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1 hour ago, Krapow said:

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-23/thailand-to-shift-strategy-to-learning-to-live-with-covid-19

 
Thailand is preparing for life with Covid, with preliminary plans being drawn up to relax some restrictions and reopen its borders to vaccinated visitors even as new cases hover around 20,000 a day.
 
The National Communicable Disease Committee on Monday approved a shift in the country’s strategy to “learning to live with Covid-19,” recognizing the endemic nature of the virus, according to Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control. 
 
The focus going forward will be on containing infections to a level that doesn’t exceed capacity of Thailand’s public-health system, with key measures being total vaccination coverage for vulnerable groups and faster case-tracing on the assumption that everyone can become infected and transmit the virus, he said.
 
Among the preliminary proposals are easing some quasi-lockdown rules next month and replication of a tourism-reopening project in October based on a pilot project in Phuket. Other planned measures weren’t announced.
 
Thailand was considered a success story at the outset of the pandemic, reporting relatively few infections even though it was the first nation after China to detect a case. Early confidence was one reason the government was slow to secure vaccine deals and ramp up inoculations. A series of stumbles in its inoculation program resulted in a shortfall just as the delta variant arrived, leading to a near-relentless surge of infections since April. 
 
But the latest data related to infections, test results, patients in critical care and spread patterns suggested that the current outbreak has peaked, health officials said Monday. That should enable some restrictions to be eased, according to Opas. The country on Monday reported 17,491 new cases, the lowest single-day increase since July 30, compared to more than 20,000 infections daily much of this month.  
 
That slight drop has come at a steep cost. Currently, cities and provinces that are home to more than 40% of Thailand’s population and generate more than three-quarters of economy output are under strict curbs -- including closure of all “non-essential” businesses, restrictions on inter-provincial travel and a curfew between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. 
 
Thira Woratanarat, an associate professor at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine, said that the number of new infections being reported doesn’t reflect the real situation given the variants, the omission of cases found using self-test kits and fewer tests being administered.
 
While conveyed as a strategy shift, the wording on Monday mirrors that of a speech in June by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, in which he said much of the country would be reopened in October “to start reducing the enormous suffering of people who have lost their ability to earn an income.” He called it a “calculated risk” and asked that people “be ready to live with some risk.”
 
About 8% of the population nationwide has been fully inoculated. Vaccination rates are higher in regions that have reopened under special tourism programs -- including the island of Phuket -- and those with the worst outbreaks, including Bangkok. Opas said that Phuket’s reopening on July 1 to fully vaccinated tourists showed that if the situation can be controlled, economic activities can be stepped up and people can resume their everyday lives. 
 
Last week, the government said it plans to issue “Thai Covid Pass” to inoculated residents, which would allow access to certain places including restaurants.
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https://thepattayanews.com/2021/08/23/chiang-mai-to-welcome-vaccinated-foreign-tourists-under-charming-chiang-mai-bubble-and-seal-project-in-october/

Chiang Mai to welcome vaccinated foreign tourists under “Charming Chiang Mai” bubble-and-seal project in October

By
 Nop Meechukhun
 -

 

Chiang Mai –

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is preparing to launch Chiang Mai’s “Bubble & Sealed” tourism plan to welcome foreign tourists to four tourist districts, including Mueang district, Mae Rim district, Mae Taeng district, and Doi Tao district.

TAT deputy governor for Marketing Communication Thanet Petchsuwan revealed to the press that Chiang Mai will become the first inland province to be pushed under the TAT’s reopening country project, following several southern island openings in Phuket, Samui, and others in the “7+7” model.

Pattaya and Chonburi, unfortunately, is currently delayed due to concerns about the number of Covid-19 cases and proximity to Bangkok. Hua Hin may proceed, but negotiations are still taking place.

According to the deputy governor, the “Bubble & Seal” plan in Chiang Mai is initially scheduled to be officially implemented on October 1st under the title “Charming Chiang Mai”. Travel agencies or Destination Management Companies (DMC) will play an important role in driving domestic tourism and taking care of tourists during their stay in the designated areas.

Similar to the Phuket Sandbox and Samui Plus Model, the same health preventive measures and requirements must be strictly conducted upon arrivals, such as tourists must be fully vaccinated 14 days prior to travel, must provide health insurance, and Covid-19 insurance with a minimum of USD 100,000, etc. RT-PCR testing must be done three times during their 14-day stay before being allowed to travel elsewhere in the designated areas. More details would be listed as soon as the program became official.

Initially, travel agencies would introduce a variety of travel packages to cover all target groups such as a General Program, Family Program, Golf Program, Health & Wellness Program, Sports Program, Medical Program, Meeting Program, etc.

Thanet stated: “The main target group for the project would be tourists from Asia, including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Indonesia, and from USA and Canada.”

A major difference between the Chiang Mai plan and the Phuket plan is Chiang Mai plans to target actual tourists and not returning ex-pats or Thai nationals avoiding a hotel quarantine that has gone to Phuket.

The target number of tourists who will enter the “Charming Chiang Mai” project has not yet been officially estimated. Roughly, it would be about 90 people per day traveling with one flight per day, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

“However, there are two factors to be considered whether the plan can proceed as scheduled; the vaccination distributions for entrepreneurs and local residents in the four districts and the number of new infections in Thailand. Both would directly affect the confidence of foreign tourists,” Thanet concluded.

Prior to this, the TAT has officially postponed the plan to open Pattaya City to foreign vaccinated tourists on September 1st with no firm future date set as the province, especially in Banglamung/Pattaya area, has more than a thousand cases of Covid-19 Coronavirus per day have taken place in the past few months.

 

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4 hours ago, Bazle said:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-23/thailand-to-shift-strategy-to-learning-to-live-with-covid-19

 
Thailand is preparing for life with Covid, with preliminary plans being drawn up to relax some restrictions and reopen its borders to vaccinated visitors even as new cases hover around 20,000 a day.
 
The National Communicable Disease Committee on Monday approved a shift in the country’s strategy to “learning to live with Covid-19,” recognizing the endemic nature of the virus, according to Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control. 
 
The focus going forward will be on containing infections to a level that doesn’t exceed capacity of Thailand’s public-health system, with key measures being total vaccination coverage for vulnerable groups and faster case-tracing on the assumption that everyone can become infected and transmit the virus, he said.
 
Among the preliminary proposals are easing some quasi-lockdown rules next month and replication of a tourism-reopening project in October based on a pilot project in Phuket. Other planned measures weren’t announced.
 
Thailand was considered a success story at the outset of the pandemic, reporting relatively few infections even though it was the first nation after China to detect a case. Early confidence was one reason the government was slow to secure vaccine deals and ramp up inoculations. A series of stumbles in its inoculation program resulted in a shortfall just as the delta variant arrived, leading to a near-relentless surge of infections since April. 
 
But the latest data related to infections, test results, patients in critical care and spread patterns suggested that the current outbreak has peaked, health officials said Monday. That should enable some restrictions to be eased, according to Opas. The country on Monday reported 17,491 new cases, the lowest single-day increase since July 30, compared to more than 20,000 infections daily much of this month.  
 
That slight drop has come at a steep cost. Currently, cities and provinces that are home to more than 40% of Thailand’s population and generate more than three-quarters of economy output are under strict curbs -- including closure of all “non-essential” businesses, restrictions on inter-provincial travel and a curfew between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. 
 
Thira Woratanarat, an associate professor at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine, said that the number of new infections being reported doesn’t reflect the real situation given the variants, the omission of cases found using self-test kits and fewer tests being administered.
 
While conveyed as a strategy shift, the wording on Monday mirrors that of a speech in June by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, in which he said much of the country would be reopened in October “to start reducing the enormous suffering of people who have lost their ability to earn an income.” He called it a “calculated risk” and asked that people “be ready to live with some risk.”
 
About 8% of the population nationwide has been fully inoculated. Vaccination rates are higher in regions that have reopened under special tourism programs -- including the island of Phuket -- and those with the worst outbreaks, including Bangkok. Opas said that Phuket’s reopening on July 1 to fully vaccinated tourists showed that if the situation can be controlled, economic activities can be stepped up and people can resume their everyday lives. 
 
Last week, the government said it plans to issue “Thai Covid Pass” to inoculated residents, which would allow access to certain places including restaurants.

Every country needs to learn to live with it, it's not going anywhere ...

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"Learning to live with it" is the only viable option, agreed.

Until the WHO downgrade this to Endemic as well, life is going to be hard. The more I look at how the UK managed to get from being locked down in Feb to fully open (pretty much) in August, the more I'm impressed.

8% vaccination so far though is really poor, then again should we be surprised?.

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5 hours ago, Butch said:

"Learning to live with it" is the only viable option, agreed.

Until the WHO downgrade this to Endemic as well, life is going to be hard. The more I look at how the UK managed to get from being locked down in Feb to fully open (pretty much) in August, the more I'm impressed.

8% vaccination so far though is really poor, then again should we be surprised?.

That's what worries me about LOS: they might open up before they have sufficient of the population vaccinated. 

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14 minutes ago, Bazle said:

That's what worries me about LOS: they might open up before they have sufficient of the population vaccinated. 

I 'm worried that a variant takes hold and sweeps the country. There really could be some resentment built up against falang that have had AZ or Pfizer, whilst a large proportion of Thais suffer because of Sinopharm inadequacies. 

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3 minutes ago, Derek Dangleberries said:

I 'm worried that a variant takes hold and sweeps the country. There really could be some resentment built up against falang that have had AZ or Pfizer, whilst a large proportion of Thais suffer because of Sinopharm inadequacies. 

A friend of mine had Sinovac (even worse than Sinopharm apparently) this morning, but has been promised AZ as the second jab. 

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On 8/23/2021 at 10:09 AM, Bazle said:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-23/thailand-to-shift-strategy-to-learning-to-live-with-covid-19

 
 
Among the preliminary proposals are easing some quasi-lockdown rules next month and replication of a tourism-reopening project in October based on a pilot project in Phuket. Other planned measures weren’t announced.
 

…well, I’m hoping it’s not like the sandbox model.  Way too many hoops & paperwork to go through.  
 

I need to get back and although I skipped coming back when they increased the ASQ from 7 back to the original 14 days….I can’t wait around too much long.  I’ll probably have to bite the bullet later this year and come back regardless of the hoops I have to jump through.  

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Don't imagine there's too many people surprised about this...

No jabs needed for dining in

People in dark-red zones will not need to be fully vaccinated and/or pass a Covid-19 test to dine in at eateries and restaurants in dark-red zones, according to the latest announcement in the Royal Gazette.

The announcement contradicted earlier reports which said restaurants wishing to reopen would be required to restrict dine-in services to fully vaccinated patrons and/or those who have passed a Covid test with an antigen test kit before entering.

The news was published in the Royal Gazette on Saturday, along with the easing of other Covid-19 curbs which were endorsed by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

A source close to the matter said the CCSA will provide more detailed guidance on the issue later.
...

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2 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

Don't imagine there's too many people surprised about this...

No jabs needed for dining in

People in dark-red zones will not need to be fully vaccinated and/or pass a Covid-19 test to dine in at eateries and restaurants in dark-red zones, according to the latest announcement in the Royal Gazette.

The announcement contradicted earlier reports which said restaurants wishing to reopen would be required to restrict dine-in services to fully vaccinated patrons and/or those who have passed a Covid test with an antigen test kit before entering.

The news was published in the Royal Gazette on Saturday, along with the easing of other Covid-19 curbs which were endorsed by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

A source close to the matter said the CCSA will provide more detailed guidance on the issue later.
...

Common sense prevails, is this a first for Thailand lol

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On 8/30/2021 at 7:56 PM, forcebwithu said:

The good news continues. Thailand (14,66) and Chonburi (745) continue to show lower daily infection cases.
Screen Shot 08-31-21 at 09.53 AM.JPG

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liking the trend, but not liking the news coming out of Prayut’s camp.  It says, he says the Oct 14th planned 120 day opening may be pushed back.  

…are we headed for repeated push backs???   is 2021 lost completely???

Edited by Sea-Hawks
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5 hours ago, KWA said:

Pattaya and Hua Hin proposals for restricted October opening are supposed to go before the CCSA next week, so not lost completely yet IMO.

Yup, saw that too.  But restricted openings may favor people with boots on the ground or neighboring asian countries.  
 

When the PM back tracks on the National plans to open the Kingdom…it does not give me the vote of confidence needed to continue with my plans to arrive before the year ends.  My friends are a lot more bullish and booked both flights & hotels already

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7 hours ago, Sea-Hawks said:

liking the trend, but not liking the news coming out of Prayut’s camp.  It says, he says the Oct 14th planned 120 day opening may be pushed back.  

…are we headed for repeated push backs???   is 2021 lost completely???

From  a UK tourism perspective it is, unless Thailand gets removed off the red list pretty sharpish. The Govt review the travel list every 3 weeks apparently, so that rules out August and a chunk of Sept. That is unless the visiting person wants a 10 day quarantine costing £2285 on top of their holiday cost.

 

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1 hour ago, Butch said:

From  a UK tourism perspective it is, unless Thailand gets removed off the red list pretty sharpish. The Govt review the travel list every 3 weeks apparently, so that rules out August and a chunk of Sept. That is unless the visiting person wants a 10 day quarantine costing £2285 on top of their holiday cost.

 

…yup, any quarantine & mountain of paperwork is just too much for myself.
 

If Thailand/PM & his cabinet really wants me, I’m more than ready to arrive.  
 

…makes me think back to last week when his cabinet suggested all mall employees be “fully faxed” & “tested” every 5-7 days.   It was amazing how quick the blow-back was.  
 

The decision makers seem to be absolutely clueless…just adding & making things up along the way

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14 hours ago, Sea-Hawks said:

liking the trend, but not liking the news coming out of Prayut’s camp.  It says, he says the Oct 14th planned 120 day opening may be pushed back.  

…are we headed for repeated push backs???   is 2021 lost completely???

I'm hoping and would be happy if bars open again by that date.

With their new goal of 70% receiving at least one jab to reopen the country to tourists, I think they have a chance of a mid to late November reopening.

1823646836_Aug26.thumb.jpg.e7537b2a0958765edc08b28150833ca9.jpg

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Under the proposal being reported by Pattaya news - its still 2 weeks at a resort that meets SHA (Safety and Health Administration) standards in the Pattaya area firstly for at least seven days.

After two Covid-19 tests in the first seven days at the resort, the tourist would then be allowed to go on tours around the Pattaya area to approved locations. Early spots named were Nong Nooch Gardens, Buddha Hill, islands, water activities like diving, Sanctuary of Truth, Wat Yansangwararam, Khao Kheow Open Zoo, the Floating Market, Rubber Land, Underwater World, and other attractions.

After a final Covid-19 test, one would be allowed to travel where they wished after fourteen days, under the proposal.

 They would also have to go through several hoops at home to get here, including a Covid-19 test, proof of vaccination, and a certificate of approval from their nearest Thai embassy or consulate, as well as mandatory insurance.

https://thepattayanews.com/2021/09/02/details-on-proposed-pattaya-reopening-plan-in-october-other-areas-also-proposed-by-tourism-authority/

It might appeal to those with a long stay in mind, but its still too much for me bearing in mind the highlight part in red above and then still two weeks at a 'resort'.

deal breaker for me.

 

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I'm hearing disturbing reports from a few farangs who've fought their way through the process, that more than one hotel, in cahoots with their partnership hospitals, are reporting positive test outcomes on the initial test, resulting in hospitalization, x-rays, lung biopsies etc and a THB 200,000 > 300,000 insurance bill, before deducing that the test must have reported a false positive.

Is anyone else here hearing similar ?

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