Complete end to lockdown July 1

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, anddy said:

 you may as well decide to stay away until the majority of the global population has been vaccinated. 

I'm not waiting for the vaccine , I'm waiting for Thailand to stop being afraid of me.

From tomorrow on I will work under new contract essentially meaning that till end of year I will be able to request time off at very short notice.

 

[DivineMadman]

Some people appear to be reading too much into the latest developments.

The government announced an end to the internal lockdown.  The opening up the government announced was the opening up of businesses within Thailand and internationally for only a very certain class of travelers - primarily business (work permit) travelers on a case-by-case basis with a need to travel to Thailand who follow a special process with the Thai Embassy (which is why the Embassy will be vetting the insurance policies).

Thailand did not announce anything about tourists or opening up to tourists.  

Before people default into the usual crapping on Thailand or the Thai government, best thing to do is pause, relax, and make sure the facts are right.

The Bangkok Posts is reasonably accurate but often imprecise.  It's always best to check multiple sources before taking anything we read in the press as true.  The same is true for most countries, I reckon. And check Richard Barrow.  The Thai government gives very good English language press briefings Monday - Friday that are easy to find on-line, another excellent source that is direct from the water buffalo's mouth.

If we take a cursory look at other countries in the region, opening up to tourists is but a glimmer in the eye of the local governments and Thailand seems to be the same.  Indonesia has announced a planned opening of Bali to tourists in October. 

I don't think anyone outside or in the government knows what the final rules will be for tourist travel.  I do think that unrestricted travel in the time of a pandemic is not a god-given right or even prudent; therefore, there will inevitably be some restrictions and those will be bothersome and maybe even make some people unable to travel.  Spanish flu...second wave worst than the first...even Wuhan is nowhere near herd immunity....blah blah.  

A health insurance requirement would not surprise me at all.  With luck the region will get together and have a uniform requirement so insurance companies can issue standard coverage certificates, as they do now when someone has to apply for a visa to a Shengen country.  Or even better, the government can adopt the old proposal that there be a 300B tax on tourists to cover health insurance, and then people can complain about how that only covers government hospitals, 'cause we have to complain about something.  

Until an immunity passport becomes real, none of this will be easy.  

 

[DivineMadman]

11 hours ago, reader said:

Unfortunately--for me--it's not available to those 70 and over.

Perhaps a Thai insurer will offer a policy that satisfies immigration requirements. Just one more uncertainty that makes planning just about impossible at this stage.

FYI (I separately told Reader this already)

- GeoBlue in the U.S. does not have a pandemic exclusion if:  "The Covered Person has not unreasonably failed or refused to depart a country or location following the date a warning to leave that country or location is issued by the United State government".  My guess is that the current U.S. "essential travel only" rule would likely mean the coverage is not currently available, but at least their old policies did not have a pandemic exclusion, so worth keeping in mind once the U.S. lifts the travel warning.  (Of course policies can change.  Check the fine print at the time.  )

I think the U.S. at one point said all travelers should return home, but then in late March changed it to return home or be prepared to stay long-term.  I have no idea how that would all play out in the policy.

 

[vinapu]

6 minutes ago, DivineMadman said:

 

 Indonesia has announced a planned opening of Bali to tourists in October. 

 

hope they mean October 2020

[anddy]

6 hours ago, vinapu said:

I'm not waiting for the vaccine , I'm waiting for Thailand to stop being afraid of me.

Which is essentially the same. Until the world has been vaccinated, all countries will be afraid of everyone else, do varying degrees depending on their virus suppression success. As long as that's the case, all those QR code check-in requirements will most likely remain on place. So they may not be afraid of you (or people coming here from your country) and let you in without quarantine and such, but will still require using the QR code. If you want to avoid that, that's why you may have to wait until world vaccination. 

[spoon]

If one country open their border for tourist, tourist will only travel out of their countrybto visit if they dont have to be quarantine when they came back home later. Hence G2G decision is needed to ensure the tourism is alive again. It is an uncharted area we are facing right now, but some countries are definitely more pressured to open up than others. Its only a matter of time before they get together and agrees on the set of SOP that works for both countries and start to make tourism possible again especially if itll benefit both countries. 

Now back to thailand, they have significantly less cases compared to many others. That means they have not suffered much by the virus, but that also means their healthcare has not been tested yet if and when they suddenly had the surges in cases like some countries (recent example would be brazil). However, their economy had been affected really badly. So it is in their interest to start working with other gov to revive their tourism. And starting with countries that visited thailand the most are logical, though id say they might get better result if they start with countries that also thai citizen like to visit hence they also have something to offer. 

What are some things that might need to be agreed? One thing for sure is the cost of treating the covid-19 patient, including isolation, quarantine of close contact etc which i believed should be bourned by the country of origin or by insurance. Second is what to do with those who get caught not following the SOP which probably be treated like extradition treaty. These are just few things that need to be spelt out and im sure there are more things to discuss and getting agreement on so many items will not be easy unless both parties will get the benefit out of this. 

To be honest, initially, WHO were against closing border as it is viewed as punishment hence some countries will start to manipulate the situation to avoid getting into the ban list. Only when enough countries closed their borders that WHO changed their mind. Now that we are thinking about the reverse, opening borders can be viewed as a reward/act of trust between governments but some countries might also be motivated to manipulate their cases number to be included in the "safe list". It will not be easy to see anyone taking the first move to open up their borders

[Boy69]

Even if most of the countries will start opening their borders I doubt tourists will jump  on the first available flight to travel abroad if vaccination or medication for the virus won't be available most will prefer to stay home.

Unfortunately ,I think full recovery of the Int'l tourism might take years.

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, Boy69 said:

 

Unfortunately ,I think full recovery of the Int'l tourism might take years.

By that time dehornization process will start and I'm afraid some of us will not be interested in boys any more the same way like all those  lock-downs  prompted some people close to retirement age to actually decide to retire including my very own sister.

[spoon]

5 hours ago, Boy69 said:

Even if most of the countries will start opening their borders I doubt tourists will jump  on the first available flight to travel abroad if vaccination or medication for the virus won't be available most will prefer to stay home.

Unfortunately ,I think full recovery of the Int'l tourism might take years.

Sadly or maybe fortunately, virus risks isnt much different where u are, but more dependent on your activities. But yeah, social distancing is to stay around until vaccine is available at home or at foreign countries. In the end, would u rather be at home social distancing, or at a different country, that is the question we ought to answer ourselves. For some, thailand might be safer (lower active cases) than their country though. 

[10tazione]

5 hours ago, vinapu said:

By that time dehornization process will start and I'm afraid some of us will not be interested in boys any more the same way like all those  lock-downs  prompted some people close to retirement age to actually decide to retire including my very own sister.

With all the work stress falling off at retirement you could as well expect a rehornization process to start

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, 10tazione said:

With all the work stress falling off at retirement you could as well expect a rehornization process to start

My sister is retiring, not me . I may be retarded but retired, unfortunately, not yet

[anddy]

20 hours ago, spoon said:

And starting with countries that visited thailand the most are logical, though id say they might get better result if they start with countries that also thai citizen like to visit hence they also have something to offer.

since you mention popular destinations for Thais, I just read a day or two ago (probably in the BKK Post) that Japan is considering to open for visitors from select countries, including Thailand, Vietnam and a couple of others I don't remember. 

In general you are definitely right, the whole thing will be a slow and difficult process.

 

17 hours ago, Boy69 said:

Even if most of the countries will start opening their borders I doubt tourists will jump  on the first available flight to travel abroad

Exactly. My main concern with traveling abroad is getting stuck there. The epidemic might flare up very quickly in that country, in the country I came from (in my case Thailand) or others and prompt Thailand or the country I happen to be in to shut their borders again. That could happen rather quickly. Then what? This year there is no such thing as certain planning, everything is on a wait and see basis. Not good for us as individuals and not good for tourism in general  

[ggobkk]

On 5/31/2020 at 3:36 AM, DivineMadman said:

A health insurance requirement would not surprise me at all.  With luck the region will get together and have a uniform requirement so insurance companies can issue standard coverage certificates, as they do now when someone has to apply for a visa to a Shengen country.  Or even better, the government can adopt the old proposal that there be a 300B tax on tourists to cover health insurance, and then people can complain about how that only covers government hospitals, 'cause we have to complain about something.  

Being in the same age range as Reader - where international health policies will not price/sell policies that cover Covid, I suspect by later in the year health insurance will be available at BKK in the arrivals area, same as mobile phones are in the arrivals area.

[spoon]

songkran-holiday-in-july-possible

Thoughts?

Revellers and water fights are absent from Silom Road, one of Bangkok’s top destinations for the Songkran festival, on April 13, 2020, due to the Covid-19 outbreak. (Photo by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)

A long holiday in July is being considered to make up for the cancellation of Songkran festivities, if the Covid-19 situation allows it, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said on Monday.

CCSA spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin said a holiday for the deferred Songkhan period is possible next month on condition of low numbers of coronavirus cases. "July could be a period to make up for Songkran if everything goes well," he added.

The government delayed the Thai new year festival holiday from April 13-15 until further notice due to fears large gatherings and the homecoming of revellers could exacerbate the virus outbreak.

The sharp drop in new cases and deaths, the possible end of the emergency decree and a government attempt to promote local tourism have raised hopes that a long holiday replacing Songkran could be imminent.

Dr Taweesilp said keeping the number of new cases and deaths low will be a factor to consider when authorising a replacement for Songkran.

[DivineMadman]

16 minutes ago, spoon said:

songkran-holiday-in-july-possible

Thoughts?

 

First questions I had were:

1.  Will there be water fun or is it just a long holiday to pacify the people?  My guess is no big water fights on Silom, but that's just a guess.

2.  If there are water fights, what will Andy do?

My immediate reaction was that I doubted the government would have a replacement "Songkran" if tourists were allowed - because they could easily go out of control and create super-spreader situations - so less likely tourists will be welcome with open socially-distant arms before August (at the earliest).  But again, that's just a guess.

[anddy]

3 hours ago, DivineMadman said:

First questions I had were:

1.  Will there be water fun or is it just a long holiday to pacify the people?  My guess is no big water fights on Silom, but that's just a guess.

2.  If there are water fights, what will Andy do?

My immediate reaction was that I doubted the government would have a replacement "Songkran" if tourists were allowed - because they could easily go out of control and create super-spreader situations - so less likely tourists will be welcome with open socially-distant arms before August (at the earliest).  But again, that's just a guess.

I agree, I kinda doubt it will be "real" Songkran including water, because it's time has passed and not sure people would be in the mood for it. You can't move Christmas or Easter of NYE, either. And Songkran is an equivalent to NY. Water fights would also not so much be among the people, but more like the Heavens vs the people with ample water pouring from above LOL.

So that solves question 2, and even IF there were to be a belated Songkran, given the lack tourists and hot weather and rain to boot, it would be, as it were,  a watered down version without constant water throwing throughout the city making it impossible to stay dry when out and about. So I'd just stay and celebrate with the guys in Soi 4. I couldn't seek foreign refuge anyway with the travel restrictions. 

 

[spoon]

My thought it is purely political move to justify opening up the country. Seems like there is a push back on social media when the gov announced july 1st as the end of the emergency decree, and resuming international flight. If they can do that, why cant religion activities including the belated songkran, be held. Agreed that the real religious events cant be moved, but there is also associated cultural activities attached to songkran. The long holiday, going back to your hometown to pay respect to their elders and ancesters. It will also be a celebration of finally getting covid-19 under control. 

Now the article is very vague, and comes with a disclaimer that says numbers of cases must be kept low. And it mentioned that it is mainly to promote local tourism with the long holiday. And no mention of what is allowed and not allowed, and of course this could be just one person in the gov pitching an idea in hope to get support from his voters.

[spoon]

More news

thai-airways-to-resume-international-flights-from-1st-july

Starting from 1st July 2020, Thai Airways will officially resume international flight operations to 32 countries worldwide, following the end of travel restrictions imposed in response the COVID-19 pandemic. The news was confirmed by Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) and follows the recent government decision to lift all travel restrictions and resume normal tourism operations nationwide from the beginning of July. 

According to CAAT, Thai Airways will recommence operations on international routes, reconnecting Thailand to (among others) China, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, India, France, the UK, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. Flight schedules vary for each destination, from daily to two-, three- and four-times weekly services. 

From 1st July, travellers in cities worldwide – from Paris and Copenhagen, to Islamabad, Karachi, Beijing and Brisbane – will be able to connect to the Land of Smiles with Thai Airways. From 2nd July, the carrier will also open return services to Bangkok from Bali, Dhaka, Lahore, Nagoya and Zurich. 

To ensure the safety of all passengers on board the new flights, the airline will enforce strict COVID-19 safety protocols. Travellers will also be permitted to bring sanitizing hand gels and alcohol sprays on board with them. 

According to the latest announcement, Thai Airways will discontinue its previous flights from Milan, Rome, Moscow, Vienna, Stockholm, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Sendai, Kathmandu, Oslo and Colombo. THAI Smile Airways will take over all domestic routes. International flight schedules are subject to change. 

[DivineMadman]

1 hour ago, anddy said:

.....  it would be, as it were,  a watered down version 

 

hehehe

 

[DivineMadman]

1 hour ago, spoon said:

My thought it is purely political move to justify opening up the country. Seems like there is a push back on social media when the gov announced july 1st as the end of the emergency decree, and resuming international flight. If they can do that, why cant religion activities including the belated songkran, be held. Agreed that the real religious events cant be moved, but there is also associated cultural activities attached to songkran. The long holiday, going back to your hometown to pay respect to their elders and ancesters. It will also be a celebration of finally getting covid-19 under control. 

Now the article is very vague, and comes with a disclaimer that says numbers of cases must be kept low. And it mentioned that it is mainly to promote local tourism with the long holiday. And no mention of what is allowed and not allowed, and of course this could be just one person in the gov pitching an idea in hope to get support from his voters.

I recall that when they cancelled Songkran the gov't did say they might make up for it in July.  This government does seem to like giving extra holidays to the people.  Sabai sabai.