News Forum - Phuket reports higher infection rate in second Covid tests for Test & Go travellers

[Thaiger]

With two RT-PCR tests now required for Test & Go travellers, one of Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations, Phuket, is reporting a higher infection rate for the second test. Following the emergence of the Omicron variant in Thailand, with many travellers testing positive for the mutated strain, the Thai government decided to require two RT-PCR tests instead of the initial one test on arrival. Phuket’s chief health officer, Dr Koosak Kookiatkul, says 2% of international tourists tested positive on their first test, but 4% to 5% tested positive on a repeat test, mostly with the Omicron variant. Registration for the […]

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[Meeee]

So basically more are catching it here than bringing it here. 

[remo940]

Have they allowed the infected to quarantine in their hotel rooms or are the “partners” having a windfall?

[Guest1]

16 minutes ago, Meeee said:

So basically more are catching it here than bringing it here. 

That can be, but it can  also be, that they have been sitting close to the 1-2% , in the plane, who got tested positive on arrival.

But if there are 100 tested positive , on arrival, and about 200 at the second test, then the 300 every day, on Phuket, fromday 5 can be only arrivals:

1/3 from just arriving, 2/3 from 5 days ago.

So is the no quarantene idea really a good one, then?

[Stonker]

16 minutes ago, remo940 said:

Have they allowed the infected to quarantine in their hotel rooms or are the “partners” having a windfall?

The rules are clear, and have been quoted here several times, allowing hotel or home quarantine depending on eligibility and symptoms.

[bbbbooboo]

A suspicious person might think that a lot of money is being made out of covid quarantine generally and people who test positive on the second test. It goes like this : test on arrival negative(hurrah.... I'm so relieved), leave and go around Thailand on your holiday( which is why you came here remember ?) and get infected with covid( what a surprise as there's only 63 million people in Thailand ?), then test positive on 5 th day test= compulsory isolation for 10 days in a facility with hiked up room prices and medical costs and the end to your holiday. Its lucky i'm not a suspicious person( Hush my mouth)   

[Guest1]

Is that adding up, with the total numbers? 

Phuket’s chief health officer, Dr Koosak Kookiatkul, says 2% of international tourists tested positive on their first test, but 4% to 5% tested positive on a repeat test, mostly with the Omicron variant.

And is anyone  checking/telling, if that are also out of the two groupes, who test mostly positive on arrival?

And have these second positive tests been followed up, at least to there seating in the plane, compared to the positive on arrival people?

[LoongFred]

Probably from bars and  entertiament venues or getting it on the plane and within incubation time. So Thailand's 1 and 5 day testing is working. Now I suppose those positive will  complain about quarantine Omg .

[LoongFred]

4 minutes ago, bbbbooboo said:

A suspicious person might think that a lot of money is being made out of covid quarantine generally and people who test positive on the second test. It goes like this : test on arrival negative(hurrah.... I'm so relieved), leave and go around Thailand on your holiday( which is why you came here remember ?) and get infected with covid( what a surprise as there's only 63 million people in Thailand ?), then test positive on 5 th day test= compulsory isolation for 10 days in a facility with hiked up room prices and medical costs and the end to your holiday. Its lucky i'm not a suspicious person( Hush my mouth)   

Much cheaper than home,  but complainers don't care about others.

[Stonker]

12 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

That can be, but it can  also be, that they have been sitting close to the 1-2% , in the plane, who got tested positive on arrival.

Agreed 100% - particularly likely if they're as 'relaxed' about mask wearing on the plane as they are here, and that would only mean each infected  person infecting two others during the flight which is more than possible.

 

12 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

But if there are 100 tested positive , on arrival, and about 200 at the second test, then the 300 every day, on Phuket, fromday 5 can be only arrivals:

1/3 from just arriving, 2/3 from 5 days ago.

I think you may have mis-read the article - it's not 100 testing positive on arrival but 100 "international tourists" both on arrival and on Day Five (combined).

[Vigo]

I have a suspicion that the high rate of infections is specific to some countries. Specifically, the countries with ongoing large volumes of infections, particularly reinfections. I can think of 2 countries.  

 

[Guest1]

4 minutes ago, Stonker said:

I think you may have mis-read the article - it's not 100 testing positive on arrival but 100 "international tourists" both on arrival and on Day Five (combined)

I just put informations from other articles into "my math", too:

Mr Narong said about 300 new cases were being diagnosed each day in Phuket, and about 100 of the infections were in people arriving from abroad. 

Someone on the 5 day in Thailand is not arriving, any longer.

 

[Guest1]

26 minutes ago, LoongFred said:

Probably from bars and  entertiament venues or getting it on the plane and within incubation time. So Thailand's 1 and 5 day testing is working. Now I suppose those positive will  complain about quarantine Omg .

It is working?

In case, they got it on the plane, they could be tested positive from about the 3. Day of there stay.

So , with the mask under nose or chin, or taking it away, if talking, how big of a chance do you see, that these people are "test negative, but go around positive" spreader, till day 6 (when the test result comes back)?

[Guest1]

8 minutes ago, Vigo said:

I have a suspicion that the high rate of infections is specific to some countries. Specifically, the countries with ongoing large volumes of infections, particularly reinfections. I can think of 2 countries.  

That is, why I would like to know the connection, if any, to the "on arrival positives".

Anyone asking for this, in the media?

Or no one wanna spoil the party?

[Stonker]

10 minutes ago, Vigo said:

I have a suspicion that the high rate of infections is specific to some countries. Specifically, the countries with ongoing large volumes of infections, particularly reinfections. I can think of 2 countries.  

I have a suspicion you're 100% correct.

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/most-phuket-tourists-infected-with-covid-travelled-from-russia-and-kazakhstan

[Stonker]

12 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

I just put informations from other articles into "my math", too:

Mr Narong said about 300 new cases were being diagnosed each day in Phuket, and about 100 of the infections were in people arriving from abroad. 

Someone on the 5 day in Thailand is not arriving, any longer.

Sorry, but you're reading a very narrow interpretation into it that the other reports make very clear isn't correct.

[Stonker]

9 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

That is, why I would like to know the connection, if any, to the "on arrival positives".

Anyone asking for this, in the media?

Or no one wanna spoil the party?

It's already reported in the media.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2257599/arrivals-with-covid-mainly-coming-from-russia-kazakstan

[Stonker]

44 minutes ago, bbbbooboo said:

A suspicious person might think that a lot of money is being made out of covid quarantine generally and people who test positive on the second test. It goes like this : test on arrival negative(hurrah.... I'm so relieved), leave and go around Thailand on your holiday( which is why you came here remember ?) and get infected with covid( what a surprise as there's only 63 million people in Thailand ?), then test positive on 5 th day test= compulsory isolation for 10 days in a facility with hiked up room prices and medical costs and the end to your holiday. Its lucky i'm not a suspicious person( Hush my mouth)   

A suspicious person might, but they'd have to be pretty uninformed and not know that "compulsory isolation" doesn't necessarily mean "10 days in a facility with hiked up room prices and medical costs", and to not realise that while one hotel might profit from the 10 day quarantine, the hotel they were originally staying in would lose if they didn't have the necessary facilities.

As you say, lucky you're not a suspicious person on your first post.

[Stonker]

1 hour ago, Thaiger said:

Last week, the governor of Phuket told The Phuket News 95% of Phuket’s income comes from tourism. He said during the pandemic, the average monthly income there fell to about 1,900 baht per person.

I'm surprised the governor is still misquoting the Prince of Songkla study from a year ago, which despite the reports did NOT say that the average monthly income on Phuket was about 1,900 baht per month, or 60 baht per day which would have meant mass starvation very quickly for the majority of the population.

Edit:

It was simply a complete misrepresentation of data, only taking direct income from international tourists, then dividing it by all those registered in Phuket, regardless of whether they were working or children or retired, or whether their income came directly from tourism or they were teachers, govenment employees, or worked at 7-11:

“We found that the direct tourism income per registered capita in Phuket even in the best case scenario was about 1,963 baht, which resulted in total tourism income per registered capita of 3,711 baht [presuming that all of the direct income circulated within the province only].”

 

 

[Guest1]

22 minutes ago, Stonker said:

It's already reported in the media.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2257599/arrivals-with-covid-mainly-coming-from-russia-kazakstan

Your link is containing my earlier "100 arriving from abroad" quote.

And where, please, do you see the follow up, if the "5. Day Positives" can be connected to the "on arrival Positives"

And again, I ask myself:

You can't or you don't want understand?

[Stonker]

14 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

Your link is containing my earlier "100 arriving from abroad" quote.

And where, please, do you see the follow up, if the "5. Day Positives" can be connected to the "on arrival Positives"

And again, I ask myself:

You can't or you don't want understand?

It's very clearly stated in the original article, where I've put it in bold for you:

"Phuket’s chief health officer, Dr Koosak Kookiatkul, says 2% of international tourists tested positive on their first test, but 4% to 5% tested positive on a repeat test, mostly with the Omicron variant. (snip)

The provincial health chief says that out of Phuket’s daily average of 300 positive tests, about 100 have been international tourists."

https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/phuket-reports-higher-infection-rate-in-second-covid-tests-for-test-go-travellers

It's also very clearly stated in the first Bangkok Post source article, where I've also put it in bold for you:

 

"On Tuesday, the first day Thailand resumed its Test & Go scheme, Phuket welcomed 17 Test & Go tourists and 2,439 others via its tourism sandbox programme, according to the province's immigration office. The province recorded 493 new Covid-19 infections, 387 of which were local cases, two in the Test & Go scheme and the other 104 were in the Phuket Sandbox programme, said Dr Koosak.(snip)

Of the about 300 new Covid-19 infections recorded daily, about 100 were foreign visitors arriving mainly from those two nations, he said. "Russian tourists account for a vast majority of international tourists arriving in Thailand through Phuket," the governor said.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2257883/phuket-ups-tests-on-foreign-visitors

As I tried to explain, you've simply mis-understood "arriving from abroad" as only meaning "on arrival", which while it can it very clearly doesn't here so your deduction that "if there are 100 tested positive , on arrival, and about 200 at the second test, then the 300 every day, on Phuket, fromday 5 can be only arrivals".

The problem is simply your own understanding of English - that's not a criticism in any way, but you've simply misunderstood what the Bangkok Post said, as the other Bangkok Post article and the Thaiger make clear.

 

 

 

 

[DFPhuket]

It is misleading to compare the positive rate of international travelers, 100% who are tested on arrival, again on day 5/6 and most again when they fly home, to the miniscule number of locals tested. Omicron usually has an incubation period of 2-3 days so the majority of international travelers positive on day 5/6 picked it up in Thailand.

For locals and expats living in Thailand, unless there are significant symptoms, people are not going to take a PCR, get a positive result, and be forced into a hospital. They will stay home, recover and never be added to the local case count. 

[Fundok]

With Omikron, higher infection rates are no surprise. The question is: did those travellers testing positive on day 5 already positive ehen they arrived or did they infect themselves in Thailand?

If it is the latter (which is my assumption) then this 2nd test has nothing to do with the prevention of the "import" of the virus but is a general precaution measure. But then again, why only one test? Will tourists be immune after day 5 of their stay? Of course not. In consequence, if indeed general precaution is the driver, it is highly inconsequential not to administer more tests, i.e. every 5 days of the stay. But then again, why would this be restricted to tourists only? Then regular testing for everyone should be mandatory which is of course not doable for cost reasons and available test and lab capacaties.

So the reason to administer this day 5-test remains a mystery for me.

Edited February 3, 2022 by Fundok
Correct typos

[LoongFred]

Your talking about average Incubation times.  A tourist could be exposed prior or during travel test negative on arrival then positive on day 5. The alternative would for everyone do a 7 to 10 day quarantine. 

The fact that people are testing positive on day 5 shows the second test is needed.

[Fundok]

2 hours ago, LoongFred said:

Probably from bars and  entertiament venues or getting it on the plane and within incubation time. So Thailand's 1 and 5 day testing is working. Now I suppose those positive will  complain about quarantine Omg .

There has been no information provided which allows any tangible evidence where those infected on day 5 got infected. Could have been on the plane, could have been onshore. If the infection happend on Thailand, there is no evidence where it happend. Could be anywhere, at buffet in the hotel, in a restaurant or a bar or whatever. So please just refrain from your unsubstantiated assumptions.

Side note: if those that were positive on day 5 indeed were infected upon arrival and weren't detected by the 1st test: doesn't this rather prove the ineffectiveness of this test?