOS. Some were dirt-cheap imported from "I-Dont-care-where" and merchants made quite good money. Remember ATK stall at Khao Sarn entrance? 

Now how about make millions of arrivals to buy those @#%@ tests mandatory? Think mere 100THB markup multiplied by millions?

Tourists will have simple choice: either vaccinate yourself immediately (impossible) or buy ATK on arrival (mai pen ding-ding). 

I know it does sound like cheap movie script, but this is Thailand and almost everything here looks just like that.

[Salerno]

4 minutes ago, NativeBob said:

I know it does sound like cheap movie script, but this is Thailand and almost everything here looks just like that.

I hear you, but personally leaning towards another angle - dumb kneejerk reaction to avoid a slap on the wrist from China and pretend they are thinking about the health of citizens rather than just Yen, eventually dawns on them they screwed up and actually locked out a cohort of travellers, flip-flop to let them in with a test on arrival, eventually it dawns on them this will still put people off given no details/thought of what actions will be taken if positive test, another flip-flop to say it will be "spot checks" not all non vaxed arrivals = no need to do any tests (who's going to complain they didn't get tested?), face saved and can still claim "Looking out for the health of Thais".

 

Awaiting the next flip-flop when it dawns on them no tests = no figures to publish re positive tests on arrival = no credibility given the figures already published by other countries.

[heybuz]

On 1/8/2023 at 4:20 PM, Mavideol said:

Thais are immune, remember at the beginning of the infections, 2019-2020, the "brick layer" health minister said there would be no problems with Covid in Thailand as the heat and sunshine would kill the virus  555

who are you to denigrate bricklayers, as a spokesman for bricklayers world wide we take umbrage and the next house you contemplate will have a severe shortage of cement in the compo ]mortar]

[ThaiVisaCentre]

It's entirely cancelled now related to the vaccine requirement.

Well that was fun...

[ThailandRyan]

4 minutes ago, ThaiVisaCentre said:

It's entirely cancelled now related to the vaccine requirement.

Well that was fun...

Fun......Not for those that canceled because they were unable to fulfill the requirements or the airlines denied them boarding....

[ThaiVisaCentre]

31 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Fun......Not for those that canceled because they were unable to fulfill the requirements or the airlines denied them boarding....

Was being sarcastic.

This was extremely stressful for tens of thousands of people, and yes some have cancelled their trips, and have no way to recoup those losses.

Our team worked double shifts to help support thousands of concerned travelers ????

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by ThaiVisaCentre

[jerrymahoney]

And the winner of the best AseanNow put-down is (envelope please) ...

[ThaiVisaCentre]

Also we are hearing reports that people are still being prevented from boarding if unvaccinated... It takes time for the news to propagate, and it needs to be done through specific channels.

It's a bit mess right now, and may take a few days to sort out.

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by ThaiVisaCentre

[Bangkok Barry]

This latest U-turn is simply another example of Thais being totally unable to think beyond Step 1. It's deeply ingrained into their DNA, be it the suicidal way they drive, for example not understanding that overtaking on a blind bend could result in death and injury; shooting someone dead because they looked at you the wrong way, or as recently, you honked at them; or government banning at short notice all travellers without a vaccination certificate. They simply don't understand the consequences of their actions, in anything at all. It's really quite extraordinary and suggests the mental age of children. And that is quite frightening.

[Danderman123]

https://www.tatnews.org/2023/01/thailand-maintains-fully-reopen-entry-rules/?fbclid=IwAR1eSLslJhF5_M1JRNLH6ndy4l24RNz2wIG3M_ykzZHrf9MD_XfJBJzKKmY

 

Never mind.

[rbkk]

The puppeteer is in play diverting attention away.....

[a3tsw]

Well that didn't last long ... vaccine regulations comes in to effect from 9th January ... vaccine regulations rescinded 9th January 

[JohnBZ]

It is quite unbelievable.  All happened on the same day Jan 9th.  Well do you or do you not need vaccine certificates?  Are they going to change again?

[Salerno]

13 minutes ago, JohnBZ said:

Well do you or do you not need vaccine certificates?

No.

 

13 minutes ago, JohnBZ said:

Are they going to change again?

Can we have an easier question please ????

[Felt 35]

Why someone, after 3 years with Covid 19 and according to the WHO 15 million people have died, would travel anywhere without recommended vaccines and an international vaccine handbook / pass seems to me to be irresponsible, inappropriate, and bordering on stupidity.

Felt

[jak2002003]

On 1/8/2023 at 10:19 AM, pomchop said:

that is what it appears.....these folks don't seem to understand that most normal people book a trip to Thailand well in advance and often their flights are non refundable as well as hotel bookings.

 

...so for those anti vaxxers that never got the shots good luck....and even with the tests if they decide to leave thailand for few days they likely would need yet another test to return to Thailand... another reason that u shoulda coulda woulda gotten the shots.

Why to some people get hung up on people who don't what a vaccine?  

 

Why do you care if they can't travel.  You seen to get pleasure from it?  Why? 

 

If you are vaccinated yourself then you needed concern yourself with 'anti vax' people. 

 

People like you seem to just want to force your opinions on others. 

 

That is just bullying.   Take responsively for your life and decisions and let other do the same.  It's not some relugion where you need to covert people or have them exiled if they won't follow your beliefs. 

[pomchop]

18 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

Why to some people get hung up on people who don't what a vaccine?  

 

Why do you care if they can't travel.  You seen to get pleasure from it?  Why? 

 

If you are vaccinated yourself then you needed concern yourself with 'anti vax' people. 

 

People like you seem to just want to force your opinions on others. 

 

That is just bullying.   Take responsively for your life and decisions and let other do the same.  It's not some relugion where you need to covert people or have them exiled if they won't follow your beliefs. 

i do take responsibility for my decisions especially when they can well impact other people,,,,antivaxxers apparently do not give a hoot about anyone but themselves and if they clog hospitals and infect other people with a deadly virus it's no big deal cause it is their decision.

 

It's not a "relugion"...it's basic common sense and courtesy.

 

 

 

[BritTim]

23 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

Why to some people get hung up on people who don't what a vaccine?  

 

Why do you care if they can't travel.  You seen to get pleasure from it?  Why? 

 

If you are vaccinated yourself then you needed concern yourself with 'anti vax' people. 

 

People like you seem to just want to force your opinions on others. 

 

That is just bullying.   Take responsively for your life and decisions and let other do the same.  It's not some relugion where you need to covert people or have them exiled if they won't follow your beliefs. 

I do not criticise individuals who are unvaccinated. I consider their decision to be misguided, but as individuals they have no impact on me.

 

However, as a group, the unvaccinated or inadequately vaccinated are a major issue. If the Chinese were as well vaccinated as even the Thais, there would not be all the hysteria around their arrival in Thailand. They would have far fewer hospitalisations and, as with other countries, be overwhelmingly asymptomatic with the high rate of infection invisible. The especially infectious XBB strains are almost completely absent from China, and we are only afraid of catching the Omicron variants from them because they are Chinese. There is no rational reason.

 

The end result of a population that is unvaccinated (or, in some cases, vaccinated, but only with a substandard vaccine too long ago for it to have any effect) is panic and irrational behaviour just as we saw over the weekend.

[Woof999]

On 1/9/2023 at 10:10 PM, jak2002003 said:

Why to some people get hung up on people who don't what a vaccine?  

 

Why do you care if they can't travel.  You seen to get pleasure from it?  Why? 

 

If you are vaccinated yourself then you needed concern yourself with 'anti vax' people. 

 

People like you seem to just want to force your opinions on others. 

 

That is just bullying.   Take responsively for your life and decisions and let other do the same.  It's not some relugion where you need to covert people or have them exiled if they won't follow your beliefs. 

Some people cannot get the vaccine for various reasons. Those who can, but choose not to, do put others health at risk.

 

This doesn't affect me or any of my loved ones currently, but if it did, I'd likely have a word or two to say about the anti-vaxxers too. I put them in a simlar category to flat earthers and moon landing deniers.

[GypsyT]

I got 4 shot so that's not my problem.

Insurance requirements are!

Thai, Qatar and others say "You need 10k USD insurance".

TAT link above says "You don't".

I think TAT info is correct BUT; AirLines are checking and deciding if you get to fly!

 

THAT's The problem...

[jak2002003]

53 minutes ago, Woof999 said:

Some people cannot get the vaccine for various reasons. Those who can, but choose not to, do put others health at risk.

 

This doesn't affect me or any of my loved ones currently, but if it did, I'd likely have a word or two to say about the anti-vaxxers too. I put them in a simlar category to flat earthers and moon landing deniers.

That's not right.  Many people are not 'anti vax' if they just don't want the covid vaccine and the several 'boosters' that go with it. 

 

Most of these people have had other vaccinations.  Many just see no need to have this particular vaccine as they are not in a high risk group and its not a danger to them... In fact they could get more inconvience from the side ecffexs of the vaccine than covid itself. 

 

You are saying that if someone does not want a particular vaccine then they belive the earth is flat and all other dumb conspiracy theories.  That's not right. 

 

As you say, most have had vaccines for covid and the ones that can't are very much in the minority.  These people also would get very sick from any other disease, so they take precautions if they go out anyway to keep themselves safe.  If they dont then that is them being selfish and dumb.  

 

A small minority of people not having the covid vaccine makes zero effect of the spread or transmission of covid in a society where most people are vaccinated.  

 

Just seems for some strange reason some people can't get over a few people not conforming, or not all being exactly the same or doing exactly what governments advise them to do.  I don't want to live in a society like that.. I mght as well go and live in North Korea or some strict Muslim country if I wanted everyone to conform and not be allowed freedom.  

 

 

[Woof999]

1 minute ago, jak2002003 said:

That's not right.  Many people are not 'anti vax' if they just don't want the covid vaccine and the several 'boosters' that go with it. 

 

Most of these people have had other vaccinations.  Many just see no need to have this particular vaccine as they are not in a high risk group and its not a danger to them... In fact they could get more inconvience from the side ecffexs of the vaccine than covid itself. 

 

You are saying that if someone does not want a particular vaccine then they belive the earth is flat and all other dumb conspiracy theories.  That's not right. 

 

As you say, most have had vaccines for covid and the ones that can't are very much in the minority.  These people also would get very sick from any other disease, so they take precautions if they go out anyway to keep themselves safe.  If they dont then that is them being selfish and dumb.  

 

A small minority of people not having the covid vaccine makes zero effect of the spread or transmission of covid in a society where most people are vaccinated.  

 

Just seems for some strange reason some people can't get over a few people not conforming, or not all being exactly the same or doing exactly what governments advise them to do.  I don't want to live in a society like that.. I mght as well go and live in North Korea or some strict Muslim country if I wanted everyone to conform and not be allowed freedom.  

 

 

I'd love to agree with you because I believe your intentions are sound, but there are some things I'd correct (based on my own knowledge and opinions which I'm not saying are necessarily better than yours).

 

"Many just see no need to have this particular vaccine as they are not in a high risk group" - high risk groups were based on age and pre-existing medical conditions, yet the vast majority of the world's health experts absolutely told pretty much everyone that a vaccination was in their best interest. There have been countless examples of perfectly healthy 20 and 30 year olds becoming incredibly sick and dying from COVID. On the flipside there have been many reports of side effects. Nobody could really say that COVID was not a danger to them and so they couldn't make an accurate decision about side effects being more inconvenient to them without having experienced both, previous experience with vaccinations excepted. I totally get that it's their body and their decision, but I don't accept that, with the knowledge available at the time, their decision to vaccinate or not vaccinate was more scientifically sound than the medical professionals.

 

I'm sure there are many other diseases that would affect the high risk groups. I'm not so sure that too many of them were as infectious as COVID. Also bear in mind that this happened over a relatively short period of time, when many nations health services were stretched beyond breaking point. If me getting vaxxed stopped my (3 so far) COVID infections requiring me to be hospitalised, and so freeing up those medical services for someone more in need, then tip top.

 

I don't rebel against a government's mandate purely because it comes from the government. I don't for one moment believe they are out to get me even if they (politicians) are only in the game for their own benefit. To liken a requirement for a vaccination to living in North Korea... well, a bit too far extrapolated for me. If my government advised me to do something, then that wouldn't be a "so I must do it then" signal but it would be a good indication that it might well be good advice. The fact that I may or may not be doing the same thing as millions of others wouldn't really come into it. Again, the government recommendations came from sound medical advice based on the information to hand at the time. It wasn't politicians alone making medical decisions on my behalf without expert opinion (and no doubt at least a small amount of corporate greed to go along with it).

 

I'm not saying that anti-vaxxers specifically believe in flat earth or deny the moon landings. I'm saying that I put them in a similar category. That might be somewhere between dumb and misguided. If their decision not to vaccinate was based on past medical history then no problem from me.

 

I've nothing to "get over" in terms of your last paragraph. Outside of this thread I rarely give it a second thought.

 

Apologies for the long reply, but there it is ????