Rants, Stupid Shit and Coronavirus in Thailand

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2650333]1% testing positive upon landing in Phuket. 4% positive on their 2nd RT-PCR test on 5th day of quarantine. So 1 in 25 chance you are going to hospital for 10 days before your quarantine is up. 5 days quarantine, 1 day RT-PCR test results, then 10+ days hospital is 16 days of your vacation. Imagine if your vacation was scheduled for 2 weeks? You'd miss your flight home![/QUOTE]Although we will never know, it would be interesting to know why there is a big jump in testing positive on the second test.

Did they catch it from home or did they run out to Bangla Road and get as many girls as they could find on the first few nights.

Depending on how many days you stay it is probably prudent to chill on the first couple / three days so you can pass the test on the 5th. Then go crazy.

At the moment there are tons of cases on workers on Bangla, so chances are you are going to come into contact with omicron while there. Whether or not you get infected is another matter but you will most likely come into contact with it.

[QUOTE=MaxBkk;2650441]Depending on how many days you stay it is probably prudent to chill on the first couple / three days so you can pass the test on the 5th. Then go crazy.[/QUOTE]

If you're in Thailand for mongering, the optimal strategy is to be extremely cautious until you take the swab for the 2nd test, then go all-out crazy immediately afterwards, perhaps line up a few girls to arrive right after getting back to the hotel. If you happen to test positive, at least you had your bit of fun before the 10-day imprisonment. If you happen to be negative, continue with the crazy, perhaps slightly toned down.

[QUOTE=MaxBkk;2650441]Although we will never know, it would be interesting to know why there is a big jump in testing positive on the second test.[/QUOTE]My assumption is the second test is intended to find people who caught COVID while traveling, which seems to be happening at a 4% rate. I feel very COVID safe when home alone, but I could easily catch COVID sitting in the middle of economy or waiting in a massive airport gate area.

Thinking back about 8 months, the sandbox concept seemed to be built on the assumption that nearly everybody in the sandbox would be vaccinated and there would be near zero COVID. If I recall, there was going to be a threshold of something like 120 new COVID cases per week in Phuket, anything above that threshold could close down the sandbox. That's from an foggy old memory, which is probably valid in concept but wrong in numbers. Clearly, that concept went in the trash.

[URL]https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn/cathay-pacific-to-suspend-transit-travelers-from-high-risk-places-from-jan-16[/URL]

Hong Kong is stopping transit flights. Cargo planes are down to 20% of pre covid loads "because of staffing". Chinese new year is almost on us (Feb 1, Year of the Bonobo). Now if "they" block tells of millions of Chinese and others moving about / home for that, heaven help us. There were mad scenes some years ago when China was covered by snow and migrants could not make their annual pilgrimage home to their villages. And then you have tinkering with global logistics.

You have to re-arrange your priorities. There are much bigger players about than you and your LBFM desires.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul just announced that data coming out is confirming that Omicron is much milder than Delta. For this reason restrictions will be less than previous big waves and the various rentry schemes like Test and Go could be reintroduced sooner than we were expecting.

The most likely path to easing entry requirement is by adding Bangkok and Pattaya to the sandbox schemes in the next few weeks. Which means a 7 day hotel stay but you are free to leave and do what you want during the day.

The reintroduction of the Test and Go scheme, where you only need to stay at a hotel for 1 night, would probably be reintroduced as soon as cases start coming down in western countries. Hopefully this is not too far away.

My personal opinion is that once the Test and Go scheme is back and runs successfully for say 8 weeks, they will scrap it and allow normal entry. Probably only need ATK before flight and then just enter as per pre pandemic.

For full articles see the Bangkok Post and Thethaiger.

[QUOTE=MaxBkk;2651242]Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul just announced that data coming out is confirming that Omicron is much milder than Delta. For this reason restrictions will be less than previous big waves and the various rentry schemes like Test and Go could be reintroduced sooner than we were expecting.

The most likely path to easing entry requirement is by adding Bangkok and Pattaya to the sandbox schemes in the next few weeks. Which means a 7 day hotel stay but you are free to leave and do what you want during the day.

The reintroduction of the Test and Go scheme, where you only need to stay at a hotel for 1 night, would probably be reintroduced as soon as cases start coming down in western countries. Hopefully this is not too far away.

My personal opinion is that once the Test and Go scheme is back and runs successfully for say 8 weeks, they will scrap it and allow normal entry. Probably only need ATK before flight and then just enter as per pre pandemic.

For full articles see the Bangkok Post and Thethaiger.[/QUOTE]One new problem is that the traveler needs to get a PRC test 72 hours before they get on the plane to Thailand. In the US, the surge of the new covid version has flooded testing centers across the country. What use to take 1 or 2 days is now taking 3 to 4 days. Travelers may not be able to get their test results in time to even be allowed to board their flights.

[QUOTE=Rodwint2;2651304]One new problem is that the traveler needs to get a PRC test 72 hours before they get on the plane to Thailand. In the US, the surge of the new covid version has flooded testing centers across the country. What use to take 1 or 2 days is now taking 3 to 4 days. Travelers may not be able to get their test results in time to even be allowed to board their flights.[/QUOTE]You have to find out if the testing place has a lab onsite like a hospital. You can't go to your local pharmacy that has to FedEx the test now that pilots are getting covid and causing delays.

[QUOTE=Rodwint2;2651304]One new problem is that the traveler needs to get a PRC test 72 hours before they get on the plane to Thailand. In the US, the surge of the new covid version has flooded testing centers across the country. What use to take 1 or 2 days is now taking 3 to 4 days. Travelers may not be able to get their test results in time to even be allowed to board their flights.[/QUOTE]You usually need a Travel specific PCR test that comes with a medical type fit to fly certificate. These tests are not free and need to be booked and undertaken at specific locations. The good news is that they do get prioritised and the results come back quickly. I paid $150 for the 24 hour test and it came back in about 12 hours. You can pay more to get the result back in 6 hours, I saw some places that could do it in 30 minutes but it was more expensive.

I don't think the standard goverment PCR test can be used for the purpose of International Travel. I may be wrong, but in the 6 or so international trips I have made over the last 6 months I paid for the expidited travel test at a cost of around $150 a pop.

[QUOTE=MaxBkk;2651242]The reintroduction of the Test and Go scheme, where you only need to stay at a hotel for 1 night, would probably be reintroduced as soon as cases start coming down in western countries. Hopefully this is not too far away.[/QUOTE]Like South Africa before, UK rates of infection have started to fall and rapidly while those that have been infected have had milder symptoms. News reports say that epidemiologists see reason to believe that Covid will move into an endemic stage soon with the rest of the world to follow as Omicron spreads, then declines and more people are vaccinated, there are still questions on how Omicron will affect a population with lower vaccination rates.

[QUOTE=MaxBkk;2651315]You usually need a Travel specific PCR test that comes with a medical type fit to fly certificate. These tests are not free and need to be booked and undertaken at specific locations. The good news is that they do get prioritised and the results come back quickly. I paid $150 for the 24 hour test and it came back in about 12 hours. You can pay more to get the result back in 6 hours, I saw some places that could do it in 30 minutes but it was more expensive.[/QUOTE]Also check your airline and transfer airport for their requirements to fly. For my case, Thailand requires RT-PCR testing within 72 hours of flight time, but my airline requires testing within 48 hours. Combine reduced weekend testing hours and a late weekend flight time, I have a very short window when I can actually take my RT-PCR test with 24-hour turn around time. Be sure to advance schedule your test time carefully. To be safe, I might pay the extra $75 to get 1-hour turn around testing.

Regarding cost of the testing, my friend expected to pay $150 for his 24-hour test results, but the test facility asked for his insurance card and they charged him nothing.

[QUOTE=Breadman;2651311]You have to find out if the testing place has a lab onsite like a hospital. You can't go to your local pharmacy that has to FedEx the test now that pilots are getting covid and causing delays.[/QUOTE]I appreciate your and MaxBKK's advice and information. Thank you!

Just finished a call with a Phuket friend. Her business has 14 workers, all of them vaccinated. Today there were only 6 working, the other 8 were all home battling COVID. Of the 6 that worked today, 4 have already recovered from COVID. Only 2 of 14 have avoided COVID, so far.

The first of the recovered workers reported her illness to authorities and was then isolated in a hotel room. That was 2 weeks ago and she is now recovered and working. None of the other workers reported their illnesses. All were diagnosed using at home testing.

The published numbers of COVID cases in Thailand are not a reflection of how many cases exist. Perhaps is a reflection of how many tourists tested positive. Many Thai people simply are not reporting their illnesses.

Tourists must pass an arrival test, a day 5-6 test, and a pre-return flight test. Chances of having a healthy vacation are looking smaller and smaller.

[QUOTE=HorseTrader;2651748]Just finished a call with a Phuket friend. Her business has 14 workers, all of them vaccinated. Today there were only 6 working, the other 8 were all home battling COVID. Of the 6 that worked today, 4 have already recovered from COVID. Only 2 of 14 have avoided COVID, so far.

The first of the recovered workers reported her illness to authorities and was then isolated in a hotel room. That was 2 weeks ago and she is now recovered and working. None of the other workers reported their illnesses. All were diagnosed using at home testing.

The published numbers of COVID cases in Thailand are not a reflection of how many cases exist. Perhaps is a reflection of how many tourists tested positive. Many Thai people simply are not reporting their illnesses.

Tourists must pass an arrival test, a day 5-6 test, and a pre-return flight test. Chances of having a healthy vacation are looking smaller and smaller.[/QUOTE]Of coarse its under reported, same with every other country out there but your still leaving you home to go about your daily routine I'm betting. Nobody who self tests will report it unless they have severe symptoms. Simple fact is those wanting to stay at home for Christmas and New Years missed out on coming to Thailand. I too was planning on coming after New Years but as soon as I heard about Omicron I left a week later. What you are reporting about the bar in Phuket is just an outbreak in a specific bar, it can happen in any bar where the girls are all in one confined area. Doesn't mean that every bar is having an outbreak. What the bar should have done was close itself down upon learning several of the girls were positive for covid and self isolated all of the girls. Trying to stay open is just spreading it to the others over and over again. In fact the bar owner and manager can get in serious trouble for not calling the hotline and reporting these cases. And 'battling covid'. Sorry man but its not a battle if your vaccinated, its a day of feeling sick and then your tired for a day after.

Vacations are dead for the time being. There is no 'safe healthy vacation' that consists of flying halfway around the world to have sex with hot Asian girls anymore. Traveling to the other side of the world and enjoying yourself will for the next year or two be for the long time vacationers, those willing and able to spend months in a country. Your two week trips just won't work anymore, not with all of the testing and requirements. Unless you can fly direct from your home city to Thailand your trip starts and ends in jeopardy, so many flights are being canceled since so many employees are calling in sick.

My guess is that Omicron will have mostly passed by March 1, so it's just a blip.

The killer for Thailand is that Test and Go has been shutdown for a month, and probably for another month, so there is 2 months worth of business lost. Since so many people came for the holidays, as they leave and are not replaced, Pattaya and Phuket will empty out. If Test and Go is not reinstated by April 1, the post Songkran period will be as dead as a doornail.

The old days are gone, there are new rules in this world if you want to find hot young women for sex. To the unvaccinated sex tourists just forget about it and stay at home, foreign governments just aren't going to listen to your arguments. They only want those who are vaccinated, they don't want anti vaxxers who might tax their hospital systems. The days of living in places such as Florida and doing 4 short trips a year so you can keep seeing your family are finished. Only those who have the money and the spare time and can take 3 months off from their home life can enjoy a long sex retreat. Unless your lucky enough to have a direct flight from your city to Thailand but even with those fights your going to have some severe hurdles to go through if your an anti vaxxer. I've got a buddy here who can 'work from home' and has so far done this here in Thailand without his company back home figuring out he's nowhere near his home. Sadly though he has to make it back home for some in person work that can't be done remotely and things might get dicey come time for his flight home.

Also gone are those old youtubers who did a massive amount of border runs to keep living in Thailand, possibly even a handful of posters here who can no longer manage this type of visa. Then there are those who choose the more riskier path. The 'not so legal' ways of getting an extension. You see them on youtube, too young to get a retirement visa but living in Thailand for years and years (CB Media for example). Flaunting the system in some way as to keep on getting their passport stamped most likely by the same visa agent and immigration officer over and over again. Sometimes its not all that much cloak and dagger types of dealings but when you enter on a tourist visa and leave 4 years later on a 'volunteer' visa there are questions. Or the guy who takes a kickboxing class once a week to 'stay in school' but he's never allowed to practice because he's twice the size of those in his class. Risks are risks, you deal with the consequences if caught.

Maybe things return to normal in two years, we will see what happens as they happen. But if your an anti vaxxer your chances of doing your short overseas sex tours might be hard to accomplish. These second and third world countries got hit pretty hard when the pandemic came along and things finally stabilized with the shipments of vaccines. And the people here are lining up for shots without question.