10/14 Days Quarantine for close contacts/family of anyone testing positive

[AussieBob]

 

Thailand Tourism rules update.  It has been announced that close contacts (family/friends) of anyone testing positive on arrival must stay in a quarantine hotel for 14 days. Anyone sitting near a person testing positive must stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days.  

Make sure you carefully consider this rule, and any potential future rules changes if Omicron spreads rapidly, when planning any short holiday to Thailand.  Also make absolutely sure that the costs of quarantine accommodation and meals etc is covered in your insurance policy - most of them cover medical costs for medical treatment, but do not cover hotel costs for enforced isolation. 

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1471415461753487362

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293920-i5037-k13760967-New_14_Day_Quarantine_For_Close_Contacts-Phuket.html

 

 

 

[JamesE]

The rules have been in place for a while. They have not been enforced. This changes nothing. Stay home if you don't want to risk it. Travel if you want.

What pisses me off with this Barrow guy (and the TripAdvisor link which is just talking about the same thing sourced by him) is that nobody is providing links to the original material. I'm sure it's all fine and trustworthy but without links to an official announcement it's merely hearsay. This info is not on TAT, it's not on CCSA that I could find, so where is it coming from.

Edited December 18, 2021 by JamesE
Needed to lengthen my rant

[Ynwaps]

I'd never comply with enforced isolation in some government facility unless traveling to Thailand in an emergency. If I catch the flu I'll simply stay at home. I also don't understand why the government isn't distributing at home tests. Probably not enough money for their citizen, easier to make the poor even more poor by enforcing lock-downs and then buying the businesses of the middle-class. 

[AussieBob]

27 minutes ago, JamesE said:

The rules have been in place for a while. They have not been enforced. This changes nothing. Stay home if you don't want to risk it. Travel if you want.

What pisses me off with this Barrow guy (and the TripAdvisor link which is just talking about the same thing sourced by him) is that nobody is providing links to the original material. I'm sure it's all fine and trustworthy but without links to an official announcement it's merely hearsay. This info is not on TAT, it's not on CCSA that I could find, so where is it coming from.

Unfortunately many people are totally uninformed of what luck they will need. 

Richard posted the Thai media release (only given in Thai) - because TAT are hiding the matter and most media outlets (including this one) are not not publishing the information. 

In answer to your question:

 

 

[AussieBob]

Forgot to ad this:

[WilliamG]

1 hour ago, AussieBob said:

Thailand Tourism rules update.  It has been announced that close contacts (family/friends) of anyone testing positive on arrival must stay in a quarantine hotel for 14 days. Anyone sitting near a person testing positive must stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days.  

Make sure you carefully consider this rule, and any potential future rules changes if Omicron spreads rapidly, when planning any short holiday to Thailand.  Also make absolutely sure that the costs of quarantine accommodation and meals etc is covered in your insurance policy - most of them cover medical costs for medical treatment, but do not cover hotel costs for enforced isolation. 

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1471415461753487362

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293920-i5037-k13760967-New_14_Day_Quarantine_For_Close_Contacts-Phuket.html

 

1 hour ago, AussieBob said:

Thailand Tourism rules update.  It has been announced that close contacts (family/friends) of anyone testing positive on arrival must stay in a quarantine hotel for 14 days. Anyone sitting near a person testing positive must stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days.  

Make sure you carefully consider this rule, and any potential future rules changes if Omicron spreads rapidly, when planning any short holiday to Thailand.  Also make absolutely sure that the costs of quarantine accommodation and meals etc is covered in your insurance policy - most of them cover medical costs for medical treatment, but do not cover hotel costs for enforced isolation. 

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1471415461753487362

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293920-i5037-k13760967-New_14_Day_Quarantine_For_Close_Contacts-Phuket.html

Does this apply to Thais as well as us farangs?

And are you OK STANDING next to someone positive as opposed to SITTING?   LOL

Edited December 18, 2021 by WilliamG

[JamesE]

1 minute ago, AussieBob said:

Richard posted the Thai media release (only given in Thai) - because TAT are hiding the matter and most media outlets (including this one) are not not publishing the information.

If it's a media release that's not really hiding it. But he didn't say where he got it in any case. All of his disciples don't seem to ask about anything. But I have seen graphics that looked like this and were only proposals. (This one says "meeting 13, December 2021" at the bottom right.) So is it a proposal or has it been published in the Royal Gazette?

[Ynwaps]

They'll probably release some completely different information on facebook, have third parties set up some shady websites that offer services to book the quarantine hotels, then these sites get hacked and the data leaked. Months later you get spam mails from covid visa extensions and my credit card got hacked.

 

[AussieBob]

2 hours ago, WilliamG said:

Does this apply to Thais as well as us farangs?

And are you OK STANDING next to someone positive as opposed to SITTING?   LOL

I believe it is international tourists only - I assume it applies to Thais on international flights too.

But it definitely does not apply to domestic Thai tourists - eg Chiang Mai to Phuket.

Last I heard it is sitting in a plane, or sitting in the same transport vehicle to the ASQ Hotel. 

Standing? Should be OK as long as you wear one of these:

 

[AussieBob]

2 hours ago, JamesE said:

If it's a media release that's not really hiding it. But he didn't say where he got it in any case. All of his disciples don't seem to ask about anything. But I have seen graphics that looked like this and were only proposals. (This one says "meeting 13, December 2021" at the bottom right.) So is it a proposal or has it been published in the Royal Gazette?

Richard has been here a long time and usually gets it right. This below is his statement in reply to people who are saying what you are saying (wait til it is Gazetted): 

To be clear here, I’m not scared of covid. I’m scared of airlines and governments making sudden changes. I just don’t want to fly to the UK and then my flight back gets cancelled, like what happened to me in March 2020. Will it really be over by Easter?

What is happening is that travel bloggers like Richard, and the guy below, are getting information out, well before the the official sources. And they are right far more often than they are wrong.

https://thepointsguy.co.uk/news/british-airways-cancels-direct-flights-to-bangkok/

As to the Disciples word:

 

 

[JamesE]

1 hour ago, AussieBob said:

https://thepointsguy.co.uk/news/british-airways-cancels-direct-flights-to-bangkok/

Within said link: "The Points Guy U.K has seen emails from the U.K.’s flagship carrier telling customers that all direct flights to the Thai capital have been suspended until October 2022." But no emails are shown nor is a link to the company's announcement provided. It may well be true but there's nothing to backup the assertion other than a couple of people whining they got bumped off a direct flight and had been offered to be rebooked on a connecting flight. Poor babies. And it's just direct flights, they'll still happily book you connecting to Qatar. Travel in the time of COVID is packed with uncertainty, learn to deal with it.

To reiterate, Richard Barrow may well be correct and his graphic is no doubt authentic but without a link to the original we don't know the context of the announcement or whether it is even a real or proposed rule. There seem to be an awful lot of people (yourself included) that seem to be casting serious shade on travel to Thailand. May that's the actual conspiracy and not TAT, CCSA, and the Thai Cabinet.

[WilliamG]

5 hours ago, AussieBob said:

I believe it is international tourists only - I assume it applies to Thais on international flights too.

But it definitely does not apply to domestic Thai tourists - eg Chiang Mai to Phuket.

Last I heard it is sitting in a plane, or sitting in the same transport vehicle to the ASQ Hotel. 

Standing? Should be OK as long as you wear one of these:

Please don't use 'TOURISTS' instead of 'PASSENGERS.

[AussieBob]

I just found the CCSA English update for Friday. So far since 1 November, 227 people have tested positive on arrival.  That means all of those people, and for many plus their families and/or friends, have had their holiday ruined.  Plus all the people sitting near them on the plane or transport to the ASQ Hotel, have also had their holiday ruined, Even if a single person, they probably had 1-2 people next to them on plane, and others with them in the hotel transport. .   

Sure, some will be people returning to Thailand for more than a short holiday (Expats, Thais, Business etc.), and this 10-14 days can be overcome. But without any further details what it clearly shows is that in less then 2 months well over 200 people (probably over 300) have had their plans crashed. 

The funny thing is that CCSA did emphasise how few people have tested positive when compared to the total number, but what they and Govt have not realised is:  1.  The more people that come, the more will test positive, and the more likelihood I/you will be seated near them.  2.  If the number is so small, and given that they dont tests Thais flying domestically, and given all internationals have full vaccination and tested negative before flights - then why dont they drop the imposition of test on arrival and let the people come.   The logic of testing on day 1 is that they should also be tested on every other day too - when they test positive should be irrelevant - not?  

So, every month over 100 random international people arriving in Thailand are locked away for 10-14 days, and that number will increase if/when more people arrive.  Plus they change the rules a lot, and who knows what Omicron will make them do if it takes off and cases jump.  No thank you Thailand - not now for a short holiday.

[Rain]

11 hours ago, JamesE said:

The rules have been in place for a while. They have not been enforced. This changes nothing. Stay home if you don't want to risk it. Travel if you want.

What pisses me off with this Barrow guy (and the TripAdvisor link which is just talking about the same thing sourced by him) is that nobody is providing links to the original material. I'm sure it's all fine and trustworthy but without links to an official announcement it's merely hearsay. This info is not on TAT, it's not on CCSA that I could find, so where is it coming from.

Unfortunately, it appears that such policies - as it applies to travel and entry requirements - will be cycling around for some time come the world over......precautionary measures, vaccinated or not, the general and unnecessary paranoia, etc. 

 

There are numerous circles [among them, scientific as well] that are calling on the base ideals that the time has come to accept and live with the not very dangerous Covid and offspring variants. 

[LoongFred]

17 minutes ago, AussieBob said:

I just found the CCSA English update for Friday. So far since 1 November, 227 people have tested positive on arrival.  That means all of those people, and for many plus their families and/or friends, have had their holiday ruined.  Plus all the people sitting near them on the plane or transport to the ASQ Hotel, have also had their holiday ruined, Even if a single person, they probably had 1-2 people next to them on plane, and others with them in the hotel transport. .   

Sure, some will be people returning to Thailand for more than a short holiday (Expats, Thais, Business etc.), and this 10-14 days can be overcome. But without any further details what it clearly shows is that in less then 2 months well over 200 people (probably over 300) have had their plans crashed. 

The funny thing is that CCSA did emphasise how few people have tested positive when compared to the total number, but what they and Govt have not realised is:  1.  The more people that come, the more will test positive, and the more likelihood I/you will be seated near them.  2.  If the number is so small, and given that they dont tests Thais flying domestically, and given all internationals have full vaccination and tested negative before flights - then why dont they drop the imposition of test on arrival and let the people come.   The logic of testing on day 1 is that they should also be tested on every other day too - when they test positive should be irrelevant - not?  

So, every month over 100 random international people arriving in Thailand are locked away for 10-14 days, and that number will increase if/when more people arrive.  Plus they change the rules a lot, and who knows what Omicron will make them do if it takes off and cases jump.  No thank you Thailand - not now for a short holiday.

So what do they do in Australia if opened tests positive upon arrival. It's obviously not ok if someone tested negative before the flight,  these are people known to have or carry covid. I sympathize with them that their holiday is ruined, but the virus needs to be contained. 

If people are worried about testing positive on arrival, they probably should not come. However, if they get covid Thailand has a good record of care.

[AussieBob]

18 minutes ago, Rain said:

Unfortunately, it appears that such policies - as it applies to travel and entry requirements - will be cycling around for some time come the world over......precautionary measures, vaccinated or not, the general and unnecessary paranoia, etc. 

There are numerous circles [among them, scientific as well] that are calling on the base ideals that the time has come to accept and live with the not very dangerous Covid and offspring variants. 

I agree mostly - except the not dangerous bit.  Omicron so far has shown itself to be resistant to the current vaccines, and extremely contagious - but also it might be less deadly by far - but too early to say for sure - but there is hope.

But with the focus all over the world on reducing the number of cases, unless Omicron is proven to be less of a medical problem, it is likely there will be sudden closures and lock downs if the case numbers go upwards quickly in many countries - Thailand included.  

[AussieBob]

21 minutes ago, LoongFred said:

So what do they do in Australia if opened tests positive upon arrival. It's obviously not ok if someone tested negative before the flight,  these are people known to have or carry covid. I sympathize with them that their holiday is ruined, but the virus needs to be contained. 

If people are worried about testing positive on arrival, they probably should not come. However, if they get covid Thailand has a good record of care.

Your logic is sound - but how many arrivals have tested positive compared to the number of local Thais in that same period.  And how many international arrivals who did test positive have required ICU treatment or have died - I understand it is zero.   If the logic is to contain the virus, then everyone should be tested regularly, not just people arriving for a few weeks holiday.  Or - if they have decided to 'let it go' - then treat internationals like Thais domestically - no testing on arrival. 

Mute issues really anyway I think - Omicron is growing exponentially in Europe and if it spreads into Thailand and many other countries, it could cause the 'test/go' openings to tourists to be shut down.   

[JamesE]

4 hours ago, AussieBob said:

That means all of those people, and for many plus their families and/or friends, have had their holiday ruined.  Plus all the people sitting near them on the plane or transport to the ASQ Hotel, have also had their holiday ruined, Even if a single person, they probably had 1-2 people next to them on plane, and others with them in the hotel transport. .

Okay. Then where are the stories in the hometown news websites? Facebook rants? The whinging YouTube travelogues about how Thailand is so unfair? Where is a single shred of independent evidence after July? It's not there and Occam's Razor slices that the reality is that it didn't happen. So far you haven't produced one shred of proof that this is actually ้happening. Show that and you can start to convince me that you're not just making this stuff up.

4 hours ago, AussieBob said:

I agree mostly - except the not dangerous bit.  Omicron so far has shown itself to be resistant to the current vaccines, and extremely contagious - but also it might be less deadly by far - but too early to say for sure - but there is hope.

But with the focus all over the world on reducing the number of cases, unless Omicron is proven to be less of a medical problem, it is likely there will be sudden closures and lock downs if the case numbers go upwards quickly in many countries - Thailand included.  

Less deadly combined with more transmissible = more hospitalizations and deaths. Factoring in the ongoing vaccine hesitancy, even for the double-vaxxed in regards to the booster, is what has the World running around with its hair on fire.

[AussieBob]

7 hours ago, JamesE said:

Okay. Then where are the stories in the hometown news websites? Facebook rants? The whinging YouTube travelogues about how Thailand is so unfair? Where is a single shred of independent evidence after July? It's not there and Occam's Razor slices that the reality is that it didn't happen. So far you haven't produced one shred of proof that this is actually ้happening. Show that and you can start to convince me that you're not just making this stuff up.

Less deadly combined with more transmissible = more hospitalizations and deaths. Factoring in the ongoing vaccine hesitancy, even for the double-vaxxed in regards to the booster, is what has the World running around with its hair on fire.

Sorry mate - cant prove what you want proven.  But - can you prove those people were not locked up in a hospital/hospitel.  In fact, can you prove exactly how many were locked up as per the rules and where they were locked up and how much it costs them and what happened to their friends and families that travelled with them. No you cannot.  The detailed information on who and what and where and how much is not being provided. They only very briefly providing the numbers being locked up now and again, deep in the bowels of the CCSA briefings - with no additional information.

Speaking of mainstream websites - where is the information about how many are being locked up for testing positive - but more importantly, what are their costs and what happened.  Because there is so little information being provided, then does that mean that they are not actually locking up people who test positive. Where are all the stories about people who were locked up? 

Thaiger did an interview way back with that lady who was locked up for sitting next to a positive tester - no follow up was or has been done since Tim went on leave - and no other person has been covered. Richard Barrow did a big story about a family locked up (told it was going to cost 300K) and a bloke who was sitting next to a positive tester in early November - no follow up stories done (despite saying he would).  CCSA has stated that 227 people tested positive - where are all their stories in the media and on Facebook etc etc. 

Because of all the fake anti-vaxxers stories (some true, most not), the information being provided in the media is being 'controlled' worldwide as part of the management of the pandemic.  I believe that in 'military based' countries it is being 'controlled' a lot more than in other democratic free countries. 

[LoongFred]

On 12/19/2021 at 6:56 AM, AussieBob said:

Sorry mate - cant prove what you want proven.  But - can you prove those people were not locked up in a hospital/hospitel.  In fact, can you prove exactly how many were locked up as per the rules and where they were locked up and how much it costs them and what happened to their friends and families that travelled with them. No you cannot.  The detailed information on who and what and where and how much is not being provided. They only very briefly providing the numbers being locked up now and again, deep in the bowels of the CCSA briefings - with no additional information.

Speaking of mainstream websites - where is the information about how many are being locked up for testing positive - but more importantly, what are their costs and what happened.  Because there is so little information being provided, then does that mean that they are not actually locking up people who test positive. Where are all the stories about people who were locked up? 

Thaiger did an interview way back with that lady who was locked up for sitting next to a positive tester - no follow up was or has been done since Tim went on leave - and no other person has been covered. Richard Barrow did a big story about a family locked up (told it was going to cost 300K) and a bloke who was sitting next to a positive tester in early November - no follow up stories done (despite saying he would).  CCSA has stated that 227 people tested positive - where are all their stories in the media and on Facebook etc etc. 

Because of all the fake anti-vaxxers stories (some true, most not), the information being provided in the media is being 'controlled' worldwide as part of the management of the pandemic.  I believe that in 'military based' countries it is being 'controlled' a lot more than in other democratic free countries. 

Bob,

Your very paranoid about spending your holiday in quarantine.  You need to give it a rest and take a walk on the beach. Accept that the current crisis won't go away soon so you need to make adjustment to things in your control. If the wife needs to go home let her go solo, and take care of things. Her family will understand. 

Posting over and over again won't change a thing.

[AussieBob]

21 hours ago, LoongFred said:

Bob,

Your very paranoid about spending your holiday in quarantine.  You need to give it a rest and take a walk on the beach. Accept that the current crisis won't go away soon so you need to make adjustment to things in your control. If the wife needs to go home let her go solo, and take care of things. Her family will understand. 

Posting over and over again won't change a thing.

Fred - you need to get a life and go for a 'long walk' outside the Thai village.  There is a reason tourists have not returned - being quarantined and all the rule changes. I am not trying to change you (lost cause mate).

All mute anyway -  Omicron and proposal to cancel Test/Go have shown - now is not the time to visit Thailand for a short holiday.

PS - I am answering you in that last paragraph - but I am not really talking to you - that statement is targeted at anyone thinking of holidaying in Thailand and who thinks what TAT is saying is all the facts and it is all quarantine free. Just one point to note is that some people can only see and understand from their own perspective - in that light they see 'quarantine free' and think it is true. Because that could not be advertised in their home country. TiT and there is no enforcement of rules about 'fake advertising' - and certainly anything being said by an organisation that is directly under the control of a Govt formed by the military takeover, will never be questioned.