News Forum - Four new measures adopted for all foreign tourists arriving in Thailand

[GMS]

Further to last post on subject please find attached

https://thepattayanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/FB_IMG_1673070480165.jpg

[Soidog]

I have to say that I’ve given up entirely on the idiots running Thailand. Part of me is happy they are doing this. I hope it keeps tourist numbers down. I feel sorry for those Thais who rely on it. You need to sort out your country. I hope it continues to run down the economy and hopefully a collapse of the currency. It seems the Thai population have given up caring, so why should I. If it all crashes and burns and civil war breaks out, Som Nam Nar! 

[KaptainRob]

Thanks to GMS for the links, and it does seem that our Government are once again going into a knee-jerk reaction which may severely impact the country's tourism recovery.

I await full public notice of the new entry rules although it seems fairly benign for most tourists IF you've had an approved vaccination in the past 24 months.

[Soidog]

3 minutes ago, KaptainRob said:

I await full public notice of the new entry rules although it seems fairly benign for most tourists IF you've had an approved vaccination in the past 24 months.

Agree with that KR. I’ve been fully vaccinated and have travel insurance which includes health care for Covid-19. My only concern is the mention of random testing on arrival. I’m unsure what action the authorities would take. If they enforce quarantine, then I doubt my  insurers would pay out? 

[KaptainRob]

10 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Agree with that KR. I’ve been fully vaccinated and have travel insurance which includes health care for Covid-19. My only concern is the mention of random testing on arrival. I’m unsure what action the authorities would take. If they enforce quarantine, then I doubt my  insurers would pay out? 

Flip flop diplomacy may prevail, so the only thing which is certain for now, is uncertainty.  Thailand shooting itself in the hip pocket yet again with scaremongering announcements from a variety of sources.

[Poolie]

28 minutes ago, KaptainRob said:

Flip flop diplomacy may prevail, so the only thing which is certain for now, is uncertainty.  Thailand shooting itself in the hip pocket yet again with scaremongering announcements from a variety of sources.

Might I recommend waiting for a Royal Gazette announcement? It seems as though everybody is guessing/scaremongering at the moment. I guess no-one is interested in what's being said in China, which could be said to be the 'horses mouth.'

[Soidog]

6 minutes ago, Poolie said:

I guess no-one is interested in what's being said in China, which could be said to be the 'horses mouth.'

No not really. I wouldn’t know which face the horse was talking from and if it was a member of the CCP then it would be a lying horse. So no thanks. 

[Bluesofa]

7 minutes ago, Soidog said:

No not really. I wouldn’t know which face the horse was talking from and if it was a member of the CCP then it would be a lying horse. So no thanks. 

'it would be a lying horse' I thought that was dogs - let sleeping dogs lie.

[Donald]

By now it is common knowledge that the "vaccine" does not prevent catching the virus and more importantly does not prevent from infecting others. So what is the reasoning for pushing this agenda ?

[palooka]

57 minutes ago, Poolie said:

I guess no-one is interested in what's being said in China, which could be said to be the 'horses mouth.'

Has their credibility suddenly risen to new impeccable international standards?

[Soidog]

50 minutes ago, Donald said:

By now it is common knowledge that the "vaccine" does not prevent catching the virus and more importantly does not prevent from infecting others. So what is the reasoning for pushing this agenda ?

Because it reduces the impact of the virus, particularly on the old and vulnerable. It was never claimed to prevent you catching the virus. That’s not the function of many vaccines. It’s a mistake to think they give you protection from catching viruses. 

[Rookie]

 

Covid-jab rules for travellers confirmed (bangkokpost.com)

 

The requirement that all international travellers show proof of full Covid-19 vaccination before boarding flights to Thailand will take effect from Sunday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT)...

The aviation regulator has formally notified all parties about the change to arrival rules for international travellers aged 18 and over. They will take effect for flights landing in Thailand from 1am...

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2477394/covid-jab-rules-for-travellers-confirmed?fbclid=IwAR1RbeHa1reRDBUJT2QmHFZr8xmyQn7tFdfAv8mQfU05Fyu_2FoSuEm1MTo. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Bangkok Post PCL. All rights reserved.

 

[VBob]

50 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Because it reduces the impact of the virus, particularly on the old and vulnerable. It was never claimed to prevent you catching the virus. That’s not the function of many vaccines. It’s a mistake to think they give you protection from catching viruses. 

If it just prevents the impact of the virus on the old and vulnerable then why is it needed to travel? "It was never claimed to prevent you catching the virus" You've never watched the BBC News or Sky News propaganda then!? Never read a newspaper? Not only was it claimed that it would stop you getting the virus it was claimed it would stop (or at least help) against transmission. It seems everyone who has played Russian Roulette with their health and got lucky (thus far) is happy to go along with the agenda. 

[HolyCowCm]

1 hour ago, Donald said:

By now it is common knowledge that the "vaccine" does not prevent catching the virus and more importantly does not prevent from infecting others. So what is the reasoning for pushing this agenda ?

Less collateral damage and loss of image. 

[Soidog]

17 minutes ago, VBob said:

If it just prevents the impact of the virus on the old and vulnerable then why is it needed to travel? "It was never claimed to prevent you catching the virus" You've never watched the BBC News or Sky News propaganda then!? Never read a newspaper? Not only was it claimed that it would stop you getting the virus it was claimed it would stop (or at least help) against transmission. It seems everyone who has played Russian Roulette with their health and got lucky (thus far) is happy to go along with the agenda. 

I never said you did need it to travel.

and no, I don’t watch the BBC or Sky News for the reasons you state. Alarmist and biased and a source of poor mental health for the U.K. population. 
 

I don’t recall a virologists or subject matter experts claiming it stops you catching the virus. They may have said it protects you  which it does. And we have seen the evidence of the amazing impact the vaccines have had. All the nonsense we are seeing now with Thailand travel is being driven by the imbeciles having taken over the asylum. 

[Rookie]

I'm due to arrive 17th January. I've had one dose of Pfizer from back in 2021, never got around to getting the second dose. I could probably get it this week, but I'm guessing it would need to be 14 days before my departure.

Anyone got any advice? Or y'all too busy bickering about the efficacy of the vaccine?

[Soidog]

4 minutes ago, Rookie said:

I'm due to arrive 17th January. I've had one dose of Pfizer from back in 2021, never got around to getting the second dose. I could probably get it this week, but I'm guessing it would need to be 14 days before my departure.

Anyone got any advice? Or y'all too busy bickering about the efficacy of the vaccine?

Not bickering @Rookie  debating

On the question vaccines and travel, I’m afraid you will have to see what the official line is and when it becomes law. I would also see what the official statement is from your embassy in Bangkok.  
 

When I had to show my vaccination certificate early last year, I produced a print out of the details from the NHS app along with The QR code. No one at the gate did anything other than take a cursory look and the same thing when I landed in Bangkok. I know one guy who got a family member to print off their vaccination records and he simply changed the name to his own. Now, I wouldn’t suggest for one minute that an upstanding chap like yourself would indulge in such skulduggery. 

[Vigo]

11 hours ago, socal said:

I was planning a trip for May/June to the Philippines and Thailand. I am vaccinated but probably won't go now. Its not worth all of the extra trouble. 

All the businesses that just got a little boost they needed will have the hammer come down on them. Airlines included of course. 

what extra trouble? You were vaccinated.

10 hours ago, Manu said:

Now protecting who with that? For example, I have had my 2nd dose of AZ in Sept. 2021, a year and half ago. So you agree surely not having had any booster that I am not protected anymore whatsoever (0 protection!!). So theorically I can come in Thailand and then contract covid and be very ill and end up in hospital and being a hurdle for the health care system. I could also pass it on to unvaccinated, under-vaccinated and vaccinated Thai people, all 3 who could potentially end up in hospital if in bad health. So basically all the same than an unvaccinated person. And if that unvaccinated person had covid twice the past 7 months like me, most likely that person is at least as immuned if not better than another one who have received 2567 doses and can still transmit the virus to Thai people with the same result. How on earth in 2023 anyone can still think that a proof of 2 doses of covid vaccines is science-based and a rational requirement and will protect anyone???

Maybe you think you are now a covid vaccine expert (no offense but you sound more like a fanatic to me), but politic does not seem to be up to scratch. Surely you should read the political message to China.

Well it is not for unvaccinated. So they will not have the freedom to come to Thailand anymore. I find it very sad when some people loose their freedom of movement, any at all, most especially when it is based on non sense.

Just for your information, I got a bar to give work to my partner (and a couple of other Thai people at the same time), I certainly do not need that to live so if Thailand sealed off again I will be just as fine as the first 2 years of covid here...unfortunately I would not like at all to experience the same misery around me as I have seen during that time - but I would not call that a "bias", it is my strong opinion that it is a non sense, that's it. And also I love bar's life and meeting (and have a good time at the same time) people from all over the world. Inevitably for the last few months, they always start asking about what happened during the covid time here, and I have met so many unvacinated people of all sorts, and also 2 doses vaccinated like me, mostly young and under 50, who were somehow forced back in 2021 and do not believe they need another one (or needed one in the first one), the vast majority having had covid 1, 2 or 3 times like me and are all just fine. Far more of these rational people than covid vaccines fanatics, which is to me a suprising but lovely relief.

Anyway my comment was a worlwide scenario that I fear to see coming, with restrictions here and there and then everywhere escalating further, back to the worst ones. Read again. Cheers Vigo.

The unvaccinated who travel to Thailand are a miniscule number. They are a vocal group, but the reality is that they are insignificant.

9 hours ago, Chazz76 said:

Even the Phizer executive said the vaccines were useless, I've never had a Flu Shot in my life, won't be getting one either. I also wouldn't have got these useless vaccines and booster either, but was blackmailed into getting them like millions of others or risk losing my job and not being able to come to Thailand to be with my partner, so I didn't want to leaver her high and dry. And any news from China is as useless as the vaccines as we all know China have lied from day one about the origins and scale of the virus in China. They deliberately released onto the world before and will do so again, because that's what Xi and his Military want, a weaken world so they can rule it. 

No Pfizer executive declared the MRNA vaccines  useless.

6 hours ago, Cg66 said:

I have a TUI flight arriving in Phuket on the 13th of January. I’ve had no vaccines, why would I?  I caught Covid on the way back from Thailand in January 2020. Do I cancel my holiday now? Claim off the insurance? I deliberately left booking these flights very late because I was worried about this type of scenario. If I don’t make it on this trip I will never go to Thailand again

If you were infected with Covid in 2020, it is very unlikely you have immunity against the new  variants.  Your choice to be unvaccinated, so you accept the risk which includes this scenario. Reschedule your holiday. If you do not come to Thailand there will be no real impact upon the Thai economy.

4 hours ago, MrStretch said:

Really?  And where do you know this from?  Link and source, please. 

I see that you can get a booster after Janssen but it's not required to be "fully vaccinated".

J&J vaccine was shown to be effective against serious complicsations and hospitalization for  6 months only. This is why western countries amended their rules to include the  requirement for a booster. The oversight in Thai rules will be addressed at some point.

In respect to the term fully vaccinated, this is an expression used by the public and has not been used by the infectious disease specialists for a year. The vaccine initiative was intended to reduce hospitalization and  reduce the number of serious complications that were damaging the economy. It has been accepted that full vaccination requires ongoing boosters. Continued use of the term fully vaccinated in the context of the Thai travel requrements is confusing and misleading.'

In any case, it is easy to be vaccinated, If you don't want the vaccine, ok, but you won't be traavling to Thailand for at least 30 days.

 

[Sgtsabai]

I go back and forth between Thailand and Lao and have long term visas/multi-entry with both. I am an expat, was sexpat but age is catching up. I have OA at present but because of the insurance scam and changing to straight O. I've been in Thailand off and on from 2002 to 2010, although "bought" house in 2008 for now thieving ex-wife. Am I a tourist? I don't think so but what I think doesn't count. Will immigration consider me a tourist?

[EdwardV]

19 hours ago, KaptainRob said:

I await full public notice of the new entry rules although it seems fairly benign for most tourists IF you've had an approved vaccination in the past 24 months.

Agreed, the rules don’t seem difficult at all. Certainly not like before.

I’d be more worried about the Thai health care system getting overwhelmed. Plane load after plane load each a quarter filled with  infected tourists will do a number on just about any health system. 

[KaptainRob]

25 minutes ago, EdwardV said:

Agreed, the rules don’t seem difficult at all. Certainly not like before.

I’d be more worried about the Thai health care system getting overwhelmed. Plane load after plane load each a quarter filled with  infected tourists will do a number on just about any health system. 

That's a possibility. 

Perhaps the biggest negative for potential visitors, if enacted, is the threat of forced isolation upon -ve testing.

How on earth can even this Government not realise the damage being done by the leaked CAAT advisory with no official confirmation and detail.  As others have commented, this could well be the final nail .... 

[EdwardV]

8 minutes ago, KaptainRob said:

Perhaps the biggest negative for potential visitors, if enacted, is the threat of forced isolation upon -ve testing.

True, it’s a deal killer for most vacationers. I know it was for me last time. That’s when you start traveling to other locations instead. 

[HolyCowCm]

What happened to the you must pay 300 baht to have health insurance covered whne you come here?

[BigHewer]

17 hours ago, Soidog said:

When I had to show my vaccination certificate early last year, I produced a print out of the details from the NHS app along with The QR code. No one at the gate did anything other than take a cursory look and the same thing when I landed in Bangkok.

Thank you for posting this. Same happened to me, although my wife had her documents more thoroughly checked. 

I was a bit concerned when I read the headline, then sighed / laughed when I saw the rules. From the article:

 

• All visitors must have received at least two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine before their arrival
• All visitors should take out health insurance coverage, which includes Covid-19, before their departure for Thailand
• All visitors should wear face masks while travelling on public transport in Thailand and public places and take rapid antigen tests if they develop Covid-like symptoms
• Visitors should postpone their visits to Thailand if they develop a respiratory illness

 

From the four, only the first one is a “rule”. The rest are window dressing and acts of pandering (actually, there are five “rules” and they appear in descending order in terms of enforceability).

I think the real audience for rules #2 to #4 is the Thai public, not prospective travelers.

 

 

 

 

[Shaft]

Take note that currently measure # 1 is a must measure...measures 2-4 are should rules.