News Forum - Thailand’s face mask rules to be scrapped soon

[Wanderer]

  On 10/22/2022 at 11:54 AM, TheDirtyDurian said:

Stopped caring about masks in Thailand months ago. I never wear one. I was on the MRT and BTS a couple of weeks ago, no problem, ditto soyouwannaboomboom. 

The only time I wore one recently was on entry to Superrich Ratchadamri, where it was no mask no entry. 

I've not been getting any bad vibes from thai people, and tbh, even if I was, I still don't care. 

The whole mask thing is stupid. 

The rest of the world has moved on, Thailand should too. 

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Quite true but I always wear one. I will miss being able to sneer at those who don't (or worse have it under the chin or on the arm) and see them sneering at me. 

It is can be a bit of a pain but this is Thailand, I am a foreigner and if Thailand wishes me to wear a mask so be it. It's not the end of the world. 

[Soidog]

  On 10/24/2022 at 1:12 AM, Marc26 said:

Japan and other parts of Asia has worn face masks for what, a couple decades now?

They seem to have gotten along just fine without a bunch of white guys getting their panties in a knot

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That’s not true Marc. Yes, many choose to wear masks when in busy public areas. But they don’t drive cars and sit on beaches and walking in forests wearing face masks. You can not compare life of mask wearing in Asia pre-pandemic to now. That’s not reasonable

[Soidog]

  On 10/24/2022 at 3:10 AM, Marc26 said:

I will never get why all you old white dudes care so much about what others choose to do

That is way more mind blowing to me, than someone deciding to wear a mask

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Come on Marc. It’s not about getting worked up about what others do. I also don’t know why you think everyone complaining is old and white???

It does affect people. It’s simply wrong to live alongside other humans and they are out shopping and out living life but covering their face. We are social animals and it introduces a sense of something just being wrong. Seeing people’s faces and expressions is fundamental to how we interact as humans. 

[Soidog]

  On 10/24/2022 at 3:45 AM, Wanderer said:

It is can be a bit of a pain but this is Thailand, I am a foreigner and if Thailand wishes me to wear a mask so be it. It's not the end of the world. 

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Thailand doesn’t wish you to wear a mask. It’s just that the majority of the people here do what they are told without questions and won’t change until given a new order. Very much like the Japanese soldiers found still fighting World War 2 in the 1970’s. When government issued an “order” not to wear them, they will stop. I would imagine you come from a background where you are taught to think for yourself. Make your own risk assessment and decide for yourself what to do. 

[Marc26]

  On 10/24/2022 at 3:27 AM, TheDirtyDurian said:

Firstly, I'm not old, secondly I'm not white.... 

So stop making an ass of u and me. 

Thirdly, no one is obsessed. We're all just commenting on an open forum. 

And the mask thing is odd. We comment, you comment about us commenting. What's the difference? 

My wife recently spent a few months with me where masks went out ages ago. It's just not a thing. 

On returning to Thailand, even she was having a WTF moment having stepped out of the coconut shell for a few months. 

So it's not just 'old, whitey, long nose' 

I'm absolutely certain that many in Thailand couldn't care less about the masks, but no one wants to attract the attention of being the odd one out, societal pressure or whatever you want to call it. 

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My point is why do you or anyone else care what others are doing??

Like a bunch of old lady busy bodies...............

And I'd call looking around the airport increduously at people wearing masked as being obsessed........

I'd call bringing it up all the time obsessed...........

And I am not a masker.......

I stopped wearing them outside about a month into the pandemic

Wore them when it was required and that's it

But I just could not care less what others choose to do.............

[Marc26]

  On 10/24/2022 at 4:10 AM, Soidog said:

Come on Marc. It’s not about getting worked up about what others do. I also don’t know why you think everyone complaining is old and white???

It does affect people. It’s simply wrong to live alongside other humans and they are out shopping and out living life but covering their face. We are social animals and it introduces a sense of something just being wrong. Seeing people’s faces and expressions is fundamental to how we interact as humans. 

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I think you guys need to be better socially then

I spent 2 months in Thailand, everyone masked up

I didn't feel one bit of difference in any interaction I have had than the previous 19 years going there

[Highlandman]

  On 10/24/2022 at 2:14 PM, Marc26 said:

I think you guys need to be better socially then

I spent 2 months in Thailand, everyone masked up

I didn't feel one bit of difference in any interaction I have had than the previous 19 years going there

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I don't think so, unless you're a strange person. Having everyone else around you masked up DOES make a difference in terms of interacting with them and makes social interactions awkward.

While I have been going everywhere in Thailand maskless for months now (well, I never really wore a mask to begin with especially not outdoors), I've approached it cautiously, starting with holding a coffee cup in my hand to enter malls in the days after the mandate was first scrapped back in June. Contrary to what this article claims, mask wearing stopped being mandatory on June 23, when it was published in the Royal Gazette to this effect.

In the weeks to come, I stopped carrying around a coffee cup except when I went to places like the Isuzu service center, which is still full on Covid theater with everyone, customers and employees alike masked, some even double masked, the plastic screens up and plenty of mask signs.

Nothing was ever said, but just to play along, I made sure to drink or eat something at all times while in the presence of the employees such as when paying my bill because I could feel the tension in the air.

Not so outdoors, at Chatuchak market or malls, where it now feels a lot more relaxed but only because these places have a significant number of unmasked faces, though still far less than 50% unfortunately. Even better is Pattaya, which outside of malls, has very low rates of mask wearing. Hence why I go there for shopping rather than Bangkok, specifically because it feels more comfortable. With as few as 10-15% of people walking the streets wearing masks, Pattaya is leading the way in terms of getting back to normal.

Strangely, there are more mask signs outdoors in Pattaya than in Bangkok, but as masks are no longer mandatory it is hoped these signs will soon be taken down.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Highlandman

[Highlandman]

  On 10/24/2022 at 4:14 AM, Soidog said:

Thailand doesn’t wish you to wear a mask. It’s just that the majority of the people here do what they are told without questions and won’t change until given a new order. Very much like the Japanese soldiers found still fighting World War 2 in the 1970’s. When government issued an “order” not to wear them, they will stop. I would imagine you come from a background where you are taught to think for yourself. Make your own risk assessment and decide for yourself what to do. 

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True, but one thing that the government won't be doing is telling Thais when to remove their masks.

For starters, this would constitute a loss of face for the government (that so strongly supports mask wearing), but Anutin already made it clear in a speech back in July, shortly after the mandate was dropped, this won't be announced and people need to make their own decisions. 

What might prompt Thais to remove their masks is the following:

government officials no longer wearing them (starting to happen a little bit depending on the event, setting etc but those officials no longer wearing them are still in the minority. It needs to be pretty much all officials ending the practice of masking); 

Store employees no longer masking; 

Old mask signs and other propaganda (such as that social distancing message in the toilets of Terminal 21 Pattaya) and mask wearing "recommendations" such as at airports being removed as well;

News readers no longer wearing masks on TV (a practice no other country has engaged in, not even China);

Recommendations to wear masks being scrapped or maybe...and this would be the closest thing to telling Thais what to do - changing recommendations such that masks are NO longer recommended for healthy individuals. 

I wonder whether APEC will be the event that compels Thais to scrap their masks overnight. Could happen though I'm not holding my breath. I do believe that for the first time since before Covid, Thai leaders won't be wearing masks at all, otherwise international delegates would be embarrassed and confused.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Highlandman

[Highlandman]

The continuing mask wearing in Thailand is like a form of mass formation psychosis.

On Thai language forums, such as on YouTube videos or the government's Covid 19 Facebook page, you have really brainwashed commentators (for some reason usually males) reinforcing a message of fear. These guys will tell you that those not wearing masks are seen by others as a "risk" or "unable to protect themselves or society", it's really bizarre. There is no concept of - I as the individual will assess my own level of risk.

Their way of thinking is still the same as back in April 2020 and yet no matter what one may think of the vaccine (effective or not) it seems that these folk believe only in their masks and not the vaccine at all, no matter how many shots they received whether its 2, 3, 4 or more. At one point the more shots, the more one would be able to virtue signal but beyond that, nothing much would change. There was basically no desire for change or to go back to normal unmasked life, even among those who received 2 booster shots.

For the record, I don't believe in either the masks or the vaccines (my personal view, you're free to have your own views), though I do find it odd that in a society so trusting of authority and especially medical authority where doctors are revered as Gods, they don't seem to have any trust in the vaccinations helping them get society back to normal, which is what the idea behind the vaccinations originally was.

In other words, it's like they didn't even need to roll them out at all, because in their view, the humble mask is the only thing that protects them. 

Essentially, the mask will be worn from now on, with no end date, as people have been conditioned to wear them.

However, another way to view things is the haphazard and utterly confusing and contradictory messaging surrounding masks ...where to wear them and by whom, since the mandate was first scrapped 4 months ago.

To begin with, this very story will confuse anyone who remembers back to what happened on June 23, with the announcement in the Royal Gazette ending mandatory mask wearing in most settings, indoors AND outdoors at the same time (something no other Asian nation did to the best of my knowledge, as they all ended outdoor mandates first then indoor mandates later). Now people are scratching their heads going, "why are they canceling something that was already canceled 4 months ago?" Or is it that mask wearing has still been mandatory until now, but not enforced? My take is no, it's been scrapped already nearly everywhere as announced in the Royal Gazette and news sources around the country including this very site. Foreign airlines and governments even confirm this. Most agree that masks are no longer required on flights to/from Thailand and generally not at the airport either (though others believe masks are still compulsory at Thai airports but not on board flights).

However, as pointed out, government officials continuing to wear masks especially in front of the cameras, those appearing on TV still wearing masks and/or putting up plastic dividing screens between people, doesn't exactly send out a message that this is over thus locals are confused. In fact, it reinforces a message of fear and danger...that even someone in the same room as you is a threat.

Mask signs, many of them old but still being up, rather than having been taken down immediately following the end of the mandate, continues to create the impression among Thais, that mask wearing is required, say at malls and the airport. Nevermind that some of these signs are 2 years old and accompanied by please check in to "ThaiChana" an app that no longer exists.

It's not just the social pressure, the continuing fear, the lack of independent thinking but also confusion about what the exact rules are.

The government needs to come out loud and clear and only announce it once: what are the mask rules and until when do they apply (if they apply at all)?  Name ALL the settings where masks still need to be worn, if any.

Strangely, hospitals and medical facilities haven't been mentioned by the government. You'd think they would make a clear announcement in relation to them but nope this hasn't happened. 

So until they can iron out these issues and the government shows some leadership by ending mask wearing themselves, nothing much will change.

[Highlandman]

  On 10/22/2022 at 8:12 AM, Manu said:

Not to wear. I got back early September, I did not even have a mask with me and all through the airport and immigration, noone said a word to me about it. My taxi driver was waiting for me at the meeting gate with the mask on and as soon as we got in the car, he took it off, threw it down the floor and said "I hate that stupid mask. Thai people are stupid". (luckily not all of them, about 80% of them do not wear it anymore at all where I am). It was hilarious.

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Same here. I was confused by my airline claiming masks were mandatory at Bangkok airport and handing them out upon disembarking (this was last weekend) but it clearly wasn't required as I didn't wear one and i was far from alone...25% of all people passing through the airport didn't.

Back in late August, the airline I flew with then didn't say a word about masks being mandatory at Bangkok Airport. 

Yes, there was a mask sign up on the column just as you approach immigration, which is odd as you're required to remove your mask when you get your passport stamped, however, I suspect said sign is old and out of date. Either way, masks are simply recommended at Bangkok Airport not required.

[Highlandman]

  On 10/23/2022 at 6:21 PM, Lazarus said:

Fully expect that they keep masks in place for public transportation. I imagine it would be difficult for a public health official to make a decison which would minimize their own role. Basically, once there is no need for future announcements, they give up status. 

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The Bangkok Post already posted an article to that effect on October 1 but even on public transportation there is no clear cut "mandate" anymore. 

[Highlandman]

  On 10/24/2022 at 1:12 AM, Marc26 said:

Japan and other parts of Asia has worn face masks for what, a couple decades now?

They seem to have gotten along just fine without a bunch of white guys getting their panties in a knot

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Nothing to do with white guys. Guess who wears masks the least in Thailand? Indians and to a slightly lesser degree, Arabs.

You'll rarely see an Indian tourist wear a mask in Thailand but you will still see quite a bit of mask wearing among westerners, though it's more expats that are wearing them compared with tourists and other short term entrants, but even among that demographic, you find some maskers, maybe around 20%.

According to an article I recently read, Japan started wearing masks during the Spanish flu 100 years ago, however, this was generally limited to flu season on public transportation since then, not by nearly 100% of the population in every conceivable setting and all age groups including babies and at beaches, in the water, or even at home as I've personally observed here in Thailand since 2020. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Highlandman

[TheDirtyDurian]

  On 10/24/2022 at 2:10 PM, Marc26 said:

My point is why do you or anyone else care what others are doing??

Like a bunch of old lady busy bodies...............

And I'd call looking around the airport increduously at people wearing masked as being obsessed........

I'd call bringing it up all the time obsessed...........

And I am not a masker.......

I stopped wearing them outside about a month into the pandemic

Wore them when it was required and that's it

But I just could not care less what others choose to do.............

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Personally speaking I don't care, but I do find it really odd. In the same way that people wearing the same coloured shirt on different days of the week is odd, or countless other things in Thailand. 

But the mask obsession takes things to a whole new level. It's like going back to 2020. Most, not all, but most countries around the world are done with all this, so when you step back in time it just looks weird. 

You can't help but notice it, and on arrival at an airport you can't blame people for having a WTF moment. I'm sure the same people didn't spend the rest of their trip just staring at people wearing masks all day, and I'm equally sure they weren't too bothered overall. 

I did the 15 nights quarantine at the end of 2020, landing at a deserted soyouwannaboomboom, with clipboard wielding, hazamat suit officials everywhere. Now that was a moment!

I still find the mask thing strange though even now.

It does go into the background and I don't really think about it myself, but when you do think about it, it's still really strange. 

Anyways, you're coming across as a bit obsessed yourself here. 

It's just an anonymous forum on t'internet for people to talk rubbish to strangers.  Don't take it too seriously. 

[LuckyStrike]

Crowded.... a very precise technical word

Just don't ask an agoraphobic. 

[Havana]

  On 10/24/2022 at 3:27 AM, TheDirtyDurian said:

Firstly, I'm not old, secondly I'm not white.... 

So stop making an ass of u and me. 

Thirdly, no one is obsessed. We're all just commenting on an open forum. 

And the mask thing is odd. We comment, you comment about us commenting. What's the difference? 

My wife recently spent a few months with me where masks went out ages ago. It's just not a thing. 

On returning to Thailand, even she was having a WTF moment having stepped out of the coconut shell for a few months. 

So it's not just 'old, whitey, long nose' 

I'm absolutely certain that many in Thailand couldn't care less about the masks, but no one wants to attract the attention of being the odd one out, societal pressure or whatever you want to call it. 

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I appreciate your blend of humour and serious points in your comment.

[Buzzkill]

you people are still using those useless facepanties do you know how small a virus is wake up for good lord sake . That was nothing but a crazy dominance social experiment , Please educate yourself free movie to watch for the next coupe days address is therealanothonyfaucimovie.com just register email and you can watch it . Written by  one of the last Kennedys 

Edited October 25, 2022 by Buzzkill

[Marc26]

  On 10/25/2022 at 4:44 PM, Buzzkill said:

you people are still using those useless facepanties do you know how small a virus is wake up for good lord sake . That was nothing but a crazy dominance social experiment , Please educate yourself free movie to watch for the next coupe days address is therealanothonyfaucimovie.com just register email and you can watch it . Written by  one of the last Kennedys 

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You wrote this atrocity of a paragraph and have the gall to tell others to "educate yourself"  :)

HAHA

[LuckyStrike]

  On 10/25/2022 at 4:44 PM, Buzzkill said:

you people are still using those useless facepanties do you know how small a virus is wake up for good lord sake . That was nothing but a crazy dominance social experiment , Please educate yourself free movie to watch for the next coupe days address is therealanothonyfaucimovie.com just register email and you can watch it . Written by  one of the last Kennedys 

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True. The virus is so small it passes right through most masks. Also, it's OK to take your mask off to eat or drink on a plane. If there were a real hazard the mask would stay on the entire flight... no eating or drinking.

[Buzzkill]

Funny how there were no medical waste bins lol what a joke. i think soros buying up the spanish news stations  because they got these people masking up more than others out here 

[TheDirtyDurian]

  On 10/25/2022 at 9:11 PM, LuckyStrike said:

True. The virus is so small it passes right through most masks. Also, it's OK to take your mask off to eat or drink on a plane. If there were a real hazard the mask would stay on the entire flight... no eating or drinking.

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Been flying regularly all through C19, haven't worn a mask on a plane in ages, much like the majority of other passengers. 

[spkhdg]

I'm a local who also spent a considerable amount of time living abroad. I just want to say that I'm totally embarrassed of the actions by my compatriot. 

The thing is, this society is deeply driven by fear. The people will fear anything that the state feed them. Remember how the coup was so easily done back in 2014? They spread fear that the people won't be able to go about their daily lives/make a living if the protests went on. Thus, the only way to return to normal life according to them was to seized power. And people were okay with it because they believed that that was the only way that they could return to work and make a living. By the way, that was utterly nonsense. 

While what happened during the pandemic was different, in a way it's similar. The gov spread fear about this disease and oversell its danger to the public. So much so that they have completely brainwashed majority of the people in this country. Their original aim was to stop the mass student protest back in 2020 but as you can see, it went far beyond that. Right now, without doing much, they got the people right where they want; fearful and helpless. What's the golden rule of consolidating power in a long run? Control fear and you will control everything.

To me personally, as a local, I think it’s so depressing to walk inside malls right now. To the point where I almost completely ditched all malls. Humans are built to socially interact with one another, especially with strangers. People looking at another human beings’ facial expressions are part of the social norm. It stimulates your brain cells, makes you feel alive.

Here, I feel absolutely depressed walking around malls and see people only with eyes and no face. I mean you are a human beings, you supposed to have a face. Even animals have a face. Only a single-cell organism doesn’t have face. It’s like I’m stuck in some kind of Vanilla Sky nightmares.

The sad thing is, this will continue for years to come. I mean you will never believe that there are people walking/riding a bicycle alone in my village, wearing a mask. What hope do you have in a society in which people do something so irrational like that?

Most people here are like lifeless robots so don’t get any hopes up for a return to normality anytime soon. I’m so sorry to any visitors of our country that we are no longer the Land of Smiles that many of you used to know us.

I know that it affected many travelers who returned here for a vacation in what supposed to be post-pandemic. Many of them whom I’ve met personally have all expressed that without seeing the iconic Siamese Smiles that was so renowned around the world, the experience of coming here was never quite the same.

It’s shameful that through believing in this irrational fear, we have lost our identity. We have truly lost our way as a nation.

Edited November 4, 2022 by spkhdg

[Marc26]

  On 11/4/2022 at 4:10 PM, spkhdg said:

I know that it affected many travelers who returned here for a vacation in what supposed to be post-pandemic. Many of them whom I’ve met personally have all expressed that without seeing the iconic Siamese Smiles that was so renowned around the world, the experience of coming here was never quite the same.

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I am in the minority but I felt absolutely no difference in my interaction with locals in May and June when they were masked up

Of course it would be better without masks, but I felt no issue feeling a connection and feeling warmth from all the locals I interacted with

But it is very good to hear a local's perspective, for sure