Arrival in Thailand

 

By Peter Roche

More changes. The public health minister, via the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, has cancelled the requirement for foreign arrivals, from countries which require PCR tests on return, to have at least US$10,000 health insurance coverage for the duration of their holiday, plus seven days.

 

The requirement for proof of Covid vaccinations, to present while checking in for your flight to Thailand, has also been scrapped. It was in response to complaints from Thai tourism associations, foreign embassies and travel groups who say the measures, originally imposed on January 7, would discourage many people from visiting Thailand.

 

Social media has been full of people being turned away at check-in, concerned travellers cancelling trips and people just confused about the original regulations and then the sudden reversal of policy.

 

Thailand’s Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob says that the CAAT’s revised measures include…

 

Passengers who do not have health insurance coverage will be allowed to board the plane, but Thai officials at health quarantine checkpoints will conduct random checks for health insurance coverage. Passengers who do not have any will be advised, before entering the country, how they can get coverage.

Passengers who hold Thai passports and passengers in transit will be exempt from health insurance checks.
Passengers who develop Covid-19 symptoms during their travel will be advised to get screened for Covid infection upon arrival at their destination.

Airlines should advise their passengers to wear face masks at all times while they are on board, except when eating food or in an emergency situation.

The revised measures came into force at 8am this morning, January 10, and will remain in force until at least January 31.

 

Source: https://phuket-go.com/phuket-news/national-news/more-changes-compulsory-health-insurance-now-not-required/

 

-- © Copyright Phuket GO 2023-01-11

 

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They've dropped everything faster than a stripper at a club. ????

Oh wait a minute. We were just starting to recover from the catastrophic sabotage to tourism, that many blame us for. Maybe they were right.

 

And now we almost killed the Golden goose one more time. Woops. A giant army brain fart. OK, OK, we won't put up confusing hurdles for tourists. 

Don't need health insurance but random checks to ascertain who has it!!  

"Passengers who do not have health insurance coverage will be allowed to board the plane, but Thai officials at health quarantine checkpoints will conduct random checks for health insurance coverage. Passengers who do not have any will be advised, before entering the country, how they can get coverage"

They keep on giving ????

 

You don't need health insurance but if we stop you at a random check point and you don't have health insurance then you will be forced to get it. 

Am I reading that correctly??? 

<deleted>!!!!

I suppose the burning question is

 

Does anyone in authority in Thailand bear sufficient control of their synapses to exert a scintilla of cogent thought before opening their mouth to spout impulsive proclamations every time their knee jerks?

 

Two and a half turn backflip half pike roll backflip degree of difficulty 9.7 

23 minutes ago, Regyai said:

I suppose the burning question is

 

Does anyone in authority in Thailand bear sufficient control of their synapses to exert a scintilla of cogent thought before opening their mouth to spout impulsive proclamations every time their knee jerks?

 

I suppose it depends on what they had for dinner last night. 

So you don't need health insurance but there will be random checks and if it turns out that you don't have one, you'll be given advice on where to buy one. Did I get that right?

 

When are they gonna realise that all this attempted face saving mental gymnastics only actually makes them loose even more face? The whole world is laughing at you Thailand. Again! I wonder how many Billions of Baht this little blunder ends up costing?

11 minutes ago, findlay13 said:

Two and a half turn backflip half pike roll backflip degree of difficulty 9.7 

And they do it every time.  Practice makes perfect.

46 minutes ago, gp2002 said:

You don't need health insurance but if we stop you at a random check point and you don't have health insurance then you will be forced to get it. 

Am I reading that correctly??? 

<deleted>!!!!

It doesn't say anything about compelling you to make a purchase, just a friendly, well-intentioned suggestion. ???? 

 

"...Passengers who do not have any will be advised, before entering the country, how they can get coverage."

The world hub of U Turns and I don't mean on the roads...

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Passengers who do not have health insurance coverage will be allowed to board the plane, but Thai officials at health quarantine checkpoints will conduct random checks for health insurance coverage. Passengers who do not have any will be advised, before entering the country, how they can get coverage.

So they need it or not?

39 minutes ago, findlay13 said:

Two and a half turn backflip half pike roll backflip degree of difficulty 9.7 

Forgot to check if the pool has water in it.

Soon, we will read news that the Chinese will get a gift certificate for a happy ending as soon as they land in Thailand ????????????

Thailand is a gift the keeps on giving. They give tough competition to Malays when it comes to dumb decisions. Wonder what sort of diplomacy stopped them from becoming a colony?

38 minutes ago, Thai Visa Member 999999 said:

It doesn't say anything about compelling you to make a purchase, just a friendly, well-intentioned suggestion. ???? 

 

"...Passengers who do not have any will be advised, before entering the country, how they can get coverage."

Name another county that does this foolish act? How do you know it's friendly anyways? 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Passengers who do not have health insurance coverage will be allowed to board the plane, but Thai officials at health quarantine checkpoints will conduct random checks for health insurance coverage. Passengers who do not have any will be advised, before entering the country, how they can get coverage.

Did nobody else pick up on this whopper scam subtly inserted in the middle of the report!!! If they have dropped the requirement why do they need to check and if they find that you don’t have health insurance you are pointed towards the desk that has coverage at 5000% higher rates than any other normal health insurance or you are refused entry!!!

 

So the restriction has NOT been lifted but rather you are required to play a game of Russian roulette once you are already in Thailand when your choice is either get a flight out back out of the country and all the costs that involves plus cancelled accommodation etc etc or accept the fleecing they will give you for your health coverage. FO!

Planning a vacation in Thailand is becoming a challenge. You never know what's coming next.

 

Dear passengers. This is the captain speaking. We have just received information that you cannot enter Thailand without a PCR test and insurance. We will arrange your return flight as soon as possible. Upon arrival, please wait at the gate for further instructions...

 

"passengers will be advised how they can get coverage"...!! Just another opportunity for corruption....

LOF.,.Land of Flipflops. Silly, impulsive flip-flop capital of the world. It's just hilarious watching these clowns trip all over themselves day-to-day. You'd think they might learn from SO many previous embarrassing blunders. NOPE...just keep on keepin' on! ????

Every time one of these officials-- and I use that term loosely, comes out with a statement I think it's the most absurd thing I've heard.......then the next one comes out........TIT

I bet nobody in any government department is capable of driving a manual vehicle.  So telling them the joke about engaging your brain before putting your mouth in gear would sail way over their heads.

57 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Why do you insist on pedaling this nonsense. 

The science says .............

Largest COVID virus size = 500nm

Mask gap size = 55,000nm

 

"A recent trial in Bangladesh found that people issued with surgical masks were 11% less likely to be infected with Covid-19. The results suggested cloth masks also reduce risk but the results were not statistically significant."

https://fullfact.org/health/face-masks-covid-holes/

 

That's an 11% reduction in transmission if everyone wears a surgical mask.

So the question is, would you buy an insurance policy that only paid out on 11% of claims?

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The revised measures came into force at 8am this morning, January 10, and will remain in force until at least January 31.

3 weeks….? 
in terms of Thai planning this represents long term thinking beyond the realms of practical understanding! ????‍♂️ 

1 hour ago, edogthong said:

When are they gonna realise that all this attempted face saving mental gymnastics only actually makes them loose even more face?

That's perfectly normal in Thailand as they can only think of the moment and never, ever the consequences of what they do. You see it often in society when someone attacks or kills someone because of loss of face and then they lose even more face by being jailed. It - not thinking of the consequences - is exactly how children behave because they know no better.

 

In Thailand that extends throughout society, and especially the government. It's possible that some lowly official knows that what they propose is utter nonsense, but Thai culture forbids them from pointing it out to their 'superiors' so you have what you have. By 'saving face' by not bending to someone with half a brain they lose face by acting stupidly and then lose even more face by doing a U-turn.

9 minutes ago, nchuckle said:

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The revised measures came into force at 8am this morning, January 10, and will remain in force until at least January 31.

3 weeks….? 
in terms of Thai planning this represents long term thinking beyond the realms of practical understanding! ????‍♂️ 

Take no notice of the date. The 'no vaccination certificate, no entry' requirement was until January 31 too. The date means nothing at all. It could even be changed by lunchtime tomorrow.

Instead if seeing an Elephant ???? in the room is anyone seeing the Albatross ???? surfacing

it was Anutin who first flogged travel restriction the last Thursday.

On Monday at 3pm, just 14h after introducing new rules, he cancelled vax requirement.

Another 12h and cancells covid insurance.

I would expect that the czar of covid, which the PM is still formally, will step in at some stage.

Anutin was removed from taking decisions on covid matters, after he botched the second wave around songran 2021 and for neglecting contracting vaccinations.

2 hours ago, HuskerDo2 said:

It would probably be better if unverifiable anti-vax "opinions" are kept off this msg board.

Whilst I am certainly not anti vax, i believe people can choose for themselves, but as long as posters do not break forum rules, surely all opinions/posts are allowed equally?