News Forum - Thai officials mull over testing methods for arrivals following Omicron emergence

[Thaiger]

With the emergence of the Omicron variant, just as Thailand was easing travel regulations, the Thai government is mulling over whether to reverse its plan to replace RT-PCR tests with the less accurate, but faster and cheaper antigen tests, or ATK, for arrivals from overseas. The CCSA held an emergency meeting over the weekend in response to the news of the mutated Covid-19 strain and decided to bar entry to those travelling from 8 countries in Africa. Those travelling from other countries in Africa will need to undergo a 14 day quarantine at a certified hotel or facility. The Deputy […]

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[BBY]

Here’s a novel idea.

How about you organise and pay for whatever test you require at the time of entry. Then you can change it as often as you like, without affecting those dedicated people trying to re-visit and support your economic recovery in tourism, that are continually facing entry challenges.  
 

speculate to accumulate 

[TelD]

On arrival in Thailand the PCR test is being replaced by the faster Antigen test. Will this test be carried out at the airport or is it still necessary to book transport to a testing hotel?

[Dedinbed]

36 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

Thai government is mulling over whether to reverse its plan to replace RT-PCR tests

Hmmm , let me think about that .. 

 

37 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

or ATK

also known as all terrain knobblies if your into off roading .. what they're like at Corona testing is anyone's guess .. 

[JackIsAGoodBoy]

They have decimated the international tourism sector by at least 95 percent and mulling over some very minuscule flow of foreign tourists, most of them regular winbirds anyway with ties to Thailand. Laughable BS. 

[Soidog]

29 minutes ago, TelD said:

On arrival in Thailand the PCR test is being replaced by the faster Antigen test. Will this test be carried out at the airport or is it still necessary to book transport to a testing hotel?

My understanding is the Antigen test will be conducted at an approved SHA+ hotel and hence you will need to book a hotel.
 

This of course raises all kinds of questions, from the obvious one of, why not do it at the airport? To the one that asks, what will the hotel charge if after the test you are negative and can leave? They will still charge you for transport to the hotel, the cost of the test and possibly even an hourly charge for the room and cleaning of the room. I can’t see it being a whole lot cheaper than a nightly charge. 
 

This of course may all change back to full PCR and a night or even two in a hotel following the announcement of the new strain? 

The problem right now is that you simply can not make any firm plans, though I guess this is normal when there is a global pandemic underway. Few, if any genuine tourists are going to make such a trip. This generally isn’t the fault of the Thai government. They are having to react to the changing situation as every other country is. There are however things that could make it less painful, just as been suggested of charging for what ever is required on arrival, rather than having to prebook and prepay for things that may not be required, or worse still scrambling to book new requirements hours before you fly in order to be able to travel 

[TheDirtyDurian]

Booked my TnG package last week. Lucky I didn't cancel on Friday when the news about the ATK came out. 

Still got plenty of time for more flip flops in the next couple of weeks.

[Jason]

Even with the advent of Omicron, it's a coronavirus, so testing, be it PCR or rapid antigen are testing for the same thing. Only genomic sequencing, can determine if it is Omicron. Oh...did you see that Omicron also spells moronic!!!! There's a lesson in that.....

[mickkotlarski]

8 minutes ago, Jason said:

Even with the advent of Omicron, it's a coronavirus, so testing, be it PCR or rapid antigen are testing for the same thing. Only genomic sequencing, can determine if it is Omicron. Oh...did you see that Omicron also spells moronic!!!! There's a lesson in that.....

Spot on!!!!

[Rain]

5 minutes ago, Jason said:

Even with the advent of Omicron, it's a coronavirus, so testing, be it PCR or rapid antigen are testing for the same thing. Only genomic sequencing, can determine if it is Omicron. Oh...did you see that Omicron also spells moronic!!!! There's a lesson in that.....

The bombastic irony regarding the goddamn obsession with testing is that all the test kits are outdated and designed for the original virus, which was short-lived and overtaken by a number of mutated variants - and a base pathogen that changes on a whim.

Most of the testing kits, and their technical design and use, are short to truly recognize these particular strains, for what it's worth. 

[Stonker]

1 hour ago, Soidog said:

My understanding is the Antigen test will be conducted at an approved SHA+ hotel and hence you will need to book a hotel.
 

This of course raises all kinds of questions, from the obvious one of, why not do it at the airport? To the one that asks, what will the hotel charge if after the test you are negative and can leave? They will still charge you for transport to the hotel, the cost of the test and possibly even an hourly charge for the room and cleaning of the room. I can’t see it being a whole lot cheaper than a nightly charge. 
 

This of course may all change back to full PCR and a night or even two in a hotel following the announcement of the new strain? 

The problem right now is that you simply can not make any firm plans, though I guess this is normal when there is a global pandemic underway. Few, if any genuine tourists are going to make such a trip. This generally isn’t the fault of the Thai government. They are having to react to the changing situation as every other country is. There are however things that could make it less painful, just as been suggested of charging for what ever is required on arrival, rather than having to prebook and prepay for things that may not be required, or worse still scrambling to book new requirements hours before you fly in order to be able to travel 

All charges (transport, test, and accommodation if any) are paid in advance.

There's simply no excuse, though, for not testing at the airport, where it should so obviously be done.