News Forum - OPINION: Test and Go, up and gone, where to from here Thailand?

[Thaiger]

OPINION A crazy day in The Thaiger office as we pushed out all the latest Test & Go Thailand Pass info as fast as we could, translated and checked. I forgot a number of important meetings as we knew people wanted to know what was happening with the Thailand Pass. We wanted to know too as we are also directly affected by the peaks and troughs of the Covid rollercoaster. It was frustrating, very sad and kind of surreal. We’d been eagerly posting positive stories for the past month as it appeared the Land of Smiles was, indeed, getting its […]

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[KaptainRob]

An excellent though sad, opinion piece, thank you Tim.

[Jean-Luc]

35 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

OPINION A crazy day in The Thaiger office as we pushed out all the latest Test & Go Thailand Pass info as fast as we could, translated and checked. I forgot a number of important meetings as we knew people wanted to know what was happening with the Thailand Pass. We wanted to know too as we are also directly affected by the peaks and troughs of the Covid rollercoaster. It was frustrating, very sad and kind of surreal. We’d been eagerly posting positive stories for the past month as it appeared the Land of Smiles was, indeed, getting its […]

The story OPINION: Test and Go, up and gone, where to from here Thailand? as seen on Thaiger News.

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So long for the Test&Go. We are happy to be here and visiting Thailand since November 20th. Hoping that there will be no additional restrictions in the coming week-end. 

[Cabra]

"Early anecdotal accounts say that Omicron appears to be less dangerous. But the sheer weight of numbers may still lead to a number of hospitalisations (or even deaths) that governments find unacceptable."

Less dangerous than delta, but dangerous none the less, and not less dangerous than from where we started. I does appear that while infections/new cases are spiking globally, the number of deaths remains consistent (acceptable or unacceptable is an interesting debate).

In conclusion, my opinion is we will have to live with this level of death as the virus shows no signs of slowing. And all anyone can do is protect themselves with vaccine (as the vaccinated are less like to enter the hospital and/or die 

[Rob001]

Hi,

We are a family of 5 with flights booked from the U.K. to Phuket on December 27th. We’ve all been really looking forward to being back in Thailand and have been avoiding all people for the 10 days before we fly so as to avoid the chance of catching Covid. 

On the surface, this is about the best news we could have hoped for but would you travel? We have 3 weeks planned with hotels that need to be cancelled by the 23rd in order to get our money back. It’s a tough call - I think we can live with managing the risk of getting it, and we know the consequences, but is Phuket/Khao Lak going to be fun to visit giving the further restrictions?? On the one hand, we’re happy in the hotels and sea (diving) with limited attractions open and want to be a part of Thailand’s recovery, but on the other hand, will everything be locking down now that tourist numbers will be so low - and declining??

it’s not like there are many other options to travel at short notice so it’s this trip (already delayed a year) or 3 weeks of British Winter. We also have a liveaboard booked in the similan islands towards the end of the trip so hopefully that would go ahead still

Any advice would be appreciated from people in Phuket

thanks

Rob

[Pompies]

South Africa discovered the Beta and the Omicron variants and made the world a more knowledgeable place. It has shown in the past two weeks that Omicron causes a huge spike in new cases and then this shrinks rapidly, and at the same time hospitalisation increases at a much lower rate. The world needs to learn from this. But Thailand has slammed the door on international visitors because it has a naïve military mindset that only see's threat and never the reality. Omicron is a gift to the control freaks and the closing down of Test & Go shows they are simply unable to learn from the experience of others. So the tourism industry once again pays the price of knee jerk reactions promoted by control crazed authoritarians. Thailand continues to plan the spending of mega sums on tourism promotion using an Italian opera singer ffs but at the same time destroying the very business that he is supposed to promote. It's a criminal waste.

[Shark]

9 minutes ago, Rob001 said:

Any advice would be appreciated from people in Phuket

Hi Rob,

I actually think you started the response quiet wise, is it worth the hassle of your family even 1 person with a false positive can now mean everyone in quarantine. This is just facts.

I've been in Phuket quiet recently and recovery is still on-going some bars open, some live music, but it also heavily depends on which area you're going to be in; Rawai seems to be the most vivid.
Other areas are less active yet and some still have all the "for rent" signs out.

Thread wisely.

- Shark

[JustaGuy]

19 minutes ago, Rob001 said:

Hi,

We are a family of 5 with flights booked from the U.K. to Phuket on December 27th. We’ve all been really looking forward to being back in Thailand and have been avoiding all people for the 10 days before we fly so as to avoid the chance of catching Covid. 

On the surface, this is about the best news we could have hoped for but would you travel? We have 3 weeks planned with hotels that need to be cancelled by the 23rd in order to get our money back. It’s a tough call - I think we can live with managing the risk of getting it, and we know the consequences, but is Phuket/Khao Lak going to be fun to visit giving the further restrictions?? On the one hand, we’re happy in the hotels and sea (diving) with limited attractions open and want to be a part of Thailand’s recovery, but on the other hand, will everything be locking down now that tourist numbers will be so low - and declining??

it’s not like there are many other options to travel at short notice so it’s this trip (already delayed a year) or 3 weeks of British Winter. We also have a liveaboard booked in the similan islands towards the end of the trip so hopefully that would go ahead still

Any advice would be appreciated from people in Phuket

thanks

Rob

FWIW, i actually had a hotel booking for Jan but haven’t applied for the TP yet. I got an email today from the hotel saying they could no longer accommodate my booking due to the announced changes and offered a full refund.

Just as well. I will just change my air tickets to a later date. Everything is just too uncertain right now, even the hotels dont know what is going on!

[Menno]

Thank you Tim for a lovely written piece. The Thaiger has been really great with informing me on a daily basis and I'm always looking forward to my mornings with all the videos.

Although my pass has been approved and I am ready to visit my fav country again (8-2-22) I just have to wait and see how this all develops. Lucky I have the Thaiger to keep me up to date. Wishing everybody at the Thaiger happy holidays!

[Blogosopher]

That didn't take long.

[mcambl61]

Pure draconian tyranny based on zero factual reality. 

 

Stupid doesn't begin to describe what these idiots are doing. 

 

Knee jerk off the cuff arbitrary nonsense 

[HolyCowCm]

My best friend will land here January 13. They better have it under controll by then. But if not he will quarantine 14 days as he will spend that time, but he has planned 3 months here. He is 2 shots and a booster already. USA guy and my close friend. So either or he will be here and F-Them.

[Rain]

6 minutes ago, mcambl61 said:

Pure draconian tyranny based on zero factual reality. 

Stupid doesn't begin to describe what these idiots are doing. 

Knee jerk off the cuff arbitrary nonsense 

....and they've never ever learned from their past mistakes. 

[HolyCowCm]

12 minutes ago, Rain said:

....and they've never ever learned from their past mistakes. 

Those are not mistakes. They are learning steps, as you better see next time faster than their thinking, or-as if you jump then cool.. 

[PJK]

Banning triple RNA vaccinated travelers is the meaning of stupidity. With that mentality , there is no hope until 2023 at a minimum. The paranoia of Asian countries is breathtaking in its simplicity. 

[Shark]

9 minutes ago, PJK said:

Banning triple RNA vaccinated travelers is the meaning of stupidity. With that mentality , there is no hope until 2023 at a minimum. The paranoia of Asian countries is breathtaking in its simplicity. 

that's why Europe is back in lock-down too right?

[mcambl61]

Just now, Shark said:

that's why Europe is back in lock-down too right?

Yes, they are clueless idiots as well 

[Shark]

1 minute ago, mcambl61 said:

Yes, they are clueless idiots as well 

thanks to the anti vaxxers.

[Alex23]

Your constant focus on the impacts to tourism in your Thailand News Today coverage is becoming frustrating, it’s uneducated and one sided opinion from cynical business interests which does nothing to contribute positively to community management of the virus. It’s not the governments fault, it’s the virus. Not closing the borders puts us all at risk. How about you back off on quoting the tourism industry and balance your reporting with some medical professionals, people who are at high risk of the virus, public health awareness topics or epidemiologists - try to make a positive difference with your platform

[Thevoice187]

I already have my Thailand pass and am due to arrive Jan 1st. Still ok?

[vibora99]

2 hours ago, Thaiger said:

OPINION A crazy day in The Thaiger office as we pushed out all the latest Test & Go Thailand Pass info as fast as we could, translated and checked. I forgot a number of important meetings as we knew people wanted to know what was happening with the Thailand Pass. We wanted to know too as we are also directly affected by the peaks and troughs of the Covid rollercoaster. It was frustrating, very sad and kind of surreal. We’d been eagerly posting positive stories for the past month as it appeared the Land of Smiles was, indeed, getting its […]

The story OPINION: Test and Go, up and gone, where to from here Thailand? as seen on Thaiger News.

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I want to congratulate the author of this article, for his clarity, and for being able to reflect the sentiment of all of us who inhabit this blessed country. Unfortunately, we are on the wrong track towards an uncertain future, which unfortunately will only bring us more poverty, more company closure and a several years backlog. Greetings from a Hispanic foreigner.

[vvdb.fr]

why leave only the Sand box Phuket?

The people of Phuket are not fully vaccinated against Omicron but Delta !

The sandbox is designed not to propagate the Delta variant.

you arrive in Phuket negative because you are in the Omicron Incubation period and for 7 days you will infect the population with Omicron ?

Edited December 21, 2021 by vvdb.fr
English

[Todd]

4 hours ago, Thaiger said:

OPINION A crazy day in The Thaiger office as we pushed out all the latest Test & Go Thailand Pass info as fast as we could, translated and checked. I forgot a number of important meetings as we knew people wanted to know what was happening with the Thailand Pass. We wanted to know too as we are also directly affected by the peaks and troughs of the Covid rollercoaster. It was frustrating, very sad and kind of surreal. We’d been eagerly posting positive stories for the past month as it appeared the Land of Smiles was, indeed, getting its […]

The story OPINION: Test and Go, up and gone, where to from here Thailand? as seen on Thaiger News.

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My sincere condolences... My flight to Bkk is scheduled on Feb 14. If that doesn't pan out, there is always another Sand (filled) Box waiting for me in Phuket..... I can taste the fresh coconut juice already!

[Lawyers_Guns_and_Money]

1 hour ago, Thevoice187 said:

I already have my Thailand pass and am due to arrive Jan 1st. Still ok?

You should be okay assuming your airline and/or hotel do not cancel on you.

[CharlesW]

PJK is correct,  Asian countries are paranoid about illnesses. I well remember when AIDS started, Singapore hotels would burn beds and carpets if an AIDS victim had stayed there. Why is Thailand and other Asian countries so scared of Covid (flu) and Omicron (a cold)  ? Nothing can stop the spread, all these regulations are futile and just ruin economies and in poor countries will kill far more people with starvation. Learn to live with it. after all it only kills about 0.15 of the population, people (sadly) who were about to pop their clogs anyway.

This recent over reaction has set Thai tourism back another 6 months, even before today’s announcement it was just to complicated for me to come and I have a bungalow in Jomtien, locked up now for 18 months. It begs the question about retirement in Thailand for farangs. The Philippines are even worse with brutal lockdowns often violently enforced. Several friends of mine I’ve met in Thailand have given up going back and relocated to Mexico, Caribbean, Panama etc - entry and visas are mostly hassle free unlike Thailand. Not only that, as they never banned tourists, their resorts, are in pretty good shape with the hospitality industry in far better shape than Thailand’s as it never really closed down.