News Forum - Will Thailand add more restrictions today? | GMT

[Thaiger]

The government is considering tightening anti-Covid measures on Valentine’s Day and the Songkran holiday period in response to a rapid increase in new infections. Officers used metal detectors to search the seaside by the Rawai beachfront villa where Sandhu was killed and found a semi-automatic Walther PPK and a CZ gun in the water. The collection of a tourism fee from foreign visitors will be delayed by at least two months from the scheduled date of April 1 as payment methods have not yet been concluded. A team of researchers on Thursday sent the Thai dish Pad Kaprao into the […]

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[ThaiEyes]

Will Thailand add more restrictions today?
Of course they will

[Fundok]

10 hours ago, Thaiger said:

The government is considering tightening anti-Covid measures on Valentine’s Day and the Songkran holiday period in response to a rapid increase in new infections. Officers used metal detectors to search the seaside by the Rawai beachfront villa where Sandhu was killed and found a semi-automatic Walther PPK and a CZ gun in the water. The collection of a tourism fee from foreign visitors will be delayed by at least two months from the scheduled date of April 1 as payment methods have not yet been concluded. A team of researchers on Thursday sent the Thai dish Pad Kaprao into the […]

The story Will Thailand add more restrictions today? | GMT as seen on Thaiger News.

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One would wish that - before coming up with new restrictions - someone would assess their efficacy and effectiveness based on tangible scientific evidence. Nothing will stop Omikron from spreading further (given what is happening in other countries), so the best defense is to vaccinate, vaccinate and vaccinate and let Omikron happen. Again, as evidenced in other countries, Omikron will not bring the hospitals and their ICUs to collapse and will not cause a dramatic increase in deaths. Germany reports 240'000 new infections today which is roughly 10x the (official) number of infections today in Thailand. Whilst Thailand has a population of about 70m people, Germany has 82m people, about 15% more, to put things in perspective. But no one panics since the Omikron infections are not as dangerous as those with Delta, at least for those who have been vaccinated. In fact, discussions are going on to dump most restrictions in March. Switzerland has about 1/10 of the population of Thailand and reports 26'000 new infections today, but will dump most of the restrictions next week including the mask wearing obligation (exception public transport). And Thailands government worries about 30K infections and contemplates to prohibit Songkran? Hard to understand the reasoning behind that.

[Majestic]

On one side, the governmet always states that we have to live with the Virus also because Omicron seems to be less dangerous. On the other side, as soon as the "numbers" are rising, everyone seems to cry for new restrictions.This chaotic and haphazard government action is really hard to understand.This chaotic and haphazard government action is really hard to understand. I actually wanted to travel to Thailand again in April, but with this constant uncertainty about possible new restrictions, I'm no longer sure.

[LoongFred]

34 minutes ago, Fundok said:

One would wish that - before coming up with new restrictions - someone would assess their efficacy and effectiveness based on tangible scientific evidence. Nothing will stop Omikron from spreading further (given what is happening in other countries), so the best defense is to vaccinate, vaccinate and vaccinate and let Omikron happen. Again, as evidenced in other countries, Omikron will not bring the hospitals and their ICUs to collapse and will not cause a dramatic increase in deaths. Germany reports 240'000 new infections today which is roughly 10x the (official) number of infections. Whilst Thailand has a population of about 70m people, Germany has 82m people, about 15% more, to put things in perspective. But no one panics since the Omikron infections are not as dangerous as those with Delta, at least for those who have been vaccinated. In fact, discussions are going on to dump most restrictions in March. Switzerland has about 1/10 of the population of Thailand and reports 26'000 new infections today, but will dump most of the restrictions next week including the mask wearing obligation (exception public transport). And Thailands government worries about 30K infections and contemplates to prohibit Songkran? Hard to understand the reasoning behind that.

It's obvious that countries in Europe haven't controlled covid, where Thailand has. Thailand willingly drops restrictions but will quickly reinstate the if things get worse. This makes sense to me and alone with others I want things to be safe. 

We can't rely on vaccines by themselves but must have effective therapies to combat the illness. Also we must avoid places that have a potential for increased transmission. 

So far so good.

[Poolie]

30 minutes ago, Majestic said:

On one side, the governmet always states that we have to live with the Virus also because Omicron seems to be less dangerous. On the other side, as soon as the "numbers" are rising, everyone seems to cry for new restrictions.This chaotic and haphazard government action is really hard to understand.This chaotic and haphazard government action is really hard to understand. I actually wanted to travel to Thailand again in April, but with this constant uncertainty about possible new restrictions, I'm no longer sure.

Yep, well let us know what you decide. We're  all transfixed.

[Fundok]

4 hours ago, LoongFred said:

It's obvious that countries in Europe haven't controlled covid, where Thailand has. Thailand willingly drops restrictions but will quickly reinstate the if things get worse. This makes sense to me and alone with others I want things to be safe. 

We can't rely on vaccines by themselves but must have effective therapies to combat the illness. Also we must avoid places that have a potential for increased transmission. 

So far so good.

I don't think Covid can be "controlled" unless 85+% of the population have been fully vaccinated + booster shot. If Thailand really has fared better is hard to assess given that their testing shows a high positivity rate which means many who are infected weren't tested and therefore go uncounted. I understand you want safety, but this is exactly the point: to establish if certain measures purporting to prevent infections work or not. I for one believe mask wearing in the open does nothing to increase safety unless people flock together closely. Likewise, the testing of visitors on day 5 is pointless. If they arrived with the virus they had 4 days to infect others, and as a measure to generally detect infected tourists it is arbitrary - why only once? Why not repetitivly? Why only tourists?

So this is what I wish for: that common sense prevails and that thought is given of the purpose and effect of any measure before implementing it, weighing the advantages its provides against the onus it puts on those who are affected. Not more, not less.

[LoongFred]

1 hour ago, Fundok said:

I don't think Covid can be "controlled" unless 85+% of the population have been fully vaccinated + booster shot. If Thailand really has fared better is hard to assess given that their testing shows a high positivity rate which means many who are infected weren't tested and therefore go uncounted. I understand you want safety, but this is exactly the point: to establish if certain measures purporting to prevent infections work or not. I for one believe mask wearing in the open does nothing to increase safety unless people flock together closely. Likewise, the testing of visitors on day 5 is pointless. If they arrived with the virus they had 4 days to infect others, and as a measure to generally detect infected tourists it is arbitrary - why only once? Why not repetitivly? Why obly tourists?

So this is what I wish for: that common sense prevails and that thought is given of the purpose and effect of any measure before implementing it, weighing the advantages its provides against the onus it puts on those who are affected. Not more, not less.

The fact that there are positive cases on day 5 shows why it need to be continued. Testing everyday is probably overkill but would probably pick up cases earlier. 

Masks for uninfected people do little, but if the infected person also wears a mask transmission is lowered. In that sense they make sense. In order to prevent getting infected a properly fitted n95 mask is needed. If you have worn a n95 mask for any length of time you'll understand  that they aren't comfortable. 

Hope we all stay safe.

[Fundok]

2 hours ago, LoongFred said:

The fact that there are positive cases on day 5 shows why it need to be continued. Testing everyday is probably overkill but would probably pick up cases earlier. 

Masks for uninfected people do little, but if the infected person also wears a mask transmission is lowered. In that sense they make sense. In order to prevent getting infected a properly fitted n95 mask is needed. If you have worn a n95 mask for any length of time you'll understand  that they aren't comfortable. 

Hope we all stay safe.

Fred, if everyone is regularly tested every five days, I'd agree with you. But only once and only tourists? What about the rest of the population? Since they aren't tested, they can spread the virus freely. Exactly my point: either make testing mandatory for everyone or forget about that day 5-test.

[JamesR]

4 hours ago, LoongFred said:

It's obvious that countries in Europe haven't controlled covid, where Thailand has. Thailand willingly drops restrictions but will quickly reinstate the if things get worse. This makes sense to me and alone with others I want things to be safe. 

We can't rely on vaccines by themselves but must have effective therapies to combat the illness. Also we must avoid places that have a potential for increased transmission. 

So far so good.

"It's obvious that countries in Europe haven't controlled covid, where Thailand has."

Well to most people, It's obvious that countries in Europe has tested for covid thus more accurate results and higher numbers, whereas Thailand hasn't bothered mostly and do not have a clue what is going on.

[Fundok]

4 hours ago, Majestic said:

On one side, the governmet always states that we have to live with the Virus also because Omicron seems to be less dangerous. On the other side, as soon as the "numbers" are rising, everyone seems to cry for new restrictions.This chaotic and haphazard government action is really hard to understand.This chaotic and haphazard government action is really hard to understand. I actually wanted to travel to Thailand again in April, but with this constant uncertainty about possible new restrictions, I'm no longer sure.

I agree. Predictability and reliability aren't their strongholds.

[longwood50]

This is a photo of the person in charge of tightening and loosening the covid restrictions in Thailand. 

 

[Jimbo111]

They can put whatever restrictions in they want , no one's going anyway . 

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, Jimbo111 said:

They can put whatever restrictions in they want , no one's going anyway . 

You do realize the restrictions spoken about are domestic, right?

Just a hint, the people are already there..................

 

It is amazing to me, that people don't even bother to comprehend what they are replying to..............they just jump in for a whine and moan

[bushav8r]

2 hours ago, Marc26 said:

You do realize the restrictions spoken about are domestic, right?

Just a hint, the people are already there..................

It is amazing to me, that people don't even bother to comprehend what they are replying to..............they just jump in for a whine and moan

Let me jump in for a moment.  If the all the whining and moaning were to be eliminated a lot of the comments would be gone, including yours.

[Marc26]

16 minutes ago, bushav8r said:

Let me jump in for a moment. If the all the whining and moaning were to be eliminated a lot of the comments would be gone, including yours.

 

 

You don't see how nonsensical that post is?

 

That poster is in such a haste to bitch and moan about travel restrictions that he replies to a thread about domestic restrictions

 

He's either incredibly dumb or he didn't even bother to read what he was replying to

Just wanted to insert the standard moaning and whining....

 

Either way, it sums up this forum to a tee......

[bushav8r]

11 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

You don't see how nonsensical that post is?

That poster is in such a haste to bitch and moan about travel restrictions that he replies to a thread about domestic restrictions

He's either incredibly dumb or he didn't even bother to read what he was replying to

Just wanted to insert the standard moaning and whining....

Either way, it sums up this forum to a tee......

A lot of things don't make sense to me.  I try to not let that bother me.

[ace035]

No COVID-19 testing here in the Philippines unless have symptoms or sick, like having a fever, non-stop coughing and sneezing, trouble breathing because of heat. Kudos to the Philippine government for thinking about that but Thailand, they're dumb f**k.

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, bushav8r said:

A lot of things don't make sense to me.  I try to not let that bother me.

You are a smart man

Very good advice....

[LoongFred]

5 hours ago, ace035 said:

No COVID-19 testing here in the Philippines unless have symptoms or sick, like having a fever, non-stop coughing and sneezing, trouble breathing because of heat. Kudos to the Philippine government for thinking about that but Thailand, they're dumb f**k.

Good for you. Why are you posting on this forum instead of some Philippine site? I guess you just want to whine and moan. Maybe a little attention.

[Charlie]

close thailand completely....open in 2026.

[JamesR]

14 hours ago, Marc26 said:

You don't see how nonsensical that post is?

That poster is in such a haste to bitch and moan about travel restrictions that he replies to a thread about domestic restrictions

He's either incredibly dumb or he didn't even bother to read what he was replying to

Just wanted to insert the standard moaning and whining....

Either way, it sums up this forum to a tee......

I pop into this forum a few times a day as I am waiting for my code to compile and run and it can sometimes take a while so I take a quick look as many of the comments make me laugh.

Some of the commentators do take themselves too serially especially the ones who have been in Thailand long term and from their tiny perspective living in some remote village at the back of beyond they think they are experts in all thing Thai.