Thailand open to 17 more countries Nov 1

[reader]

From Bangkok Post

The Foreign Ministry on Saturday announced Thailand is to admit visitors from 17 more countries without quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated and have evidence of pre-flight negative Covid-19 test results from Nov 1, increasing the number to 63.

The announcement was signed by Thani Thongphakdi, the ministry's permanent secretary.

On Oct 21, Thailand issued an announcement to allow fully vaccinated travelers from 46 low-risk countries and territories to enter the country without quarantine from Monday. That number has now increased to 63.

The 17 additional countries announced by the Foreign Ministry are: India, Taiwan, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Croatia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Romania, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Luxembourg.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2207027/thailand-open-to-17-more-countries-nov-1

[spoon]

Hmm, maybe i should arrange for my fav guy from indonesia to meet me in thailand? Lol

[pong2]

So it seems now the whole of EU is included-also the previously forgotten countries. RO and BG are black spots in covid-it seems to be athing related to christian-orthodox countries, as RU is also spiralling high in the wrong direction in nr of reported infections. Several of these tiny countries send maybe 1 or 2 tourists/yr to Thailand

[pong2]

2 hours ago, spoon said:

Hmm, maybe i should arrange for my fav guy from indonesia to meet me in thailand? Lol

Suka banyak! Darimana?

[spoon]

16 minutes ago, pong2 said:

Suka banyak! Darimana?

Dari medan haha.

[vinapu]

Bineka tungal ika

 

[reader]

From Bangkok Post / AFP

A positive atmosphere reigned on Monday as Thailand began welcoming vaccinated tourists arriving by air from 63 countries and all deemed at low-risk of Covid-19, without quarantine.

The first flight into Suvarnabhumi airport was All Nippon Airways flight NH 805 from Tokyo, with 11 foreigners  and 32 Thai nationals on board. It was followed by Thai Airways International flight TG 931 from Paris at 6am.

The passengers went through stringent Covid-19 screening by airport staff wearing PPE suits, who also checked their travel documents and provided assistance as needed.

Suvarnabhumi airport general manager Kittipong Kittikachorn said a total of 61 flights were scheduled to arrive on Monday, most of them from Europe, with about 3,000 passengers - 2,300 of them foreigners and the rest Thai returnees.

Mr Kittipong said he was satisfied with the process, with the only problem being congestion at the screening stations where officials had to also check passengers' vaccination documents before allowing them to proceed.

Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said between Monday and Friday, flights operated by 27 airlines would arrive and depart from Suvarnabhumi airport with a total of 15,230 passengers.

Suvarnabhumi and Phuket airports were the gateways for tourists on the reopening day.

"We are very, very happy," Andre Winkler, 55, told AFP after he and his partner passed immigration at Suvarnabhumi.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2207575/reopening-begins-in-positive-atmosphere

======================================

Brief video from AP / Yahoo

https://news.yahoo.com/thailand-reopens-airports-boost-economy-084722873.html

[reader]

From Bangkok Post

Only 0.07% of 4,510 arrivals test positive in first two days

There were 4,510 arrivals through Suvarnabhumi airport on Monday and Tuesday after the country's reopening to vaccinated visitors on Nov 1, with fewer than 1% testing positive for Covid-19, according to the government.

Releasing the data on Wednesday, Dr Sumanee Wacharasin, hazard communication director of the Department of Disease Control, said the top five countries of origin were Japan, with 725 arrivals, followed by Singapore with 387, Qatar with 365, Germany with 283 and China with 273.

Testing on arrival revealed three visitors were infected with Covid-19  under the “Test and Go” process for fully vaccinated travellers from specified countries. This was 0.07% of all visitors under the “Test and Go” process, Dr Sumanee said.

Another three arrivals who were subject to quarantine also tested positive. They accounted for 0.94% of all visitors in this group, she said.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2208987/4-510-arrivals-in-first-2-days-6-have-covid

 

[Guest]

Assumptions:

1 "test &go" = one night quarantine, since I know of no true "test & go" process in BKK*

2 "subject to quarantine" = earlier arrivals who have done a longer quarantine period.

Analysis:

Test & go, if 3 failures = 0.07%, that's about 4285 people.   Allowing for round off error, between 4000 and 4615.   So the vast majority of arrivals are taking one night quarantine, as expected.  

The Bangkok Post is published at 15:12 on 3 November & refers to arrivals on 1 & 2 Nov.    I was going to assume this means they all have their results, but of course they haven't said that all the results are in.   Or how many passed.

Three failures in full quarantine =0.94% implies only ~320 people approximately.    A small number, as expected, since waiting for the abolition of quarantine would make more sense.

 

*Also, if they ever launch any true "test & go" process, with, for example 30 min lateral flow tests, what will they call it ?   "Test & Go -We Really Mean it This Time ?"

 

 

 

[10tazione]

3 hours ago, z909 said:

Test & go, if 3 failures = 0.07%, that's about 4285 people.   Allowing for round off error, between 4000 and 4615.

I am not afraid of being tested positive on arrival, I think I can reduce this risk to almost zero by according behaviour in the last 10 days before the flight and wearing an effective mask during the flight (although I am not sure, in case one would be infected during the flight I think the pcr-test on arrival could still be negative).
I am a little bit afraid that someone else on the flight might be tested positive (not enough though to stay at home). Do they put all passengers into quarantine? Noone clearly knows...

Would be interesting to know in how many flights those 4xxx people came (flightradar could tell us?). Let's assume it was 100 flights á 40 people and the 3 positives were in 3 different planes, the risk of being quarantined would 3% in this worst case scenario.

[Guest]

The rules say if we pass the covid test, we are allowed to go.   

There was one much publicized case of someone allegedly having to stay in quarantine in Phuket after sitting near other infected people, however I haven't heard any other reports of that.   They have probably realized it's not a good idea.

If they try that with me, there will be a very very long conversation whilst I show them the rules and ask for copies of the relevant rules which say I have to quarantine due to other people failing a test.    If they provide that, it's going to be photographed and posted everywhere I can think of.

I also think the risk of a genuine positive test can be reduced to a minimal level, by methods described by 10tazione.    A false positive is another matter. 

[daydreamer]

Richard Barrow is reporting today that a new rule says if you are sitting next to a passenger on a plane who tests positive, you will be carted off to a hospital for 10 days, even if you tested negative.  I haven't seen this new rule published yet.

 

 

 

[reader]

Airbnb sees surge in searches for stays in Thailand

From Bangkok Post

Airbnb says it has seen a surge in searches for stays in Thailand in recent weeks by international travellers attracted by the reopening to quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated visitors from 63 countries.

International guest searches for stays in Thailand within the next six months have more than doubled from one year ago, based on latest Airbnb search data for the week of Oct 18. International travellers are already planning to rediscover Thailand with Airbnb this coming holiday season, and villas are their most-searched stay of choice, the accommodation sharing platform said.

Phuket's appeal remains undimmed, as the popular island destination continues to be one of the most searched Thai destinations on Airbnb by international guests, along with Bangkok, Samui, Pattaya and Chiang Mai. Resort destinations near Bangkok are also trending -- compared with September, Airbnb saw an 80% surge in the third week of October in international guest searches for stays in Phetchaburi for the next six months, and a more than 40% increase for both Pattaya and Hua Hin stays.

Looking to escape the chilly winter, guests from North America and Europe are leading the surge in travel interest in Thailand. The top 10 countries of origin for searches of Thailand were: United States, Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2209415/searching-for-thailand

[spoon]

1 hour ago, daydreamer said:

Richard Barrow is reporting today that a new rule says if you are sitting next to a passenger on a plane who tests positive, you will be carted off to a hospital for 10 days, even if you tested negative.  I haven't seen this new rule published yet.

 

 

 

This is what happened in the phuket sandbox before i believe, or maybe it was even worse, meaning more than just people sitting next to the positive cases.

[Guest]

10 hours ago, daydreamer said:

Richard Barrow is reporting today that a new rule says if you are sitting next to a passenger on a plane who tests positive, you will be carted off to a hospital for 10 days, even if you tested negative.  I haven't seen this new rule published yet.

1  Thailand expects tourists to follow the published & publicized rules and tourists ought to expect Thailand to follow the rules.   So if the rules say we are free to go after passing the PCR test, to not allow us to go is dishonest.     Whatever happened to basic principles of decent behaviour like keeping promises and doing exactly what you say ?

2  How is the hospital stay funded ?    Travel insurance certainly won't cover it if no illness or positive test.

3  So the tourist gets off the plane, passes the PCR test, which proves he doesn't have covid.  Then he might be sent to a covid hospital full of infected people ?     This is immoral.   Almost like some kind of Nazi experiment.

[I thought in the Phuket case, the victim was sent to a quarantine hotel, not hospital.]

 

Assuming it's true and Richard Barrow is usually well informed, this policy will create both a lot of bad publicity AND further distrust in the government.  Incidentally, whilst planes have low occupancy, it would make far more sense to require inbound flights to space passengers out where possible.

 

For those still going to Thailand, I suppose the challenges are to:

(A)   Understand the unpublished "rule" (rather difficult).   e.g. Does it apply to all legs of a trip to Thailand ?   If I have an aisle seat, does the person sat across the aisle count as sitting next to me ?

(B)   Make every effort to maximize the chances of not sitting next to anyone.  

[vinapu]

23 minutes ago, z909 said:

 

(B)   Make every effort to maximize the chances of not sitting next to anyone.  

from my experience / last time today / sitting in the back increases odds of not sitting next to anyone

[reader]

...and frequently provides more ample overhead baggage storage.

[TMax]

Apparently it happened with the Phuket sandbox (from memory more than the one time), when someone tested positive with the arrival test that person and those sitting near them on the plane were taken from their hotel and put into ASQ hotel quarantine at their own expense (I think it was the usual 14 day quarantine period). The hotels they were booked in were supposed to give a refund.

[Londoner]

worrying information.

And in Business Class? I'm splashing-out for the next visit after saving cash for my  missed trips. On EVA, for example, there are privacy shields already available  for sleep. And in Elite, which is my usual class, there is more space between passengers than in Econ.   Whatever happens, I shall seek to find a secluded seat, if possible. 

[vinapu]

49 minutes ago, Londoner said:

worrying information.

 

don't worry , just go.

 

[gerefan]

Part of the problem is they sometimes won’t allow you to change seats so that there is nobody next to you.

I assume this is because their records would be incorrect.

Catch 22!

[10tazione]

28 minutes ago, gerefan said:

Part of the problem is they sometimes won’t allow you to change seats so that there is nobody next to you.

As long as most people are not able to complete the Thailand Pass form due to software bugs, planes will remain rather empty. At least I hope this is true for the guy who has booked the seat next to me