News Forum - Pattaya discusses “hotel isolation” for Test & Go, Sandbox travellers with Covid-19

[Thaiger]

After horror stories of foreign tourists being required to stay in a quarantine hotel after testing positive for Covid-19, officials in Pattaya discussed a so-called “hotel isolation” to allow travellers to continue staying at their hotel or resort if they test positive for the virus and have mild to no symptoms. The idea is not to force travellers into sleeping on a cardboard bed at a field hospital or to transfer to a “hospitel,” or quarantine hotel… which, according to a reporter who stayed in a Phuket hospitel, it was more like an “Asian Hotel California” with late-night parties fuelled […]

The story Pattaya discusses “hotel isolation” for Test & Go, Sandbox travellers with Covid-19 as seen on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

[Graham]

I have a question for the idiots in charge, if I come to Thailand fully vaxed 3 doses, I have my prescription flight PCR test (negative result), get my day 1 PCR test in an overpriced room (negative result again) then I go to my home and just enjoy life until the day 5 test, I again go to the overpriced hotel which has already been paid for, get my 3rd PCR test, now the fun starts, test comes back positive, does this mean I can sue the Thai government because I go Covid in Thailand due to their stupid rules and regulations  ?

[Vladimir]

Sounds like a reasonable way to go.

Stress of waiting for PCR results and the uknknown aftermath of being positive without sypmtoms just creates anxiety, something that we want to get rid of by going on a holiday :-) 

 

Would be interesting to know if this would apply to Phuket as well?

[Fundok]

The problem is, that no one can really determine for sure with the test on day 5 being positive if

a) you were already infected when you arrived but slipped through the test perhaps because the infection just started and there weren't enough markers yet, or

b) you infected yourself in Thailand.

So this test on day 5 doesn't really provide much insight in this regard. In fact, it's useless if the purpose is to prevent the "import" of the virus and just generates unneccessary hardship.

But if you'd infect yourself, I do not see any legal reason while you should be entitled to sue the Thai government (or your government back home).

[Cat]

Having stayed at a Hospitel in Phuket last week after testing positive upon my return to Thailand I can comment from my own experience. I stayed in a Hospitel, basically a part of a hotel fully isolated/fenced, in which all guests were COVID positive with light or no symptoms. The Hospitel charge was THB 3,500/day, high compared to hotel quality.  Conditions were basic but ok. AC, good Wi-Fi and most importantly we could walk in the very nice yard with shaded areas and trees. There was even a swimming pool available but I didn’t dare to get into it.

No loud parties, but if you want to get a beer there were ways to get it. The food quality was an issue. Very basic, with the plastic looking sausage present in every breakfast and below average food quality. Luckily I could order Grab food from a nearby restaurant. 
I tried to book a better Hospitel before going to this one, but the good hotels like Banyan Tree would only allow their own guests to quarantine there. 
I think there is a lot of room for improvement in the Hospitel sector. 

[King Cotton]

54 minutes ago, Cat said:

Having stayed at a Hospitel in Phuket last week after testing positive upon my return to Thailand I can comment from my own experience. I stayed in a Hospitel, basically a part of a hotel fully isolated/fenced, in which all guests were COVID positive with light or no symptoms. The Hospitel charge was THB 3,500/day, high compared to hotel quality.  Conditions were basic but ok. AC, good Wi-Fi and most importantly we could walk in the very nice yard with shaded areas and trees. There was even a swimming pool available but I didn’t dare to get into it.

No loud parties, but if you want to get a beer there were ways to get it. The food quality was an issue. Very basic, with the plastic looking sausage present in every breakfast and below average food quality. Luckily I could order Grab food from a nearby restaurant. 
I tried to book a better Hospitel before going to this one, but the good hotels like Banyan Tree would only allow their own guests to quarantine there. 
I think there is a lot of room for improvement in the Hospitel sector. 

An informative and no doubt helpful post, here, @Catthat will surely be a useful guide to many potential hospitelers, as they're flying in, perhaps. And your debut post, too, so thanks for that and welcome to the forum.

All the best for your ongoing time in the LOS !

 

[Sawarot]

35 minutes ago, Cat said:

Having stayed at a Hospitel in Phuket last week after testing positive upon my return to Thailand I can comment from my own experience. I stayed in a Hospitel, basically a part of a hotel fully isolated/fenced, in which all guests were COVID positive with light or no symptoms. The Hospitel charge was THB 3,500/day, high compared to hotel quality.  Conditions were basic but ok. AC, good Wi-Fi and most importantly we could walk in the very nice yard with shaded areas and trees. There was even a swimming pool available but I didn’t dare to get into it.

No loud parties, but if you want to get a beer there were ways to get it. The food quality was an issue. Very basic, with the plastic looking sausage present in every breakfast and below average food quality. Luckily I could order Grab food from a nearby restaurant. 
I tried to book a better Hospitel before going to this one, but the good hotels like Banyan Tree would only allow their own guests to quarantine there. 
I think there is a lot of room for improvement in the Hospitel sector. 

So you were charged THB 35k for this? Was this covered by your insurance?

[Sawarot]

1 hour ago, Graham said:

I have a question for the idiots in charge, if I come to Thailand fully vaxed 3 doses, I have my prescription flight PCR test (negative result), get my day 1 PCR test in an overpriced room (negative result again) then I go to my home and just enjoy life until the day 5 test, I again go to the overpriced hotel which has already been paid for, get my 3rd PCR test, now the fun starts, test comes back positive, does this mean I can sue the Thai government because I go Covid in Thailand due to their stupid rules and regulations  ?

No

[JackIsAGoodBoy]

1 hour ago, Graham said:

I have a question for the idiots in charge, if I come to Thailand fully vaxed 3 doses, I have my prescription flight PCR test (negative result), get my day 1 PCR test in an overpriced room (negative result again) then I go to my home and just enjoy life until the day 5 test, I again go to the overpriced hotel which has already been paid for, get my 3rd PCR test, now the fun starts, test comes back positive, does this mean I can sue the Thai government because I go Covid in Thailand due to their stupid rules and regulations  ?

No, farang only pay and then pay more. Same same but different!

[Cat]

48 minutes ago, Sawarot said:

So you were charged THB 35k for this? Was this covered by your insurance?

I was coming back from a business trip.  I only stayed there 8 days as the other 2 days were spent at my original hotel. So if medical insurance will not cover it it will go as a business expense. But usually this should be covered by the insurance. That’s why we have to show proof of “COVID insurance “ to receive the Thailand Pass. 

[JJJ]

13 minutes ago, Cat said:

I was coming back from a business trip.  I only stayed there 8 days as the other 2 days were spent at my original hotel. So if medical insurance will not cover it it will go as a business expense. But usually this should be covered by the insurance. That’s why we have to show proof of “COVID insurance “ to receive the Thailand Pass. 

A lot of medical insurance don’t cover because the isolation is medically unnecessary. 

On a separate note, I love the optimism of the post and an “influx” of foreign tourists. The original Test and Go was tepid at best and this version is even more unpalatable. Also any tourist research will reveal that statements and assurances by the government are worthless.
Come at your own risk and be prepared to pay for other people’s incompetence. 

[Graham]

1 hour ago, Sawarot said:

No

Gee, thanks !

[satpete]

Example of a Pattaya Hotels for 2 Days Test and Go to make money >

 

Hotel Refund Policy

80% will be charge in case guest found positive covid-19 test during SWAP 1 or day 0-5 which automatically early check out from the hotel

 

[riclag]

4 hours ago, Graham said:

I have a question for the idiots in charge, if I come to Thailand fully vaxed 3 doses, I have my prescription flight PCR test (negative result), get my day 1 PCR test in an overpriced room (negative result again) then I go to my home and just enjoy life until the day 5 test, I again go to the overpriced hotel which has already been paid for, get my 3rd PCR test, now the fun starts, test comes back positive, does this mean I can sue the Thai government because I go Covid in Thailand due to their stupid rules and regulations  ?

They have sovereign immunity not to be confused with natural immunity.

Due diligence is free

[riclag]

53 minutes ago, satpete said:

Example of a Pattaya Hotels for 2 Days Test and Go to make money >

Hotel Refund Policy

80% will be charge in case guest found positive covid-19 test during SWAP 1 or day 0-5 which automatically early check out from the hotel

And to think that its not all about baht and  satang! Some think these fee rape schemes are to benefit those from  spreading the virus to others   .

And how about if you over stay your visa cause you were in the Q room ! Ya think they would let the late fee slide ,think again 

[ace035]

Don't just talk..talk..talk..to the media, make it happen now, so we are allowed to stay in our hotel room if false positive asymptomatic or mild symptoms. The only question I have is: if we are force to quarantine to a AQ SHA+ Hotel, is it going to be covered by COVID-19 Insurance?

[satpete]

get ticket from Emirates with free insurance >

USD 115 per day, per person, for up to 14 consecutive days if you test positive for COVID 19 and are unexpectedly placed into mandatory quarantine while overseas

[polymath2002]

All I want is to enjoy a holiday with my young family. These measures are draconian for an illness with a 99.997% survival rate. Thailand is destroying its own economy and have the power to stop.

[Lawyers_Guns_and_Money]

7 hours ago, ace035 said:

Don't just talk..talk..talk..to the media, make it happen now, so we are allowed to stay in our hotel room if false positive asymptomatic or mild symptoms. The only question I have is: if we are force to quarantine to a AQ SHA+ Hotel, is it going to be covered by COVID-19 Insurance?

If YOU buy an insurance policy that covers that situation. YOU control that decision. And YOU will need to read the fine print of YOUR policy and make sure that it is covered. 

[Lawyers_Guns_and_Money]

13 hours ago, Thaiger said:

After horror stories of foreign tourists being required to stay in a quarantine hotel after testing positive for Covid-19, officials in Pattaya discussed a so-called “hotel isolation” to allow travellers to continue staying at their hotel or resort if they test positive for the virus and have mild to no symptoms. The idea is not to force travellers into sleeping on a cardboard bed at a field hospital or to transfer to a “hospitel,” or quarantine hotel… which, according to a reporter who stayed in a Phuket hospitel, it was more like an “Asian Hotel California” with late-night parties fuelled […]

The story Pattaya discusses “hotel isolation” for Test & Go, Sandbox travellers with Covid-19 as seen on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

 

Edited January 28, 2022 by Lawyers_Guns_and_Money
Wrong thread

[Grumpyoldman]

Just passing the scam profits from hospital to hotel. Frankly a worthless exercise. Stop all quarantine for this cold that doesn't kill is what's needed. 

[Jason]

I think what's being proposed in this meeting, is realistic and makes good sense. I just hope it gets off the ground.

[ace035]

On 1/28/2022 at 1:44 PM, Lawyers_Guns_and_Money said:

If YOU buy an insurance policy that covers that situation. YOU control that decision. And YOU will need to read the fine print of YOUR policy and make sure that it is covered. 

That's not what Thailand does in controlling your own decision, they will publish anything so they can make tourists to arrive there safely who thinks that everything will be cover on the COVID-19 insurance. Then, when they have "false positives" either Day 1 or Day 5, then they know that they been trick and later on get screwed & scammed at the same time by paying another B25K-B30K of AQ Hotels of their choice unless they want to be in a hospital full of infected Thai locals.

[Davio]

Tourists will simply not return until this nonsense is over. I have again cancelled flights due to go on February 8th. I have no wish to spend two of my holiday nights in Government hotels being tested. I have had three vaccinations and the Omicron variant which resulted in a couple of sniffles. The Thai economy is suffering. I may consider a trip to Cambodia instead. 

[JJJ]

5 hours ago, Davio said:

Tourists will simply not return until this nonsense is over. I have again cancelled flights due to go on February 8th. I have no wish to spend two of my holiday nights in Government hotels being tested. I have had three vaccinations and the Omicron variant which resulted in a couple of sniffles. The Thai economy is suffering. I may consider a trip to Cambodia instead. 

Good choice. It seems that no one in the government has even a simple understanding of behavioral economics or logical reasoning. 
These rules not only cost tourists money but end up costing Thai business from lost revenue from lost tourists—and of course the government from Vat and fees. While the tourist pay the tax from these rules, it’s a cost to everyone. 
Even if they wanted to test to catch travel acquired, you could require 1 test on day 3 or day 5 at a specific facility. If  you don’t take the test, you could have a fine on departure. Sure a few people will skip the test but they can be dealt with. With  at least 10-20k cases per day, a few travelers missing a test is the definition of de minimis.  All cost with hardly any benefit. 
 

The initial test after just having a pre-travel pcr test is overkill. But also why do so many Russians test positive recently? Are these day 1 or day 5 tests?