Thai Pass

[Guest]

The government continues with daft travel restrictions that screw the tourism sector, whilst making an undetectable difference to overall covid infection and deaths.

Why don't they focus on something that would make a difference  ?

Here is an extract from a WHO publication:

"A recent analysis of COVID-19 infections in people in Thailand for the first two months
of 2022 showed that 75% of all deaths had occurred in people aged over 60 years of
age. Out of 928 people who died, 60% were unvaccinated. Another recent analysis in
Thailand showed that having 2 doses of vaccine reduced the risk of death by 6 times,
and that having 3 doses reduced the risk 41 times.
Current data also shows that for people over 60 in Thailand, 83.3% have received a
single dose of vaccine, 78.8% have received two doses, and 32% have received 3
doses. Although these percentages are quite high, it still means that 20.2% of the
most vulnerable individuals in Thailand have not received a full primary vaccination
course."

 

Although I cannot prove it from the information provided, it seems likely that at least 45% of the deaths are from the 20.2% of the elderly who have not had 2 doses of vaccine.     

To get any other result, we need to make some highly unlikely assumptions.

 

So getting elderly vaccination rates up to 98 % ( like Cambodia or the UK) would dramatically improve the death rate.   

The other obvious tactic is to persuade the elderly with 1~2 doses, possibly of Sinovac to rush out and get their MRNA booster, as we know the mRNA vaccines are far better.

Also, when I google for vaccination rates among the elderly, each time I find WHO documents on the topic.    Are they the only people focusing on this ?     

 

 

Note: The vaccination data does appear to differ dramatically from a WHO publication earlier this year.

Source (page 26):  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjC1MPX24T3AhXQa8AKHQCxD_AQFnoECAgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Freliefweb.int%2Fsites%2Freliefweb.int%2Ffiles%2Fresources%2FCoronavirus%20disease%202019%20%28COVID-19%29%20WHO%20Thailand%20Situation%20Report%20227%20-%2016%20March%202022.pdf&usg=AOvVaw05xKGpLVEkCIU2bVYlg8oG

[gerefan]

I have asked before and I ask again..

What on earth is the connection between domestic infections caught over Songkran and International arrivals afterwards???

Why are the tourist entry requirements dependant on Songkran?

[alwayscamping]

Hi guys, question about uploading the atk 5th day result on the app. 
 

i received a notification on my phone to upload it. I pressed the message and it sent to the morchana app. However I can't find any place to upload it and notification list is empty. 
 

I understand there's a specific URL for each person but this app and system is so terrible. I feel like I'm in 1992. 
 

lol

[Guest]

5 hours ago, alwayscamping said:

I understand there's a specific URL for each person but this app and system is so terrible. I feel like I'm in 1992.

Clunky software in Thailand is normal.  

Since the app predictably doesn't work, I would e-mail your quarantine hotel with the result, then forget about it.

https://thethaiger.com/talk/topic/12141-how-to-report-self-atk-test-on-5th-day/?do=findComment&comment=180474

[vaughn]

7 hours ago, alwayscamping said:

Hi guys, question about uploading the atk 5th day result on the app. 
 

i received a notification on my phone to upload it. I pressed the message and it sent to the morchana app. However I can't find any place to upload it and notification list is empty. 
 

I understand there's a specific URL for each person but this app and system is so terrible. I feel like I'm in 1992. 
 

lol

I'm now on day 9 and still had not received a notification, i opened the morchana app and just refreshed the notifications tab by dragging down and it showed up.

I guess i should go out and pickup a test and submit it now, but that app is a buggy mess so YMMV.

[alwayscamping]

The best part is, my test and go hotel didn't even gave me any ATK kit. Lol but I brought mine just in case. I'm leaving tomorrow (Sunday) morning anyways.. hope I don't get stopped at immigration lol

[jason1975]

Hello there. Am logging back in after 2 year absence. Happy about scrapping of Test and Go and day 5 ART. Will be going BKK in June for 2 weeks. From Singapore.

[PeterRS]

I returned on March 29, had my test at BNH and was given the 5th day test pack by the hospital. The hotel helped me upload the latest morchana app. On the 5th day i did the test (again negative) and waited. I have never been sent the form I am supposed to fill in. I have just assumed that with the scrapping of the testing on April 1, the authorities did not bother rechecking anyone who had arrived less than 5 days before then.

[vaughn]

11 hours ago, alwayscamping said:

The best part is, my test and go hotel didn't even gave me any ATK kit. Lol but I brought mine just in case. I'm leaving tomorrow (Sunday) morning anyways.. hope I don't get stopped at immigration lol

my hotel didn't provide one either, i think it is expected to buy your own. They're only 100baht or so from most boots or convenience stores.

I haven't heard of anyone having issues if they just ignore it, but that's not to say a future thai pass application could be affected. Hopefully this whole process will just be gone soon.

I bought 2 yesterday in case i tested positive i would do a 'water sample' on the second to upload then just self isolate. thankfully the first was negative so no need to worry about anymore testing this trip.

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, vaughn said:

first was negative so no need to worry about anymore testing this trip.

which can't be said about trip report, lol

[vaughn]

34 minutes ago, vinapu said:

which can't be said about trip report, lol

You must be reading my mind, first installment of the report is about to be posted

[Guest]

7 hours ago, vaughn said:

my hotel didn't provide one either, i think it is expected to buy your own. They're only 100baht or so from most boots or convenience stores.

I haven't heard of anyone having issues if they just ignore it, but that's not to say a future thai pass application could be affected. Hopefully this whole process will just be gone soon.

I bought 2 yesterday in case i tested positive i would do a 'water sample' on the second to upload then just self isolate. thankfully the first was negative so no need to worry about anymore testing this trip.

Back in November, when we had a LFT/LTK/ATK/RAT on day 6, the hotel supplied the tests and I was instructed to e-mail the hotel with a photo of the test.

I'd packed a few other completed tests, just in case it were necessary to swap internals to show an OK  (before self isolating).

 

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, vaughn said:

You must be reading my mind, first installment of the report is about to be posted

YOU HAVE  A GOOD HEART !

[Guest]

NNT- National News Bureau of Thailand 

 

 

"Thailand is set to adjust its testing requirements for all international arrivals, replacing molecular RT-PCR tests with antigen tests, in a move that has received government approval but has yet to be implemented.

The Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) recently agreed in principle on a change to testing requirements for international arrivals from the lab-performed RT-PCR test to the simpler antigen test.

This new requirement will apply to all international arrivals, particularly Test & Go and Sandbox travelers, as well as quarantine visitors.

The task force also agreed to reduce required documentation and the minimum travel insurance coverage down from the current U$20,000 per person.

The CCSA has yet to decide on the actual implementation of these new and simpler travel requirements, saying the situation will need to be reevaluated after the Songkran holidays."

 

 

I'm not sure this actually moves things on much, but they posted it 23 hours ago.

[reader]

What may be holding things up is Airports of Thailand's reported lack of preparedness for the large influx in international arrivals after April 1 when the pre-departure PCR test was dropped from Test-and-Go requirements. The Thai Enquirer has published articles, describing the chaos at Suvarnabhumi that overwhelmed staff.

If the PCR test is indeed replaced by the rapid antigen test and administered at the airport upon arrival, authorities likely fear an even greater dilemma when passenger numbers increase anew.

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

From The Thai Enquirer

After a famous Thai YouTuber exposed to the world how lost tourists were at the airport upon their arrival in Thailand, causing national shame overnight, it took just a day for officials to address the issue.

Even worse, the officials claimed the photos of the crowded airport hallway were taken during rush hours, when most passengers were arriving.

More travelers entered the kingdom this month as the government removed the mandatory pre-arrival RT-PCR test certificate under the Test and Go scheme.

On Sunday, Atichan Cherngchavano, the owner of the YouTube channel Spin9 with over 631,000 subscribers, shared a post shedding light on how chaotic Suvarnabhumi Airport was while travelers were struggling to find their vans to their hotels to take their post-arrival RT-PCR test.

“No one was able to go anywhere; they were put together in long queues,” Atichan wrote. “Hotel staff screamed their hotels’ names until their voices cracked.”

Atichan said there was no directory guiding passengers, except for a pack of hotels’ logos on one counter.

“Everything is placed randomly and unalphabetically.” 

Once the passengers found their hotel counter, they had to join a long queue since there was only one staff handling bookings for many hotels, he added. 

His post has gone viral, with over 37,000 retweets and 6,600 shares across Facebook. The embarrassment on the faces of those officials prompted them to release a statement to rescue their integrity a day later.

“Such traffic occurred during the peak hours,” said Airports of Thailand (AOT), the state-run operator of airports in Thailand.

According to the statement, Suvarnabhumi Airport had to handle an uptick in passenger numbers, from 6,000 – 7,000 to 9,000 – 10,000 a day, amid Covid-19 precautions. 

The officials also said they had increased the number of counters and arranged them alphabetically to make it easier for passengers to spot their hotel’s logo.

No doubt the airport officials were quick to respond to those complaints. Sadly, this was nothing more than the outcome of a slap in the face from one of the prominent influencers who is able to create online outrage overnight.

It proves the unflattering fact that those authorities are only willing to take action properly to facilitate their citizens and guests when the problems cause them embarrassment to some extent.

Given how the government is treating foreign visitors who contributed substantially to the country’s economy prior to the pandemic, Thailand’s tourism prosperity may not be on the horizon anytime soon.

 

[Guest]

Arrival at Suvarnabhumi was very slick back in November 2021.    It didn't require much effort to find the correct hotel stand.

I've no idea how much passenger traffic has increased since, but the current entry rules are about the same as back then, except the pre-departure test is deleted and the value of the insurance cover has decreased.   

 

[vaughn]

In Phuket there is a man with a microphone that you tell your hotel to and they call it out so a person responsible for that hotel waves to you, then the representative calls your driver for them to pull up.

I could imagine if BKK had multiple full flight arrivals at the same time being a bit more chaotic.

[Guest]

Here's a picture from spin9's twitter feed.   I don't understand what he's whinging about.

I don't recall a single member on this board complaining about the arrivals procedure.    Most have been complementary. 

 

[reader]

The good news is that Airports of Thailand officials said they have since increased the number of counters and arranged them alphabetically to make it easier for passengers to spot their hotel’s logo.

[Guest]

If Spin9 thinks that is difficult, he ought to try Yangon Bus station for comparison.    

Hundreds of buses.   The photo just shows a small part of it.   Neither the buses nor their tour companies write the destination in anything other than the local alphabet, so you have to ask questions.  

[reader]

Next time I'm in Yangon think I'll just take a cab because only places I'll be going are the spas that Vessey posts about. 🙂

[Guest]

42 minutes ago, reader said:

Next time I'm in Yangon think I'll just take a cab because only places I'll be going are the spas that Vessey posts about. 🙂

That bus station is for long distance travel.   

Within the town, they had a surprisingly good bus network and a nice app to help you find routes.   It kind of helps if you learn to read the local numbers, which is quickly done in an hour or so. 

Would be too much for Spin9, but I think most of us here could manage it. 🙂

[reader]

You think? Not as if Spin9 was posting something scandalous or inappropriate. He was calling attention to a situation that was causing confusion among arrivals. Thai officials responded by improving conditions. I give them a thumbs up.

 

[vinapu]

9 hours ago, z909 said:

I don't recall a single member on this board complaining about the arrivals procedure.    Most have been complementary. 

 

Certainly my case from beginning of December. In fact I was impressed how smooth and efficient it was although my arrival was on Sunday early morning , not a busiest time at the airport 

[Milk78]

Looks like things might get worse before they get better - 

https://loyaltylobby.com/2022/04/12/chaos-at-bangkok-airport-arrivals-area-leads-to-additional-counters-testing-requirement-possibly-be-eased-soon/