News Forum - First Omicron strain reported in Thailand, Test & Go traveller tests positive

[Thaiger]

The first Covid-19 case involving an Omicron mutation has been reported in Thailand. Health officials say an American who travelled from Spain was found to be infected with a strain that matched the Omicron variant by 99.92%. The man entered Thailand through the Test & Go quarantine exemption scheme. This is a developing story and will be updated. SOURCE: BBC | Workpoint Today

The story First Omicron strain reported in Thailand, Test & Go traveller tests positive as seen on Thaiger News.

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[Stonker]

Inevitable - and since they arrived on Friday December 3rd and this was only announced on Monday December 6th, today, anyone they infected on the plane will have Test'n'Go'd already.

[ThailandBob]

Any bets on whether 10- or 14-day quarantines get reinstated?

[Shark]

6 minutes ago, ThailandBob said:

Any bets on whether 10- or 14-day quarantines get reinstated?

50/50... even through it would be good that Thailand locks down and ramps up their own vaccinations.

[TheDirtyDurian]

Bound to happen at some point I guess. But bad timing for me as I'm due to arrive next week. Not hopeful they will keep the TnG open. 

Or maybe they will because any changes will totally finish any hopes they have of people visiting.

Or maybe they won't because the numbers are so negligible anyway.

Have to wait and see

[stuhan]

I did say (YET) in a previous post about  no Omicron in Thailand, was just a matter of time. Be interesting to see their next moves though just as they start easing and opening things.

[El_Trauco]

It must be a misunderstanding.

[El_Trauco]

47 minutes ago, Shark said:

50/50... even through it would be good that if Thailand locks down and ramps up their own vaccinations.

Fixed it for you.

We are in agreement. The only way out is through vaccination. The other strategies are mitigation measures and provide additional time to adequately  vaccinate the population.

[Shade_Wilder]

I get all the health reasons for another shut-down and/or reinstating the quarantine, and it is hard to argue against it.

However, here's another question for you all...

Can Thailand afford to shut down/close up again? Especially just before High Season?

I have already seen business owners calling back staff, manically cleaning out hotels, etc. which have been shut for 2 years and desperately trying to let people know that they are open. I know of many Isaan people who have borrowed money against their family homes/farms in order to return to Phuket/Pattaya/Krabi/Samui/Etc. and re-take employment. I know of restaurateurs who have started to negotiate supply contracts for food and beverage in anticipation of a high tourism season. I know of travel agents who have spent cash they don't have on promoting the re-opening.

Pretty much every single Thai person involved in the tourism business that I know is in debt and has structured their debt to be re-paid at the end of High Season/Songkran next year. If there is no high season... then what?

You simply can't flip a switch and turn it all off again, so if there is no high season, what happens to all those people?

The question must be answered.

[riclag]

41 minutes ago, El_Trauco said:

It must be a misunderstanding.

What’s a misunderstanding, that Omi came here or that a vaxer brought it to Thailand ?

[TheDirtyDurian]

5 minutes ago, Shade_Wilder said:

I get all the health reasons for another shut-down and/or reinstating the quarantine, and it is hard to argue against it.

However, here's another question for you all...

Can Thailand afford to shut down/close up again? Especially just before High Season?

I have already seen business owners calling back staff, manically cleaning out hotels, etc. which have been shut for 2 years and desperately trying to let people know that they are open. I know of many Isaan people who have borrowed money against their family homes/farms in order to return to Phuket/Pattaya/Krabi/Samui/Etc. and re-take employment. I know of restaurateurs who have started to negotiate supply contracts for food and beverage in anticipation of a high tourism season. I know of travel agents who have spent cash they don't have on promoting the re-opening.

Pretty much every single Thai person involved in the tourism business that I know is in debt and has structured their debt to be re-paid at the end of High Season/Songkran next year. If there is no high season... then what?

You simply can't flip a switch and turn it all off again, so if there is no high season, what happens to all those people?

The question must be answered.

They certainly can turn it all off again. 

I must have missed the consideration shown to the Thai people previously. 

[Malc-Thai]

1 hour ago, Stonker said:

Inevitable - and since they arrived on Friday December 3rd and this was only announced on Monday December 6th, today, anyone they infected on the plane will have Test'n'Go'd already.

Maybe they will be able to 'hunt' these down

[Shade_Wilder]

11 minutes ago, TheDirtyDurian said:

They certainly can turn it all off again. 

I must have missed the consideration shown to the Thai people previously. 

I can't argue your point on the previous consideration shown, but there will be an election next year. Yes, it'll unlikely be completely 'Free and Fair', but a certain legitimacy IS required, and the generals would get slaughtered; without economic growth they have nothing.

Don't forget the 'Arab Spring" started with a fruit seller not having a good year. You may not recall that, but you can bet the Generals do.

 

[El_Trauco]

20 minutes ago, riclag said:

What’s a misunderstanding, that Omi came here or that a vaxer brought it to Thailand ?

 

News Forum - PM Prayut Chan-o-cha vows to prevent Omicron from reaching Thai soil

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[vlad]

If this person did infact bring Omicron into Thailand i find it difficult with pre travel test's on leaving his own Country, unless he got infected between airports or the Plane.

[Shark]

28 minutes ago, Shade_Wilder said:

Can Thailand afford to shut down/close up again? Especially just before High Season?

High Season, you mean Dry Season, it will continue for at-least another x years until the last COVID mutation, but this is something people that complain hardly in this country don't seem to see that they contribute to it by not vaccinating.

[Rangers]

29 minutes ago, Shade_Wilder said:

I get all the health reasons for another shut-down and/or reinstating the quarantine, and it is hard to argue against it.

However, here's another question for you all...

Can Thailand afford to shut down/close up again? Especially just before High Season?

I have already seen business owners calling back staff, manically cleaning out hotels, etc. which have been shut for 2 years and desperately trying to let people know that they are open. I know of many Isaan people who have borrowed money against their family homes/farms in order to return to Phuket/Pattaya/Krabi/Samui/Etc. and re-take employment. I know of restaurateurs who have started to negotiate supply contracts for food and beverage in anticipation of a high tourism season. I know of travel agents who have spent cash they don't have on promoting the re-opening.

Pretty much every single Thai person involved in the tourism business that I know is in debt and has structured their debt to be re-paid at the end of High Season/Songkran next year. If there is no high season... then what?

You simply can't flip a switch and turn it all off again, so if there is no high season, what happens to all those people?

The question must be answered.

It's hard to argue against another lockdown? Really? Omicron is all over the world and there is ZERO deaths, infact nobody here in the UK has suffered more than a sniffle. But you think Thailand should lockdown and destroy their economy even further?

[Jijo]

so sad to report,omicron variant detected in thailand since the pm said a bad statement he will not allow this variant to enter thailand.have to wait for next step,will thailand pass will be scraped?,visiting thailand air,sea,land travel will be banned .i got thailand pass , thaivisa,expries on feb 28,my travel from 2nd feb can ruined..so are for everyone,so uncertainity,even test and go can be cancelled?

 i can really hope for the best

[Convert54]

20 minutes ago, Shade_Wilder said:

I get all the health reasons for another shut-down and/or reinstating the quarantine, and it is hard to argue against it.

However, here's another question for you all...

Can Thailand afford to shut down/close up again? Especially just before High Season?

I have already seen business owners calling back staff, manically cleaning out hotels, etc. which have been shut for 2 ycaused ears and desperately trying to let people know that they are open. I know of many Isaan people who have borrowed money against their family homes/farms in order to return to Phuket/Pattaya/Krabi/Samui/Etc. and re-take employment. I know of restaurateurs who have started to negotiate supply contracts for food and beverage in anticipation of a high tourism season. I know of travel agents who have spent cash they don't have on promoting the re-opening.

Pretty much every single Thai person involved in the tourism business that I know is in debt and has structured their debt to be re-paid at the end of High Season/Songkran next year. If there is no high season... then what?

You simply can't flip a switch and turn it all off again, so if there is no high season, what happens to all those people?

The question must be answered.

It can only be hoped you are correct. By contrast to previous revelations such as the Delta variant which invoked or prolonged various inhibitions on the populace in general there seems to be quite an opposite attitude.

While awaiting fuller analysis of this latest variant and although initially restricting travel from locations presenting with prolific cases there seems to be strong resistance to taking backward steps such as lock downs etc.

To even try to do so would likely provoke greater intense social malice than exists already.

[Shark]

9 minutes ago, Rangers said:

It's hard to argue against another lockdown? Really? Omicron is all over the world and there is ZERO deaths, infact nobody here in the UK has suffered more than a sniffle. But you think Thailand should lockdown and destroy their economy even further?

difference between the UK and Thailand are for one the amount of vaccinates people.

[Convert54]

9 minutes ago, vlad said:

If this person did infact bring Omicron into Thailand i find it difficult with pre travel test's on leaving his own Country, unless he got infected between airports or the Plane.

It has been acknowledged that Omicron escapes detection in some PCR tests.  Same reason they were trying to track down African country arrivals who had all tested negative prior to the "discovery" of Omicron.

[Jason]

I did predict this would happen. I wasn't looking into a crystal ball. It was just going to happen eventually, anyway. But what to do. In reality there are about 500+ cases around the world at the moment. What's driving things at the moment is the fear of the unknown. When the Phuket sandbox was put into action, the government said they would close the program if cases rose beyond 10 per day. Take a look at the stats. It's exceeded that every day...but did the program stop? Nor should it because of Omicron. It won't be long before we understand more about this variant. Time for everyone to hold our collective nerve.

[Jason]

Oh...I almost forgot...does this mean Prayut has to "fall on his sword"? He did vow that Omicron wouldn't enter Thailand....now it has...

[Rangers]

9 minutes ago, Shark said:

difference between the UK and Thailand are for one the amount of vaccinates people.

So you think the symptoms will be different? Plenty unvaccinated people have omicron. Its so mild nobody is even noticing. 

[TheDirtyDurian]

39 minutes ago, Shade_Wilder said:

I can't argue your point on the previous consideration shown, but there will be an election next year. Yes, it'll unlikely be completely 'Free and Fair', but a certain legitimacy IS required, and the generals would get slaughtered; without economic growth they have nothing.

Don't forget the 'Arab Spring" started with a fruit seller not having a good year. You may not recall that, but you can bet the Generals do.

I live in the Middle East so I'm fairly well versed in the ins and outs of the Arab Spring. Didn't work out so well for those countries though. 

Dictatorship was far better. Apart from in Tunisia where the change has been positive, and Bahrain where nothing much changed, it was disastrous for everywhere else!