The nightmare of testing positive on arrival

[reader]

The issue of what actually might happen in you test positive. Members have speculated on the outcome. Here's two tales about those who have.

From Richard Barrow's Twitter site

Today’s special newsletter is about the nightmare that falls upon you if you test positive on arrival in Thailand. This is what happened to Kirovs, a tourist who came to Thailand with his family. He is now in hospital and his family are in hotel quarantine. The second story is from James who is considered a close contact as he was in the same car from the airport as someone who tested positive. Neither of the people who tested positive have any symptoms and they are now desperately trying to find out if their insurance will cover the large hospital bill.

https://www.getrevue.co/profile/richardbarrow/issues/the-nightmare-of-testing-positive-on-arrival-in-thailand-848695

 

[Lonnie]

9 minutes ago, reader said:

tales about those who have

This one's a real nightmare:

Story 2: Tested Negative but is a Close Contact

This second story is by James. Shortly before midnight, the hotel texted him to give him his test results: “The covid test you are negative but you can’t leave here because your friend covid test result positive. You quarantine this here 14 day.” The reason they gave him was because they came to the hotel in the same car. This is his story.

"Two Companions Travelling Together"

I travelled from England on the 6th of November and arrived in Thailand at 12:40 p.m. on the 7th of November. My reason for travel is to be with my wife and I travelled with a friend who was due to go his own way to see his girlfriend.  Upon arriving at the hotel, we both were tested at 2:30 p.m. and sent to our separate rooms. At midnight we both received a message. His said that he had tested positive and will be transferred to hospital, and mine said that mine is negative, but I’d need to stay in quarantine for 14 days. No other information was given to us, no messages answered so we were just left waiting. At 7:00 p.m. on the 8th, the ambulance finally arrived, and he was transferred to hospital where he remains. He is still waiting for the doctor to come to see him and I’m just a sitting duck in my room where my hotel won’t even provide me with tea bags after asking for over 1 day.  I don’t know whether I’m going to get another PCR test done or if I’m just expected to stay for the 14 days. None of us have any symptoms of Covid-19 and upon arriving at the hospital, my friend’s temperature was checked and is normal.  It’s a strange situation to be in having travelled to Thailand multiple times during the pandemic with no previous issues.

[vinapu]

world belongs to the brave !

There may be stories of everything but while true and accurate they should not stop us from enjoying the world.

[vaughn]

10 hours ago, vinapu said:

world belongs to the brave !

There may be stories of everything but while true and accurate they should not stop us from enjoying the world.

I agree with Vinapu on this.

It's a risk, but a small one considering the number of arrivals and positive test rates on arrival. I think i saw the number of positive arrivals in the test&go scheme was 0.05, your risk of arriving with covid can be further minimized with proper precautions (N95 mask, self isolation before flying, window seat, good hygiene) depending on how much you are willing to do to mitigate the risk.

I would put this risk along side 'mototaxi accident putting me in hospital', it could happen and ruin my holiday but will it stop me getting on one for a short trip. For others it might, for me it won't.

[GPAPA]

I think the risks for most of us who take precautions well are not getting covid while on plane, but more of sitting next to someone who's tested positive. 

Getting the Covid is something we can avoid by having proper precautions but sitting next to one in plane or transportation to hotel is unpredictable and pure luck.

[spoon]

U can lower your chances by travelling in  business/first class lol

[macaroni21]

What's missing from Richard Barrow's stories is whether the featured persons had been vaccinated. Quite possibly the response protocol is differentiated by vaccination status of whoever tests PCT-positive.

Also missing is that there is no second PCR-test to check if the first was a false positive???

I have long been concerned that this is the hidden side of Thailand trying to promote tourism. Much of the communication that I have seen stress this part: "If you test PCR-negative on arrival..." and then speaks of sandbox freedoms or reduced quarantine. Missing from the communication is any clarity about the other limb of the "if" statement. If not, then what?

It's like a sales pitch for Bog-Sod Airlines. "If we take off on time, load your bags onto the same plane, and our pilot is not inebriated, then we will arrive at Paradise Beach by noon ..."

 

 

[18past19]

5 minutes ago, spoon said:

U can lower your chances by travelling in  business/first class lol

or by no flying at all. 😉

but i wouldnt let fear of testing positive on arrival prevent me from traveling. i have flown at least six times since the onset of this pandemic. knock on the wood! so far, i havent tested positive once.  

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, 18past19 said:

but I wouldnt let fear of testing positive on arrival prevent me from traveling. i have flown at least six times since the onset of this pandemic. knock on the wood! so far, i haven't tested positive once.  

+1

I counted 14 flights, 4 of them transcontinental  in last 5 months and boringly negative so far

[xpaulo]

4 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

What's missing from Richard Barrow's stories is whether the featured persons had been vaccinated. Quite possibly the response protocol is differentiated by vaccination status of whoever tests PCT-positive.

I wonder also whether many other countries require everybody who tests positive to be put in a hospital. In North America as far as I know only people with serious symptoms go into a hospital. Otherwise it's stay in a quarantine hotel.

 

[Londoner]

I booked yesterday for a trip in three months time....and I agree with vinapu; we cannot allow our lives to be circumscribed by  such possibilities, real as they are. All we can do is to take as many sensible precautions as we can.

Every journey we undertake has its risks. My guess is that I shall be in most danger of catastrophe when I drive along the M4 to Heathrow Airport.  And then, of course, in the taxi from BKK to Pattaya. All the other dangers, anxieties and possibilities are way down the list. 

One thing I have done is to spoil myself by booking Business Class on EVA Air, where the seats are partitioned and set well-apart. 

For those who are interested, the cost was £3400.  I won't be able to afford that again! 

 

 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

I have long been concerned that this is the hidden side of Thailand trying to promote tourism. Much of the communication that I have seen stress this part: "If you test PCR-negative on arrival..." and then speaks of sandbox freedoms or reduced quarantine. Missing from the communication is any clarity about the other limb of the "if" statement. If not, then what?

I agree totally.

The picture below shows what we sign up to when applying for the Thai Pass.    Section 4 is relevant and it clearly says we will be free to travel in Thailand if we pass the PCR test.   So to detain people who passed the test is directly contradicting the terms that Thailand publishes and is dishonest.

As far as I'm concerned, Thailand is entitled to apply whatever rules it likes, but should be totally honest about it and publish the rules, so that tourists can make an informed decision.

I'm still planning to go to Thailand shortly.   I have the Thai Pass (5 days) and I've checked with my hotel to ensure that I'm not sharing transport from the airport to the hotel.

(Last year my transport to a different quarantine hotel was shared, but it mattered much less, since there was no hope of parole the next day)

The next step is to try and ensure no one is sat next to me on the plane, particularly the second leg into Thailand. 

This is where knowing the "rules" would help. 

For instance, does the person sat immediately across the aisle count as sitting next to me ?    For this trip, I think I would prefer an aisle seat in the centre section, to increase the chances of getting to sleep across all 4 seats.    However, if the rules are unclear, a window seat is safer.

Then towards the back of the plane, the seat map shows they start deleting seats, so instead of 3 seats by the window, they have 2, WITH A MISSING SEAT LETTER on the numbering scheme.  So If I sit in the aisle seat J, only an idiot would pick the window seat on a half empty plane and the seat on the other side of me is G, as seat H is deleted that far back.  

Then how late can I change the seat ?    If some idiot does sit next to me, I'd want to formally move seat, including at the transit airport if necessary. 

 

[TMax]

I get a bit of a laugh sometimes, if we currently had flights from Perth to Bangkok (like the direct Thai airways flight we had before all this started) we would be more at risk of catching covid either in Thailand or on the return journey than we would going over. Just as a clarification, in Western Australia we currently have no active covid cases.