Reopening

[Thai Spice]

8 minutes ago, code_slayer_bkk said:

LOL ... All governments training the "monkeys" ... there will be a couple more new strains of Covid -- up to and including covid-39 ...  not until they have the "monkeys" all most trained will all of this bullshit ( lockdowns . etc."s  ) be semi rolled-back ... so, I don't personally see anything changing until the middle of 2022 ...

There will be a litany of problems rolling out the vaccines ... back orders .. temporarily out of stock .. etc.'s ... plus, the vaccine itself causing "reactions" that will also create more doubt about it effectiveness .. this is far from over

Lets face it .. this is a perfect "storm" to roll back the freedoms of everyday people .. make them more dependent on the governments .. more megalomania from the government officials ... more people losing their homes and jobs .. this is just the beginning based upon what the officials have gotten away with so far .....

All over the western world, and with 90% of the populations applauding for having their freedom taken away....

And of course anybody who does not want to follow the main masses is an idiot, he is a selfish bastard, and is the cause / reason why covid has not been solved yet....

Alleluhia...

Hopefully the people will wake up and throw a mayhem or revolution...

Because mask, lockdown and social distancing has been tried since 9 months now and it simply doesn't work.

When something doesn't work you change the approach.

But hey, I don't give a hoot !

 

 

[Yesitisdakid]

even if they said all good now for returning to Thailand I would wait at least a year before leaving and expecting to return as things change here sometimes over night

[Sea-Hawks]

14 hours ago, Bazle said:

2021?

Or are you leaving your options open? 🙂

...before this recent outbreak, I heard from different sources/news that hopefully sometime in summer may be a possibility.  I usually don’t like coming in summer, but didn’t want to be choosy atm, so mentally was planning on visiting next summer. 

But, with current situation, now looks further out

[Sea-Hawks]

13 hours ago, dcfc2007 said:

If that's the case the quarantine requirement will never be dropped then. There is no such thing as 'zero covid' and the vaccine will no stop transmission entirely. Therefore, Thailand like the rest of the world will eventually come to the crossroads, continue with the draconian restrictions to limit infections and suffer the economic harm, or accept that covid is not going away and that vaccination is the best form of protection that allows us to return to normal life. 

...yes, this is the reality.  The vaccine doesn’t eliminate or prevent 100%.  So, if we follow how the PM is handling the tourism/boarders...could we really believe that open travel would really exist even when all thai’s are vaccinated???  

As much as I am hoping or wishing to return to LOS, I am leaning on the belief that the PM will continue the clamps on tourism...what does everyone else think???

Also, these new strains that seem to be worse, probably isn’t gonna help the longer term outlook. 

I was really not ready to believe that i may be locked out all of 2021...but I may have to mentally prepare for that, yikes!

[simon]

Will be amazed if tourists return to LOS next year. But be warned Thailand don't leave it to long or we will find somewhere else to go especially with the exchange rate being where it is. I feel the good days in Thailand will never return. 

[Thai Spice]

11 minutes ago, simon said:

Will be amazed if tourists return to LOS next year. But be warned Thailand don't leave it to long or we will find somewhere else to go especially with the exchange rate being where it is. I feel the good days in Thailand will never return. 

Plenty others destinations... although few will be open in the coming months IMO.

I know for some, Pattaya is their Nirvana...🙄🙄🙄

 

[Krapow]

8 hours ago, dcfc2007 said:

The moderna vaccine is also going to be a great help as it is easier to store and distribute. 

The Oxford vaccine is being reviewed by the MHRA as we speak, the Thais have bought 26m doses of the Oxford vaccine which are due to be delivered mid-2021.

No reason why somebody who has been vaccinated should be denied entrance to any city/region/country in the world. The sooner we start to bring an end to this madness the better for everyone.

Press reporting Oxford Vaccine to be approved this week. 

Much more larger roll out if so, our way out of these lockdowns as those most likely to be hospitalised given it first. Also talk of people like teachers etc. I've already been told i can get vaccinated due to my job, and can go on the priority list. 

Oxford one will be the game changer for the UK, 100 million ordered, made in the UK, easier to store, deliver etc etc.

 

[Horizondave]

How long is a piece of string, reading the posts here reminds me that there are so many differing reports on everything to do with Covid. 

I have read that all those in the vulnerable groups will be vaccinated by February or March or April or May or by the second half of 2021.  Tommy says a 78 year old has got his date in April yet another report I read said all those over 65 will be vaccinated by Easter (02 April) so all these experts that are on our screens and our papers are coming up with different views (facts).

Logistics, governments, reality, will all have a say in this yet that really has no bearing on when we can book our trip to Thailand.  We could all be sitting here in the UK vaccinated to the max yet unless the Thai government sees a way to allow tourists in without infecting the people the quarantine is likely to stay for a while yet. Yes they may drop the quarantine down to 10 days etc but if the Thai population can still be infected by others who could be asymptomatic then would the Prime Minister relax the rules. That together with an increase presently of their own problems and infections makes me feel we are in for a long run before I would feel comfortable in booking. 

A better way forward for booking would be better served by knowing when the Thai population gets vaccinated which again seems won't be starting for some months yet.

One day the Thai government will announce that quarantine is being greatly reduced or terminated and open skies may see us walking on Thai soil without fear of further lockdowns or checks but when that happens can only be speculated, guessed at.  Somebody will come back on here next year (probably) and say I told you the date, I was right but it would be just a good guess that came true among many other guesses.

The clouds are parting, there is light hopefully at the end of the tunnel but it will be a while yet before I will use my plastic to buy a ticket to Thailand.

[Murchie]

Who knows when we can freely travel again to Thailand. As I have discovered things can change overnight and change again before the day is over. No sooner had I rescheduled my flight from the UK to Kuwait the Kuwait government banned all flights from the UK then very swiftly once again closed the border. 

All being well I may get back to Thailand late February early March but I'm really not getting my hopes up as a lot can change between now and then.

[fforest]

2 minutes ago, Murchie said:

Who knows when we can freely travel again to Thailand. As I have discovered things can change overnight and change again before the day is over. No sooner had I rescheduled my flight from the UK to Kuwait the Kuwait government banned all flights from the UK then very swiftly once again closed the border. 

All being well I may get back to Thailand late February early March but I'm really not getting my hopes up as a lot can change between now and then.

I would guess your next best opportunity will be next fall....The big lockdown should be hitting any day now.....This years window is over...

[john luke]

Gents - Please keep this thread civil and on topic.

Thanks.

[Smiler]

25 minutes ago, fforest said:

I would guess your next best opportunity will be next fall....The big lockdown should be hitting any day now.....This years window is over...

Unfortunately I don't think we can rule out another "big lockdown" in Thailand. 

The government took its eye off the ball and got distracted with what we can't talk about on here. Resources were redeployed, the borders became porus again and Covid took advantage.

Who knows what will happen but from where I am sitting it seems an overreaction is more than possible.

[dcfc2007]

2 hours ago, Krapow said:

Press reporting Oxford Vaccine to be approved this week. 

Much more larger roll out if so, our way out of these lockdowns as those most likely to be hospitalised given it first. Also talk of people like teachers etc. I've already been told i can get vaccinated due to my job, and can go on the priority list. 

Oxford one will be the game changer for the UK, 100 million ordered, made in the UK, easier to store, deliver etc etc.

 

Great news for the UK. As for what it means for visiting Thailand, probably not a lot. The Thais aren't due to receive the vaccine until mid-2021, and it will take months upon months to distribute, I think its incredibly likely there will be some sort of restrictions on entering Thailand right through 2021 into 2022. How those restrictions change and how onerous they become will be key. 

[Nightcrawler]

21 minutes ago, dcfc2007 said:

Great news for the UK. As for what it means for visiting Thailand, probably not a lot. The Thais aren't due to receive the vaccine until mid-2021, and it will take months upon months to distribute, I think its incredibly likely there will be some sort of restrictions on entering Thailand right through 2021 into 2022. How those restrictions change and how onerous they become will be key. 

Yes, it will be very much dependent on what the Thai govt decides in 2021. 

The vaccine/s are good news, but as has been repeatedly said, the roll outs are going to take some time and I can imagine quarantine measures for entering Thailand being in place until at least June 2021 if not longer. That is providing nothing else goes wrong, like further, more serious mutations etc. 

If and when Covid infections come down to low figures in UK or other countries  then perhaps restrictions might be lifted. 

That said, which has also been mentioned here, is that whilst the vaccine may halt the symptoms of C19, it is not known whether a vaccinated person can still carry the virus and pass it on. 

If that were the case, then I am not sure that the Thai Govt would drop quarantine rules. 

At the end of the day, we simply don't know when we will be allowed back as before but can only hope that it is not another year of waiting. 

I think we have to wit to see the effect of the vaccines in Europe first and of course USA where they have started rolling it out. 

Opening up Europe again would be a good start, opening up the aviation industry and tourism geared up for the Summer. 

[dcfc2007]

32 minutes ago, Nightcrawler said:

Yes, it will be very much dependent on what the Thai govt decides in 2021. 

The vaccine/s are good news, but as has been repeatedly said, the roll outs are going to take some time and I can imagine quarantine measures for entering Thailand being in place until at least June 2021 if not longer. That is providing nothing else goes wrong, like further, more serious mutations etc. 

If and when Covid infections come down to low figures in UK or other countries  then perhaps restrictions might be lifted. 

That said, which has also been mentioned here, is that whilst the vaccine may halt the symptoms of C19, it is not known whether a vaccinated person can still carry the virus and pass it on. 

If that were the case, then I am not sure that the Thai Govt would drop quarantine rules. 

At the end of the day, we simply don't know when we will be allowed back as before but can only hope that it is not another year of waiting. 

I think we have to wit to see the effect of the vaccines in Europe first and of course USA where they have started rolling it out. 

Opening up Europe again would be a good start, opening up the aviation industry and tourism geared up for the Summer. 

Like I said before, the vaccine prevents serious illness from covid, and will likely reduce the rates of transmission. Does that mean covid will disappear? No, and anyone that thinks it will is going to be disappointed.

Therefore the restrictions must be lifted, and anyone who has been vaccinated should be free to travel as and where they please, a line in the sand must be drawn somewhere, and if it isn't vaccination then what is it? 

[ukdave51]

Surely if most  are vaccinated it shouldn`t matter if they are carriers if they can`t infect other vaccinated people. 

[Nightcrawler]

14 minutes ago, ukdave51 said:

Surely if most  are vaccinated it shouldn`t matter if they are carriers if they can`t infect other vaccinated people. 

Theoretically yes. But there will still be a sizeable amount of the population who don't want the vaccine, and of course its not compulsory, as yet anyway. Then it will come down to herd immunity I guess. 

But, it is not known how long the current vaccines will last, which is a big factor. Maybe it will be like the annual flu vaccine or bi annual. But the take up for the current Flu jab is still quite low and only free to the over 65's. Some companies have schemes to pay for employees to have the flu vaccine annually but other than that, it is a choice and you have pay. 

Perhaps the new Covid vaccines will be made free to all for the next 2 years, and people will be encouraged to be vaccinated.  The Asian flu in 1918 took 2 years to start disappearing and that was without technology and millions of deaths, worldwide. 

I can see some charges being introduced sooner or later to pay for it all. 

Pandemics seem to arrive every hundred years or so, and it's not unlikely, that another virus of some shape or form will hit us if not in our lifetime, but our children's children. 

Sorry, this probably more appropriate to the vaccine thread but still has relevance to reopening as there could be a knock on effect to easing travel restrictions. 

My biggest concern, is not about when, but what will be left to go back to.  How long can tourist businesses really survive on just expat custom? 

What will be left in Pattaya?

Well for sure, new bars, restaurants etc will only spring up once there is confidence of the return of tourism.

But the infrastructure is all there at least, even if the canvass is looking rather bare. 

[lazarus]

A world pandemic is much like a world war. Except it is human disease and death without physical destruction.

Like in wars some are fortunate to be in places either protected or lightly affected. Others have and will feel the full brunt of the horror.

Once the pandemic has mostly ended (deaths are minimal) the dust will settle and nations will take stock of the risk to open their borders fully to outsiders.

In the present the bad thing is that without government intervention people will starve and lose their homes. In the future the good thing is the infrastructure will all be there when the time comes to reopen.

In the meantime, patience is more of a virtue than ever...

 

Edited December 27, 2020 by lazarus

[Binlid]

8 hours ago, Krapow said:

Press reporting Oxford Vaccine to be approved this week. 

Much more larger roll out if so, our way out of these lockdowns as those most likely to be hospitalised given it first. Also talk of people like teachers etc. I've already been told i can get vaccinated due to my job, and can go on the priority list. 

Oxford one will be the game changer for the UK, 100 million ordered, made in the UK, easier to store, deliver etc etc.

 

My wife has an appointment to get her first shot of vaccine on Tuesday, I have to take her to the Cwmbran Stadium. She will get her second dose on the 26th January.

[dcfc2007]

7 hours ago, ukdave51 said:

Surely if most  are vaccinated it shouldn`t matter if they are carriers if they can`t infect other vaccinated people. 

The vaccine is most definitely the route out of this. Is it perfect? No, but it's what we need to start moving society and the economy forward again.

However, there is an underlying issue. A small section of society populated by lefties, anarchists, remainiacs and anti-westerners don't want the vaccine to work, they are besides themselves with rage that the UK led by a tory government is on track to be the first large country to vaccinate its population.

The current restrictions are the far-lefts dream, millions on the payroll of the state, the NHS venerated like a God, businesses closed, air travel reduced to a trickle. It's almost as if Jeremy Corbyn and Extinction Rebellion won the UK election. 

They get to live out there fantasy world under the guise of virtue signalling bollocks about 'protecting the NHS' and other such nonsense. These people will attempt to frustrate and delay any attempts to return to normality, proper normality, none of this pseudo-scientific 'new normal' bollocks.

[Thai Spice]

33 minutes ago, dcfc2007 said:

The vaccine is most definitely the route out of this. Is it perfect? No, but it's what we need to start moving society and the economy forward again.

However, there is an underlying issue. A small section of society populated by lefties, anarchists, remainiacs and anti-westerners don't want the vaccine to work, they are besides themselves with rage that the UK led by a tory government is on track to be the first large country to vaccinate its population.

The current restrictions are the far-lefts dream, millions on the payroll of the state, the NHS venerated like a God, businesses closed, air travel reduced to a trickle. It's almost as if Jeremy Corbyn and Extinction Rebellion won the UK election. 

They get to live out there fantasy world under the guise of virtue signalling bollocks about 'protecting the NHS' and other such nonsense. These people will attempt to frustrate and delay any attempts to return to normality, proper normality, none of this pseudo-scientific 'new normal' bollocks.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha...... You even included the Remainers ? Bravo ! 

But I agree with that part :

"none of this pseudo-scientific 'new normal' bollocks."

OK, bedtime now my boy ! 

 

 

 

[KWA]

14 hours ago, Horizondave said:

I have read that all those in the vulnerable groups will be vaccinated by February or March or April or May or by the second half of 2021.  Tommy says a 78 year old has got his date in April yet another report I read said all those over 65 will be vaccinated by Easter (02 April) so all these experts that are on our screens and our papers are coming up with different views (facts).

There's an on-line calculator that asks a few questions then gives a date range of when you should get the jab.  With no prioritisation a 78 year old will get it in early February and 65 year olds just earlier than your date, by 24th March.

It's based on 1,000,000 jabs per day which I thought ambitious, but considering they gave over 600,000 the other day it may well be achievable.

At the moment very little notice is being given, understandably as it's all so new, and I doubt if anyone has been officially given a date for April.

 

https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/vaccine-queue-uk

 

[Jambo]

26 minutes ago, KWA said:

There's an on-line calculator that asks a few questions then gives a date range of when you should get the jab.  With no prioritisation a 78 year old will get it in early February and 65 year olds just earlier than your date, by 24th March.

It's based on 1,000,000 jabs per day which I thought ambitious, but considering they gave over 600,000 the other day it may well be achievable.

At the moment very little notice is being given, understandably as it's all so new, and I doubt if anyone has been officially given a date for April.

 

https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/vaccine-queue-uk

 

Do you know how, for example, all those aged say 70 get on the register to be vaccinated?

Does it happen automatically and if so how are they identified?

Or does one have to apply to be vaccinated and then go on a register?

[KWA]

4 minutes ago, Jambo said:

Do you know how, for example, all those aged say 70 get on the register to be vaccinated?

Does it happen automatically and if so how are they identified?

Or does one have to apply to be vaccinated and then go on a register?

If you're registered with a GP you wait until they get in touch with you, is my understanding.

[Washedup]

The way things are going if I can get a trip to Thailand in December I'll be happy..itll be trips to the highlands of Scotland and the Netherlands in the meantime...haggis whiskey and magic truffles in that order