The Latest - restrictions, visas, entry requirements, etc.

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Jun

Re: The Latest - restrictions, visas, entry requirements, etc.

Post by Jun »

Taking the test isn't the problem.
Minor problems might be cost and supply of the tests.
The major problem is what happens if we fail ?
I googled the topic and got loads of irrelevant results on travelling. The first relevant result was from last April and refers to people being collected and sent to some awful quarantine centre for up to 14 days.
If that's still the policy, everyone with any sense will try to avoid testing. Hence almost no one signs into venues any more. The last time I signed in was to get into Lumphini park in November and I felt it was best to go along with what the brown uniforms requested. The park was very quiet.
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Re: The Latest - restrictions, visas, entry requirements, etc.

Post by Gaybutton »

Jun wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 5:00 pm The major problem is what happens if we fail ?
Very good question. I hadn't thought about that and it hasn't been addressed. I suppose the thing to do is get a cheap test kit and test yourself before going out. If you do test negative, at least it will be your own decision as to what to do next. One thing would be sure - you're not going out to dinner that night.

Meanwhile it is 6:20pm in Thailand. No news about any changes. I find it interesting, as far as I can tell, no other province or city in all of Thailand is doing anything similar. I have no idea why it is being done here.

If any of you in Pattaya go to a restaurant this evening, you don't need to tell us the name of the restaurant, but please do tell us if they were obeying the edict.
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Re: The Latest - restrictions, visas, entry requirements, etc.

Post by bkkguy »

Gaybutton wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 6:23 pmI find it interesting, as far as I can tell, no other province or city in all of Thailand is doing anything similar. I have no idea why it is being done here.
Latest CCSA figures:
Chonburi logged 442 Covid cases — up by 153 from the previous day — followed by 366 in Bangkok (-33), 304 in Ubon Ratchathani (+50), 128 in Nakhon Si Thammarat (-33), 100 in Khon Kaen (+1), 90 in Samut Prakan (+15), 85 in Chiang Mai (+16), 84 in Phuket (+20), 65 in Udon Thani (+22) and 57 in Rayong (-2).
I am not saying this justifies the knee-jerk reaction but it may go some way to explain why Chonburi first
I can’t even be bothered to be apathetic these days!
Jun

Re: The Latest - restrictions, visas, entry requirements, etc.

Post by Jun »

Gaybutton wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 6:23 pm I suppose the thing to do is get a cheap test kit and test yourself before going out. If you do test negative, at least it will be your own decision as to what to do next.
I presume they are not going to accept a test we take at home, since it's too easy just to bring along a test taken a month ago.

Incidentally, even a very faint Test line is supposed to be a fail.
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Re: The Latest - restrictions, visas, entry requirements, etc.

Post by Gaybutton »

bkkguy wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 8:05 pm I am not saying this justifies the knee-jerk reaction but it may go some way to explain why Chonburi first
So far it is only Chonburi, nowhere else. But why pick on restaurants to the exclusion of any other kinds of venues? What makes restaurants so much more likely to be where people are especially vulnerable to the virus? If that makes sense, it is escaping me.

Those 442 cases - how many of them had anything to do with eating in restaurants? Is there evidence that any of them resulted from eating in a restaurant?

Jun wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 10:05 pm I presume they are not going to accept a test we take at home, since it's too easy just to bring along a test taken a month ago.
The edict does say the test has to be within the last 72 hours. What kinds of tests - quick and inexpensive - are available to be able to prove that?

I don't know how the home test works. How long does it take to get the result? Maybe it would be practical to do the test at the restaurant if it doesn't take too long for the result. Just show the staff what you are doing. Of course I suppose it is possible to keep a previous home test in your pocket and do the old switcheroo if you don't like the result of the one you do at the restaurant. I've read that the home test often results in a false positive.

Has anyone eating in a Pattaya restaurant encountered any of this?
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Re: The Latest - restrictions, visas, entry requirements, etc.

Post by Gaybutton »

This has got to be in the "Are you kidding me?" category. That's very nice. I'm sure I'll just drop by, try to find a place to park at those locations, wait in whatever kind of lines will be there, get the test, and then just trot down to Jomtien where the restaurant where I want to go is.

I wonder if they have figured out yet - most of us, including Thais, are nowhere near those places. It's nice to offer the free tests, but who came up with those locations?

Of course, since restaurant wait staff will have to do this, maybe I'll be able to pick up the right waiter while I'm in the line doing my own waiting.

Why am I now visualizing a city filled with completely empty restaurants - for no logical reason whatsoever?

Anybody still think everything is going to open up and life gets back to normal on January 15? If you do, please give me about 15 minutes to finish having my little laugh.

Oh well, Happy New Year everybody . . .
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Chonburi Public Health setting up three major Covid-19 screening points in Pattaya for free Covid-19 rapid testing for restaurants that sell alcohol

By Adam Judd

2 January, 2022

The Chonburi Department of Public Health is setting up three major Covid-19 screening points from at least January 2nd-January 5th from 5:00 P.M. to late in Pattaya in busy “restaurant” areas. These will be rapid antigen tests and will be free, nearby business owners can use this for both staff and customer testing to meet the new Chonburi orders.

First, for reference, the new Chonburi orders about Covid-19 testing for staff AND customers of restaurants, especially those that sell alcohol or have crowds.

The screening points, some of which have already been running in prior days, are at the following locations. TPN media notes a test here will allow one to meet the new requirements in the above order as an employee or customer to go to restaurants that sell alcohol.

1. Tree Town Market, Soi Buakhao
2. Soi LK Metro
3. Walking Street in front of Stones House

The examination is entirely free and a test is valid for a 72-hour “pass” (for customers, the staff is required to test daily) to go to venues where a recent test will be a requirement.

https://thepattayanews.com/2022/01/02/c ... l-alcohol/
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Re: The Latest - restrictions, visas, entry requirements, etc.

Post by 2lz2p »

GB
Has anyone eating in a Pattaya restaurant encountered any of this?
I received this email from a friend:
I ate at the Holiday Inn Terrazzo tonight (Sunday evening, Jan. 2, 2022), with perhaps 20 other diners - and there was no Covid checking. And they do not plan to do Covid checking because they are not serving alcohol.

The Restaurant staff has been told by their management that no covid checking is necessary because they are not serving alcohol.

Perhaps there has been a partial relaxation of the very dire policy announced by the Governor early Sunday morning.
Although the Governor's "order" didn't make a distinction between restaurants serving and not serving alcohol, maybe the Holiday Inn (a major hotel) has rec'd some clarification from Gov't sources as they are usually very diligent in following restrictions. Perhaps there may be some official clarification publicized in the very near future. If it only applies to restaurants serving alcohol, then most that don't want to require testing can also stop serving alcohol and stay open.
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Re: The Latest - restrictions, visas, entry requirements, etc.

Post by Gaybutton »

No further news reports about this have been published yet, as of 7:35am in Pattaya.

2lz2p is right - no distinction about whether a restaurant is serving alcohol, at least nothing published in the news. I wonder if the restaurants that are not doing the testing have nothing to do with alcohol. Maybe it is refusal to comply.

If it turns out that the issue about testing customers is whether the restaurant is serving alcohol, then I would imagine restaurants will stop serving alcohol. Even if that is the case it is still a problem. I would hate to trek from my place to a restaurant only to find they're serving alcohol so I would have to either submit to the test or leave.

No matter what the case is, I probably will not submit to the test. I have nothing against a test I can trust for accuracy, but I don't want to risk a false positive and end up quarantined when I know I am not ill. If I were feeling sick, the last thing I would be doing is going out to a restaurant in the first place. Of course I could be sick, but asymptomatic.

It is still my opinion that this whole thing is just absolute nonsense. I would be in favor of it if, and only if, there was some evidence that eating in a restaurant is much more likely to cause me to catch Covid than my presence in any other type of venue. So far, I have seen no such evidence.
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Re: The Latest - restrictions, visas, entry requirements, etc.

Post by 2lz2p »

I rec'd another email from another friend in response to the one that dined at Holiday Inn. He pointed out that the first order by the Governor did relate to restaurants serving alcohol that had 100 or more customers. The second order apparently modified the first to include all restaurants, but the way it was worded did not make the "serving alcohol" distinction. So, maybe that was an omission and the 2nd order was related only to those included in the first order - confusing? :shock: But then again, This is Thailand. :)

Although I am presently not going out to restaurants (still recovering from broken hip), if I were, I would try to contact the restaurant before making the trip -- most have Facebook pages with Messenger available, which is the method I usually use for bookings or inquiries.
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Re: The Latest - restrictions, visas, entry requirements, etc.

Post by Gaybutton »

The good news is even if this rule applies to all restaurants, alcohol or not, I'm hearing that none of the restaurants so far are testing anyone.
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