Should I stay or should I go?

[lilbob69]

Hi All

I'm due to fly out from Australia to Bkk and drive to Pattaya on the weekend. 

Australian Gov't has issued a 'reconsider your need to travel' warning

I'm thinking I'm at as much risk of getting COVID19 at home as I am in Pattaya.

I'm reasonably healthy (fat and unfit).

Who's still going, who's cancelling?

 

[williewillie]

I’d say stay in Australia .  Wait until things settle down. 
I’m staying in Thailand but would hesitate to fly here now if I wasn’t here already.

 

[Travellerdave]

I was planning a trip late May / early June and would normally by now have booked the flight, but I’m waiting to see how things develop. Today it is reported that there are more confirmed cases in England than Thailand, but the numbers depend on the relative testing programs. I’m just carrying on as normal but just washing my hands a lot - don’t think there is much more to be done. Going to football tomorrow with 15000 others.

[Guest]

The infection rate in Australia is 6x that of Thailand.    I would go, but take care at the airports.

 

 

[traveller123]

Personally I would fly as little as possible at the moment.

If you can cancel your air ticket without penalty I would do it, or if the price to change your flight is reasonable I would change it to 3/4 months forward when you can reassess the risk.

We all need to consider that if we caught the virus we could unknowingly pass it on to relatives and others who are more vulnerable.

[Guest]

14 hours ago, traveller123 said:

We all need to consider that if we caught the virus we could unknowingly pass it on to relatives and others who are more vulnerable.

I think it kind of depends on circumstances.

Obviously some board members have been around for a few decades, so assessing their own risk is a start.   

Passing it on to relatives might be avoided by staying in Thailand until the situation improves (several months) or isolating at home for 2 weeks upon returning.

 

I believe Australians are still allowed into Thailand and it's going to be pretty quiet at the airport.      

 

[DivineMadman]

It does seem that the consensus advice of governments and health care types is avoid unnecessary travel.  Maybe worth listening to that.

Even if you think the risk is the same in Thailand as it is at home, I wouldn't want to test the health care system here in Thailand when it is Stage 3.  Health care systems in much more developed countries are overwhelmed.

 

[vinapu]

If I had ticket bought already I'd go, if I did not have it - I'd wait.

As  virus and most importantly panic spreads everywhere , chances are that we may catch it at home as much as if we decide to travel 

[Guest]

IF we accept that Thailand has been accurate with it's figures, Thailand is much lower risk than many western countries.

They were quite high  up the list of countries with cases early on, due to Chinese tourists, but the number of cases has not taken off at all.   There has been a low growth rate.    Possibly helped along by temperatures of ~30C.    

Of course, there are other factors:

1 When in Thailand on holiday, you will want to socialize

2 There is a risk travelling. 

3 There is a risk of disruption to travel in either direction

4 You might not be able to get travel insurance, so no medical cover.   Many UK insurance companies are not issuing new travel insurance policies at present & I imagine the economics of insurance are the same in other markets.   They can hardly write a £35 policy with an extreme risk of cancellation costs and medical bills to be paid.

[vinapu]

40 minutes ago, z909 said:

 

3 There is a risk of disruption to travel in either direction

 

in my opinion this is risk # 1 right now for those itching to travel, not the virus,  as countries are locking borders and airlines grounding planes.

 (I don't even mention panicking people all over stocking up on toilet paper , I thought we are supposed to die from virus , not diarrhea )

[ichigo]

I'm supposed to be flying out from Australia in 5 weeks (transiting through Singapore) but I've already resigned myself to the fact that I probably won't be going anymore. There are just too many unknown variables - the situation is constantly changing so I don't know what the situation will be with flights from Australia, whether Thailand will be banning flights, or imposing mandatory quarantining, and the fact that it's possible I'll have to quarantine when I get back, and many other likely scenarios. It's just too hard. I was really hanging out to see my Thai guys, but I guess it will just have to wait until this whole thing has blown over. I hope that somehow I'll be able to get a credit or something for my flights and accomodation (booked as a package through Expedia), but if not, at least it wasn't a massive amount. but I am thankful that the situation here isn't as bad as some other countries at the moment. this is just the least of my worries compared to what is happening in Italy etc 

[DivineMadman]

15 minutes ago, ichigo said:

I'm supposed to be flying out from Australia in 5 weeks (transiting through Singapore) but I've already resigned myself to the fact that I probably won't be going anymore. There are just too many unknown variables - the situation is constantly changing so I don't know what the situation will be with flights from Australia, whether Thailand will be banning flights, or imposing mandatory quarantining, and the fact that it's possible I'll have to quarantine when I get back, and many other likely scenarios. It's just too hard. I was really hanging out to see my Thai guys, but I guess it will just have to wait until this whole thing has blown over. I hope that somehow I'll be able to get a credit or something for my flights and accomodation (booked as a package through Expedia), but if not, at least it wasn't a massive amount. but I am thankful that the situation here isn't as bad as some other countries at the moment. this is just the least of my worries compared to what is happening in Italy etc 

Sorry to hear it, but it is the right analysis.  

Certainly hope Expedia is following the trend and accommodating people who have to cancel or reschedule.