General Reports

[Christian G]

Visas. The Visa Waiver (30 day stamp on entry) which was the standard method for most travellers (ex-China and India) is suspended until further notice

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30400034

[Banana Boi]

Does anyone in the grapevine foresee any easing of travel restrictions by February?

Possibly by February, 2022 but don't hold your breath.

As for "boots on the ground" a gogo girl has just advised me that the recent COVID surge west of Bangkok has now hit Pattaya. Everyone is panicking now. Lots of anger against the illegal Myanmar workers. Heads are going to roll at the IO who took money to let these illegal workers in.

[GettingFedUp]

I'm pressing civilian sources, but thought maybe hobby sources might have boots on the ground intel.

Does anyone in the grapevine foresee any easing of travel restrictions by February?

I could almost swear I read somewhere if you apply for entry 60 days in advance, you get in with PCR test. Maybe I'm mistaken idk.

CTC,

If by "easing of travel restrictions" you mean an end to the quarantine requirement then not a chance in the next few months.

The only easing currently on the agenda is possibly reducing the quarantine to 10 days. A couple of months ago a group of Thai soldiers returned from UN Peacekeeping in South Sudan and were tested more regularly than is the standard regime here. They found that all positive cases were picked up by day 9. They are now testing in quarantine 3 times. Day 3-5, day 8-9 and day 12-13 (previously just the first and last of these) and if this confirms that all cases are picked up in the first two tests they may cut the quarantine period. A decision on this is expected mid-January.

To clarify the restrictions as they currently stand the requirements are a visa (see below), flight and Alternative State Quarantine reservations, US $100 k Covid insurance for the duration of your stay (these will allow you to get a Certificate of Entry from the Thai Embassy / Consulate) and a negative PCR test and doctors "fit to fly" letter no more than 3 days before departure.

Visas. The Visa Waiver (30 day stamp on entry) which was the standard method for most travellers (ex-China and India) is suspended until further notice so you'll need to apply for a visa from the Embassy / Consulate. Current options:

Single Entry Tourist Visa 'TR' - 60 days with one extension of 30 days in country.

Special Tourist Visa (STV) - 90 days which can then be extended twice by 90 days each giving a total of 270 days.

The various longer term visas. Retirement, Thai Elite, Spouse, Business, Volunteer, etc.

As to when and in what circumstances the restrictions will be lifted substantially it is very difficult to give any certainty. Will proof of vaccination allow the avoidance of quarantine? In the next 6 months I doubt it. The authorities here are ultra cautious and will await firm scientific evidence that the vaccine prevents people from becoming carriers. Bear in mind that at the moment the vaccine is not scheduled to be available at all in Thailand until mid-2021 and so the population will remain vulnerable well into 2022. Stickman Bangkok's column last week made a guess at 4th Quarter 2021 for a return to anything approaching normal travel into Thailand. That seems plausible to me although I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were six months later than that.

[HorseTrader]

Does anyone in the grapevine foresee any easing of travel restrictions by February?

I'm certainly not "boots on the ground", but look at some well published information. (1) Experts are predicting the worst is yet to come in the northern hemisphere. (2) Thailand is starting to see an outbreak in one area, which we hope gets quickly controlled. (3) There are far too few vaccines for everybody. (4) We don't know if vaccinated people will transmit the virus (though preliminary findings for Moderna look promising). I don't see anything now that would make me think travel restrictions will be eased in the near future. To me, the biggest travel restriction is the 10 to 14-day quarantine. I'm thinking October before we can easily return to Thailand.

Perhaps Thailand will become so desperate for tourists that the authorities ignore public health in hopes of helping the economy. I wouldn't bet on that.

[NicFrenchy]

Does anyone in the grapevine foresee any easing of travel restrictions by February?

Not at the moment, no. With the incidents of the last few days, it may delay things a bit.

Will we go back to ease of travel? Yes, but February may be a bit early.

For now BKK is in the orange zone https://www.timeout.com/bangkok/news...onfirms-122420.

[CenTexCrash]

I'm pressing civilian sources, but thought maybe hobby sources might have boots on the ground intel.

Does anyone in the grapevine foresee any easing of travel restrictions by February?

I could almost swear I read somewhere if you apply for entry 60 days in advance, you get in with PCR test. Maybe I'm mistaken idk.

Had two flash sale $380 flights Dallas-BKK via Delta in August then November one by one both canceled and refunded. Have another $410 Houston-BKK via American. Third time's a charm?

Edit: if I bring an entire YETI cooler of individual vaccines, will that butter them up?

[Stykler]

If you can't afford to take 6 months off work or work abroad don't travel internationally. Simple.

Sums it up perfectly.

[Banana Boi]

The new and deadly strain from south Africa could be a problem in future and may not have a vaccine possible to handle it.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world...a-young-adults

I read the strain is from the UK. UK is basically cut off from the world at the moment.

Funny reading about all those travelers in the UK freaking out because they can't get home now. I have no sympathy. They shouldn't have been traveling to the UK to begin with! If I travel to Thailand and they had a lot of cases before I travelled I wouldn't be botching about it. If you can't afford to take 6 months off work or work abroad don't travel internationally. Simple.

[GettingFedUp]

Then a question arises regarding the reason for 24-60 times more testing in those other countries. Was it because 24-60 times more of those people were exhibiting symptoms, sick enough to visit a doctor or go to a hospital where they would then be given a test?

These lastest Thai tests appear to have been routine tests for migrant workers in the food industry, primarily from Burma, 90% of whom exhibited no symptoms.

This round of tests was triggered by a 67 year-old lady who ran a stall at the seafood market going to hospital with symptoms, getting tested and proving positive. The Thai track and trace mechanisms then kick in and they test anyone who is likely to have been in contact, or even could possibly been in contact. This was how they bought the last cluster in the first outbreak under control at Cherng Talay in Phuket. Lock down the area and test repeatedly. It also what they did in Pattaya during lockdown on the hunch that it could be a hotbed of infection (it wasn't).

Banana Boi. Testing numbers as a measure are a very blunt tool. Thailand had around 500,000 negative domestic (I. E. Not quarantined inbound travellers) tests between late May (the last Phuket case) and the next domestic case which was the Bangkok DJ. If you test the symptomatic, those that seek a test and even anyone who is admitted to hospital for whatever reason (certain hospitals did this as a precaution) and they are all coming back negative, there is very little appetite from either the Health authorities or the general public for imposing the regular sticking of a 15 cm Q-tip up peoples nostrils against their will.

[Franciscass]

The new and deadly strain from south Africa could be a problem in future and may not have a vaccine possible to handle it.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world...a-young-adults

Daily Express umm not exactly the Lancet when it comes to medical science.

All virus's mutate, covid has already done so several times. The problem with the new variant is it's increased contagiousness which impacts the are factor. Almost all epidemiologists familiar with the science behind the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which work by attacking the protein spikes ability to attach to the infected host do not believe this new variant impacts that efficacy.

[Berrys66]

The new and deadly strain from south Africa could be a problem in future and may not have a vaccine possible to handle it.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world...a-young-adults

[EihTooms]

Wow. Just checked. 576 new cases in 1 day. Total cases up until yesterday was 4,331. Thailand has done 1.2 million tests for 69 million people. Compare this to some countries with similar population. UK 60 million tests. France 30 million tests. Italy 24 million tests.

Then a question arises regarding the reason for 24-60 times more testing in those other countries. Was it because 24-60 times more of those people were exhibiting symptoms, sick enough to visit a doctor or go to a hospital where they would then be given a test?

These lastest Thai tests appear to have been routine tests for migrant workers in the food industry, primarily from Burma, 90% of whom exhibited no symptoms.

[Banana Boi]

With the 500 reported new cases yesterday, they may rethink that one.

Wow. Just checked. 576 new cases in 1 day. Total cases up until yesterday was 4,331. Thailand has done 1.2 million tests for 69 million people. Compare this to some countries with similar population. UK 60 million tests. France 30 million tests. Italy 24 million tests.

[Kerrstar]

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand...es-to-be-named

This would make quaratine more bearable.

[EihTooms]

With the 500 reported new cases yesterday, they may rethink that one.

Yes. A lot of dating site girls come from that Bangkok metropolitan area.

Thailand reports daily COVID record of more than 500 cases.
A sharp rise in cases mostly linked to shrimp market in Samut Sakhon, bringing Thailand's infections to more than 4,800.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/...than-500-cases