News Forum - Covid test confusion ruins UK family holiday to Thailand

[Barrence]

Sadly this nothing new. I know of three couples who have faced the same problems. One from the UK and two from Russia. All tested negative in their home countries before flights, one only 24 hours before then positive on arrival less than 48 hours after the first test. In each case only one person from each couple tested positive with no other symptoms. Two couples also carried approve testing kits and used these when they arrived a the Quarantine hotel which was so much more expensive. These tests were negative. The two couples from Russia returned home asap. Something is not right and will definitely not encourage tourist to return to Thailand any time soon if at all.

[oldschooler]

16 hours ago, Chatogaster said:

The poster behind this article did indeed take a risk, but it was a) mindful, b) minimalized and c) the skepticism that sourced taking the risk was immediately proved warranted upon arriving (negative PCR-result). When comparing people who mindlessly follow doctrine and people who can think and competently determine risks, the (e)valuation should be clear. It doesn't always happen this way, but if all individuals - without exception - are to be treated as sheep that don't know better, they're better of at a slaughter house.

Yes, any positive result here can be disregarded for international purposes. Unreliable, scam, etc. 

[SOL]

Hi i was just reading about this familys traumatic time in Thailand, after living and working in Asia including Thailand for 10 years it seems pretty obvious where theres money to be made there is always some sort of scam, obviously the covid situation is no different, i am over the moon the family never handed over any money to the authorities and flew home on the next available flight, so be aware people of what could happen on arrival to the Land if Smiles.

[Michael0510]

14 hours ago, Soidog said:

Sorry Micheal but I have to challenge that statement. The U.K. may well have 6 times as many “Reported” cases of death with Covid, but not in reality. I would anticipate the U.K. has had 2-3 times more deaths than Thailand if you were able to compare like for like. If you then take in to consideration the following differences between the two countries and cultures, then it’s unsurprising: (…)

Its simply impossible to compare data across two countries in Europe, let alone across two continents. 
 

Did the U.K. get it all right? Of course not. Few if any did, especially if you are trying to balance peoples health and the health of the economy. 

First: I’ve compared the data and it’s easy to do as the population of Thailand and the UK is almost the same.

You forget that the UK is a much richer country with much more possibilities to take measures and for medical treatment. 

Thailand took a lot a measures, i.e. for many months they put everyone, who was tested positive, in state quarantine or hospital. The UK had official corona parties (i.e. Euro 2021), which we all were able to follow on tv

The UK performed in such a poor way that people from the UK should not talk in that way about other countries, that saved many more of their own people from dying. The US is the only country in the world that did it worse. If you want a job done right, don’t send a clown to do it.

And personally I trust a PCR test in Thailand more than a PCR test taken by the NHS. The hospitals in Thailand, who take the PCR tests in Thailand are on a much higher level than the NHS, which is just on a basic level of medical supply. Most PCR tests in Europe are taken in a wrong, but more comfortable way. I had about 12 PCR tests in Thailand and all of them were like taking from the naso- or pharynx, which are the only right ways to take a sample for a proper PCR test. 

[Michael0510]

1 hour ago, DavidWPL said:

The FFP3 mask which is shown has an exhalation valve so it will only protect the wearer from inhaling fine dust. The Covid virus travels on dust and this mask will therefore protect the wearer (Tim) from inhaling Covid virus or other nasties. On the other hand it does NOT protect anyone around him as the exhalation valve allows the breathe to be exhaled unfiltered into the surrounding atmosphere. It is difficult to wear a FFP3 mask for a long period, so the poor boy was put through a difficult journey for nothing. The level of misinformation and lack of knowledge regarding mask never ceases to amaze me.

Exactly. And if three persons put the crew and passengers of a whole plane in danger, because they are not even capable to choose a right mask, what level of morale and competence do they have?

People like that should not travel during a pandemic. They are a threat for themselves and for others. 

[bushav8r]

4 hours ago, PfizerModernaJohnson said:

„I have to pay upfront and claim later“ 

they tried this  many many times with me , i never paid.  Always said i have no money, no cards nothing.  contact Allianz Travel Insurance and leave me alone please.

Smart move.  Several years ago during a non-covid related visit to a Thai emergency room my insurance company cautioned me not to pay in advance.  They contacted the hospital accounting department directly to arrange payment.  The hospital still tried to make me pay.  It was a very nice hospital with excellent care, they just seemed to have very sticky fingers.     Maybe they have been burned in the past by tourists skipping the country before paying their bill.  Anyway, it didn't take long to confirm that the bill had been paid in full by the insurance company.

[Hampton]

The hotels are in cahoots with the hospitals to test you positive deliberately knowing that you are insured. Its a disgusting scam and has been all over FB with people in similar situations. People have been warned. We had no choice, we live here and did the 5 day package. On day 5 we suspected we might fall prey to this foul play. So we walked out the hotel after out test and didn't return until they confirmed a negative result. If it had been positive we would have gone straight to a more reputable hospital and done another test, which if negative we would forward to the hotel we are on our way and someone will collect our bags. That was plan a, we had a plan B and C. No one who doesn't need to come to Thailand should come to Thailand whilst the Test and Go exists, or any in country test requirement that is unscrupulously used by hospitals to gorge thee eyes out of poor tourists. This whole greedy Test and Go and what has happened to you and many others has tainted Thailand's reputation. As a result of this and continuing to pay x10 inflated prices at national parks many people have crossed Thailand off their list.

[bushav8r]

2 hours ago, Mandy said:

Am I missing something? Many of you keep saying that the boy tested positive, then they took him on an international flight, I've just re-read the article and it clearly states that they were all negative before they boarded the flight to Bangkok, so I'm not sure why people are calling them selfish, I think the only mistake they made was choosing Thailand in the first place.

He tested positive upon arrival in Bangkok, and then immediately flew back home rather than pay  medical care/quarantine costs.  The positive test on arrival seems like the worst case scenario that makes many people reluctant to travel to Thailand.  A positive test result, even if it is a false positive,  can ruin your visit.  This is something that everyone who travels here must face.  One should be prepared for this, or maybe a better option would be  to just stay at home.

[Soidog]

44 minutes ago, Michael0510 said:

First: I’ve compared the data and it’s easy to do as the population of Thailand and the UK is almost the same.

Yes, but the accuracy of the data and the definition of dying of Covid is totally different. Hence it’s not possible to compare the two countries. Just as case rates aren’t possible as Thailand tests 30,000-40,000 a day while the U.K. has been testing 800,000 a day.

 

45 minutes ago, Michael0510 said:

You forget that the UK is a much richer country with much more possibilities to take measures and for medical treatment. 

I don’t forget the U.K. is a richer country. I’m not sure what you mean by that. Do you mean GDP (U.K. typically 4 times Thailand) or do you mean tax revenues (UK typically 10 times more than Thailand  due to poor Thai government policies and corruption)? Even so, the basic differences in data capture and data definitions still makes it difficult to compare. 

 

54 minutes ago, Michael0510 said:

The UK performed in such a poor way that people from the UK should not talk in that way about other countries, that saved many more of their own people from dying. The US is the only country in the world that did it worse.

Simply not true. You can’t look at volumes alone as there are different populations sizes and once again the definition of deaths due to Covid vary significantly. You need to at least look at deaths/100,000. As you will see in the attached link, the US and U.K. are not the worse. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/
 

1 hour ago, Michael0510 said:

The UK had official corona parties (i.e. Euro 2021), which we all were able to follow on tv

That’s just fake news. “Official corona parties” you are embarrassing yourself with such a silly comment. 

 

1 hour ago, Michael0510 said:

And personally I trust a PCR test in Thailand more than a PCR test taken by the NHS. The hospitals in Thailand, who take the PCR tests in Thailand are on a much higher level than the NHS,

Do you.have any proof of that or just another anti-UK comment?  
 

Finally, you are forgetting one very important input the UK have had to this pandemic. They created one of the worlds leading vaccines. You are most welcome! 

[Guest1]

2 hours ago, Mandy said:

Am I missing something?

 You missed this? 

 

We were told that we could fly home immediately. But we had to make a quick decision because we could not stay in our present hotel. So, we booked a direct flight from Bangkok to London.

There are no requirements to have a Fit-to-Fly certificate to enter the UK so the airline said we did not need to produce one. But for public safety, Tim wore an FFP3 mask all the time (see the photographs), and he sat away from other passengers. 

That 's for many the red line.

They had a positive test result, but ignored it.

Just to be lucky, that the next test in GB was negative, again. Sane people would have done a test before the flight, or not?

Plus the mask, the positive tested son was wearing, hat a valve. 

 

[Soidog]

1 hour ago, Michael0510 said:

Exactly. And if three persons put the crew and passengers of a whole plane in danger, because they are not even capable to choose a right mask, what level of morale and competence do they have?

People like that should not travel during a pandemic. They are a threat for themselves and for others. 

Well get use to a lot more of this. With Thailand removing the need for pre-flight PCR testing, there will be thousands arriving on planes with Covid. 

[Soidog]

4 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

That 's for many the red line.

I agree it’s reckless to fly knowing you may be positive. But is it any worse than flying and not knowing if you are positive or not? Ignorance is no excuse for infecting someone who may go on to die from Covid. Lots of people are now flying all over the world each and every day without knowing if they have the virus or not. I think the world should at least have kept pre-flight Antigen tests for all passengers for a while longer. 

[riclag]

“But I must admit that we wished we had chosen instead to go to one of the other southeast Asian countries which are open to fully vaccinated tourists instead of taking a chance on Thailand”.

Sorry for your loss but its people like you that give due diligence a bad name!

Now that said, if it were a urgent matter as to coming  here for two weeks I would be inclined to have more respect for your unfortunate circumstances but you and people like you (many imop) incentivize this regime’s ,cronies to continue with their Covid revenue schemes!

[Guest1]

5 minutes ago, Soidog said:

But is it any worse than flying and not knowing if you are positive or not?

Yes, it is!  Twice as much, in case you wanna put numbers on it.

50/50 to 100% 

 

 

 

 

[Leo]

The lesson really is, don't come to Thailand for a holiday, it's not worth the risk and/or the "scheme" they run occasionally with certain hospitals and hotels.

I hope as a journalist and travel writer he can get this posted on the Telegraph (great travel section there with lots of followers) and the Guardian. Unfortunately, "face", or more precisely "loss of face", is one thing they really understand here.

[Soidog]

1 hour ago, Guest1 said:

Yes, it is!  Twice as much, in case you wanna put numbers on it.

50/50 to 100% 

Well it can’t be 100% as he tested negative on arrival back in the U.K.  And would you be happy with a 50/50 choice? I know I wouldn’t. 

[Guest1]

49 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Well it can’t be 100% as he tested negative on arrival back in the U.K.  And would you be happy with a 50/50 choice? I know I wouldn’t. 

From what he was told, his son was 100% positive.

He did not know that is was a false result. He just assumed it, because his son was testet negative, 24h before arrival.

So, at the moment he climbed with his son, who was wearing a valve mask, into the airplane from Bangkok to London, his son was positive.

That is intent, on purpose.

As I wrote before, it was just lucky that the result in GB came out negative. 

[JohnC]

2 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

From what he was told, his son was 100% positive.

He did not know that is was a false result. He just assumed it, because his son was testet negative, 24h before arrival.

So, at the moment he climbed with his son, who was wearing a valve mask, into the airplane from Bangkok to London, his son was positive.

That is intent, on purpose.

As I wrote before, it was just lucky that the result in GB came out negative. 

Or he was just unlucky his result in Thailand came out negative 

Either way he should have known the risks involved with entering Thailand at the moment so sympathy is in short supply here

[dj230]

Another interesting thing is why did they bring an FFP3 mask with them in the first place?

Everyone I know wears a regular old plain mask to travel, I wore a N95 mask before, not pleasant and on a trip from the UK to Thailand it would be extremely uncomfortable unless they knew they had covid I don't know why they would wear it or bring it.

It sounds more like the son got covid and they didn't want to rebook everything as it would cost them too much so they chanced it and tried to travel to Thailand anyways.

The whole story lost it's credibility when the OP said his son tested positive and then got back on a flight to the UK, knowing that he had covid.

 

[the197789]

Could the son  take another test in Thailand to confirm his positive or negative reading?

[Marc26]

13 hours ago, Boddown said:

So you don't take into consideration the fact he tested negative before leaving and also negative on his return but was somehow positive in Thailand a bit strange or you just want to bash this bloke because he didn't do what you expected.

His son tested positive

That is a reality that can happen at any time

He then selfishly hopped on a plane

 

Without any care for the other passengers 

 

It's immoral 

[Marc26]

9 hours ago, Hampton said:

The hotels are in cahoots with the hospitals to test you positive deliberately knowing that you are insured. Its a disgusting scam and has been all over FB with people in similar situations. People have been warned. We had no choice, we live here and did the 5 day package. On day 5 we suspected we might fall prey to this foul play. So we walked out the hotel after out test and didn't return until they confirmed a negative result. If it had been positive we would have gone straight to a more reputable hospital and done another test, which if negative we would forward to the hotel we are on our way and someone will collect our bags. That was plan a, we had a plan B and C. No one who doesn't need to come to Thailand should come to Thailand whilst the Test and Go exists, or any in country test requirement that is unscrupulously used by hospitals to gorge thee eyes out of poor tourists. This whole greedy Test and Go and what has happened to you and many others has tainted Thailand's reputation. As a result of this and continuing to pay x10 inflated prices at national parks many people have crossed Thailand off their list.

Good post and exactly what I am doing

People are flying into Thailand with no plan

 

I bought the FWD Insurance and we called and asked them if they pay if we go to a hospital in network, they say they do

I don't trust trust that but also have my own personal insurance

 

Also, my MIL and BIL just stayed at a very nice local "hospitel" that was 1k baht/nt

 

If, unfortunately, I actually did test positive we have that info and I will demand I go there 

[ace035]

15 hours ago, PfizerModernaJohnson said:

„I have to pay upfront and claim later“ 

they tried this  many many times with me , i never paid.  Always said i have no money, no cards nothing.  contact Allianz Travel Insurance and leave me alone please.

That's true, I'll probably bring THB1K in cash with me just in case if I'm false positive and an emergency credit card with a cash rewards on it. As of right now, I've been bugging my COVID insurance agent of what was going to happen when hospital wants cash upfront. Will not bring too many cash on it after reading this scam.

[Marc26]

17 minutes ago, ace035 said:

That's true, I'll probably bring THB1K in cash with me just in case if I'm false positive and an emergency credit card with a cash rewards on it. As of right now, I've been bugging my COVID insurance agent of what was going to happen when hospital wants cash upfront. Will not bring too many cash on it after reading this scam.

If you have Thai insurance print out a list of their network hospitals and bring it with you

Both AXA and FWD have the list on their website 

And it's quite extensive

 

And just demand to be taken to one of those hospitals 

 

And then demand at the hospital that they are in-network and you don't have to pay upfront 

 

I bet most people don't even know what hospital their T&G Hotel is contacted with for these circumstances 

 

My Hotel is contracted with Bangrak 9 hospital and they are in my FWD insured network 

 

Ok, take me there.....

[ace035]

50 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

If you have Thai insurance print out a list of their network hospitals and bring it with you

Both AXA and FWD have the list on their website 

And it's quite extensive

And just demand to be taken to one of those hospitals 

And then demand at the hospital that they are in-network and you don't have to pay upfront 

I bet most people don't even know what hospital their T&G Hotel is contacted with for these circumstances 

My Hotel is contracted with Bangrak 9 hospital and they are in my FWD insured network 

Ok, take me there.....

I don't know if we have a same hospital with my Test & Go, I'm staying at Mercure Hotel Sukhumvit 11 & partnered with Bangpakok 9 In'tl Hospital, I just have to verify with Tune Insurance through my agent.