News Forum - PM Prayut insists no plans to drop face-mask requirement in Thailand

[Manu]

10 hours ago, Transam said:

But did you do a poll or a survey to come to your conclusion, or was it just your chums on bar stools...?  

You are so boring… your bad sarcasm completed with the yellow faces you use at the end of every sentence cause you are obviously lacking of real words in your own language to express yourself. I honestly do not know what else to say to you. Not sure…. No, nothing else to say really… leave me alone would be one though if any.

[JamesR]

17 hours ago, Stevejm said:

And how many tourists read this forum before deciding where to go on holiday?

Not many I hope as most would be lead to believe most Thais are broke and the whole country is dependent on tourists.

[Stevejm]

6 hours ago, JamesR said:

Not many I hope as most would be lead to believe most Thais are broke and the whole country is dependent on tourists.

I think the contribution of tourism to GDP was around 20% pre pandemic so I doubt anyone would believe the whole country is dependent on tourism. The discussion is about mask requirements anyway so what is your point?

[Stevejm]

11 hours ago, JamesR said:

They are a concern to those who do not like being on holiday wearing a mask when they do not need to wear one in their own country. 
 

That is my reason for not going to Thailand at the moment. 

And 3 hours later you changed your mind! 

[Stevejm]

17 hours ago, rc1 said:

As Thais start travelling overseas again, let's hope they quickly realise they are one of literally a handful of countries in the world still wearing masks.

Need the message to to sink in both internally and externally.

Phuket just reversed a decision to drop the outdoor mandate, obviously under pressure from govt, despite only 10 reported cases a day!!

No longer any health justification for mass masking, so why are they being worn?

I don’t think Phuket reversed the decision just clarified it

https://www.thephuketnews.com/governor-clarifies-phuket-face-mask-rule-84436.php

[Stevejm]

1 hour ago, Transam said:

How true, but I get by..........................

Ignore him. He doesn’t even know what emoticons are

[JamesR]

13 hours ago, Stevejm said:

And 3 hours later you changed your mind! 

Yes after learning I will now only have to wear one for a fraction of my day while shopping, on all my other activities I will not have to wear one due to the info given to me by the link to the new rules for Phuket.

I therefore adapted my opinion taking into account the new rules, that seems logical to me.

 

[JamesR]

13 hours ago, Stevejm said:

I think the contribution of tourism to GDP was around 20% pre pandemic so I doubt anyone would believe the whole country is dependent on tourism. The discussion is about mask requirements anyway so what is your point?

"....so what is your point?", you asked.

You should ask that question to yourself seeing as you talked about GDP etc above. 

But many farangs living in Thailand seem to think that the GDP relating to tourism is far higher than it is. 

[Morpheus]

On 6/1/2022 at 9:31 AM, Stevejm said:

The only people who think it will stop tourists coming are on this forum and TVF . 

TAT says 4 million tourist for second half of 2022, Whats your crystal ball say.

[Stevejm]

36 minutes ago, Morpheus said:

TAT says 4 million tourist for second half of 2022, Whats your crystal ball say.

4 million is pretty good really. My crystal ball says 4.1 million after European airports and airlines sort out their problems

Edited June 5, 2022 by Stevejm

[Stevejm]

13 hours ago, JamesR said:

"....so what is your point?", you asked.

You should ask that question to yourself seeing as you talked about GDP etc above. 

But many farangs living in Thailand seem to think that the GDP relating to tourism is far higher than it is. 

I get your point now. I only mentioned GDP to address your point about people on this forum overestimating the importance of tourism on the economy.

[Fanta]

On 6/4/2022 at 1:11 AM, JamesR said:

The vast majority of industry and jobs in Thailand is not connected to tourism.

Really? pre Covid the tourism sector generated 18% of the 2019 GDP of $US500 billion. And GDP is reported income not including  grey/unreported income.

That is over $100 billion minimum and represents a substantial portion of Thailand’s economy requiring substantial industry support and jobs. 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1143467/thailand-share-of-tourism-to-gdp/

[Wanderer]

No point in it being a requirement if it is not enforced. 

[Stevejm]

22 minutes ago, Fanta said:

Really? pre Covid the tourism sector generated 18% of the 2019 GDP of $US500 billion. And GDP is reported income not including  grey/unreported income.

That is over $100 billion minimum and represents a substantial portion of Thailand’s economy requiring substantial industry support and jobs. 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1143467/thailand-share-of-tourism-to-gdp/

@JamesRwas correct though when he said “vast majority” even by your quoted data so it seems you are both in agreement!

[Fanta]

3 minutes ago, Stevejm said:

@JamesRwas correct though when he said “vast majority” even by your quoted data so it seems you are both in agreement!

Oh.. it’s a word game. Majority yes. Vast majority no. 

[TheDirtyDurian]

On 6/3/2022 at 11:43 AM, Transam said:

5. False teeth........

6. Seat belt....

7. Viagra 

8. Gun (oops, not in America)

 

[TheDirtyDurian]

On 6/3/2022 at 9:11 PM, JamesR said:

True but only in a few places in Thailand, most of Thailand is occupied by non-tourists going about their general day to day lives with no connection with the tourism.

The vast majority of industry and jobs in Thailand is not connected to tourism.

The same in the UK, we have more tourists per year than Thailand but I or anybody I know do not have any connection to tourism. 

I assume the affect of tourism depends where a person lives for example Isaan might be more affected by the downturn in tourism as 99.9% of all bar girls, massage girls etc are from there and so can not send money back home so regions like that may feel the affect more than others. 

Did you get a 1000 massages to come up with the 99.9% figure, or is it common Pattaya knowledge?

[Highlandman]

On 6/3/2022 at 3:36 PM, TWS60 said:

Just a matter of de-conditioning the population now, like weaning a baby off a pacifier.  

As the unmasking trend continues over the next weeks/months, those who insist on wearing a mask will shift to the minority, swapping positions with the self-absorbed, attention-seeking anti-mask whingers who made spectacles of themselves during the pandemic.

Looking forward to the old normal checklist when leaving the house:

1. Wallet
2. Phone
3. Keys
4.  Mask

Not going to happen. Thais will wear their muzzles indefinitely. There is absolutely no unmasking trend in Thailand.

[Highlandman]

On 6/3/2022 at 5:19 AM, Marc26 said:

Then they are idiots and did not research whatsoever 

I've been here 6 weeks and masks are not a concern at all

They're right and masks are a huge concern. A lot of people are going to Vietnam and other countries where mask wearing isn't the state religion as it is in Thailand.

[Highlandman]

On 5/31/2022 at 1:11 PM, dbrenn said:

No idea why Prayuth, traditional and conservative as he is, would support the continued use of muzzles. It's probably got nothing to do with the spread of disease - wearing these silly things has become more a badge of compliance than anything else.

Thai traditionalism and conservatism is similar to western liberal snowflakism.

Mask wearing has become the new state religion of Thailand. It's little surprise that Prayuth loves these things so much. So much so that in largely mask-free Washington DC a couple of weeks ago, all the Thai expats who were granted an audience with the PM were required to wear their masks in the room with him, but when Prayuth was with American and other foreign (including SE Asian) delegates, none of them wore a mask.

He gets back to Thailand and essentially wants to keep this new age Thai religion of muzzle wearing alive for as long as possible.

[Highlandman]

On 6/1/2022 at 9:18 AM, Stevejm said:

Really? I have searched the internet and can’t find any negative comments about Thailand’s mask mandate apart from this forum and TVF. I see plenty of  of people on this forum predicting the negative impact on tourism without any evidence to back it up.

You haven't searched anywhere. I see negative comments literally everywhere. On the Bangkok Post, here, ASEAN Now, any Facebook page from Thai media (Khao Sod English, Thai Enquirer, Thai Examiner), any YouTube Channel or basically any media where Thailand is being discussed, it's universally negative regarding the continued mask mandates and also the Thailand Pass.

[Highlandman]

On 6/3/2022 at 9:04 AM, Politenessman said:

Masks are a major concern to many people, not just the inconvenience, the fact that most people find them uncomfortable, that they signal a Govt that doesn't have faith that it has disease under control, that it hides faces making most people socially uncomfortable and the personal choice related objections.

You can bet that many tourists are making or have made choices relating to destinations with this being a factor - the PI just dropped the requirement, why? because they are taking their chance to eat Thailands lunch, and they are hoping that a good number of the people who go there as an alternative to 'masked' Thailand, will like it and become long term return tourists and perhaps retirees.

Where is PI? Philippines? If so, I can't find anything to substantiate your claim. I could find an article from February suggesting face masks might go by the END of 2022.

I doubt the Philippines will scrap mask wearing any sooner than Thailand.

However, most of Thailand's neighbors have scrapped outdoor masking, with indoor masking no longer enforced much anymore in Cambodia, only in a few settings in Laos and basically not at all in Myanmar, except at airports and some indoor settings in Yangon, but that's about it.

[Highlandman]

On 6/1/2022 at 1:26 PM, Ivo_Shandor said:

It's written into the Emergency decree 2005, which is law, as stated before. Up to you feigning ignorance. Period. Bye.

There is no mention of face mask wearing in the emergency decree.

[Highlandman]

On 6/2/2022 at 8:55 PM, JamesR said:

You really think that is a possibility. 

I do. I think there's a very strong possibility actually. Outdoors it might eventually be sort of lifted, but indoors - unlikely.

[Viggen8408]

35 minutes ago, Highlandman said:

Not going to happen. Thais will wear their muzzles indefinitely. There is absolutely no unmasking trend in Thailand.

Not in the big centres anyway. Masks have always been a 'personal' thing for Thais in Bangkok in public. Can't relate that to home usage, but those close around me now, I suspect are wearing masks to bed (alone). I know one wears her mask while driving to and from work in her car... alone. Friggin' drama queen!