chinese deadly coronavirus

[Dodger]

Chinese woman clashes with Thai air crew:

Too bad they weren't still up in the air. They could have tossed her out the door and handed her a face mask as a parachute...

[Gaybutton]

Part of the article says, "Many restaurants, especially seafood and hotpot restaurants that primarily appealed to Asian tourists, have temporarily closed or sit nearly empty."

That certainly brings tears to my eyes . . .

Again, the mistake these restaurants made was catering to one specific group of people, with no contingency plan in case something goes wrong. Most farang restaurants I go to include a Thai menu. Sometimes those restaurants don't even make the Thai food. If someone orders it, they get it from a Thai restaurant. But they at least have sense enough to realize a lot of farang have Thai friends and plan for that.

If I were the owner of some of these restaurants that had been catering only to the Chinese tour buses, I'd be taking steps to try to attract Thai and farang customers. I'm always looking, and never finding, a good inexpensive Chinese restaurant. As long as they serve what I would consider to be normal Chinese food, the kind I'm used to, I'd at least give it a try. But if they just sit there empty, without at least trying to attract a different clientele, the "For Sale" sign makers are going to have much more business.
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Pattaya Restaurant industry starting to feel financial pain from Covid-19 Coronavirus

By Adam Judd

March 11, 2020

The Pattaya Restaurant Industry…and indeed all of Thailand… is starting to feel the pain from the outbreak of the Covid-19 Coronavirus and may suffer a financial loss of as much as 400 million baht this year nationally if the virus situation does not improve by the second quarter, according to the Kasikorn Research Center.

As tourism numbers fall due to the amount of people nervous to fly or be caught in potential quarantines and local expats and Thai people eat out less for fear of being in public, the restaurant industry nationwide is beginning to feel the heat. Many restaurants, especially seafood and hotpot restaurants that primarily appealed to Asian tourists, have temporarily closed or sit nearly empty.

Additionally, with most major events cancelled in the country, including official Songkran events, leads to less food specific festivals and displays. The Thai Food Festival in Pattaya that was scheduled this month was also cancelled by the city, The Pattaya News notes. This festival usually consists of dozens of unique food tents lining Pattaya Beach for over a week. The upcoming yearly Seafood Festival, which is also a major food event for the city, has also been cancelled.

There are, however, some bright spots. As more people stay home, usage of food delivery applications such as Grab, Lineman and Food Panda have increased and those restaurants that adapt to changes and have their offerings on the delivery applications are likely to make it through the current crisis.

Additionally, many restaurants are taking precautions to show potential customers that they are taking the situation seriously in regards to performing proper hygiene.

Food cart vendors are also moving into the modern era with many utilizing online delivery groups on Facebook and food delivery applications to deliver their meals directly to customer’s homes.

https://thepattayanews.com/2020/03/11/p ... ronavirus/

[Gaybutton]

In the news virtually every day I am reading about more and more Songkran event cancellations in Thailand. It's difficult to keep up with them all.

Rather than posting a long list of event cancellations, considering how many of them and in how many cities, if you were planning to be in Thailand for Songkran and were looking forward to attending any of these events, I would suggest assuming they have been canceled. Most likely you will be right.

Of course depending on where you come from or where your flight might make a stop, it's becoming more difficult for people to just get here. And even if you get here without any trouble, nothing guarantees you won't end up in that 14-day quarantine.

Based on everything I've been reading, I expect the situation to get even more difficult as time goes by.

[Gaybutton]

Here's an oddball story. Read it and then tell me what if you arrive in Thailand, but don't happen to have a mobile phone? What if you're not an internet user and don't even have an Email address - never needed one and never wanted one?

Certainly there are people who do have a mobile phone and for whatever reason decided not to bring it to Thailand. If it were me and I was arriving from the USA, instead of bringing my mobile phone I probably would have opted for buying an 'el cheapo' mobile phone once I was in Thailand or opted not to bother with a mobile phone at all while in Thailand.

Is owning and having a working mobile phone in your possession - the kind that apps can be downloaded into in the first place - now a requirement for entering Thailand? Are you also now required to have an Email address?

The article doesn't say what happens if you don't have a mobile phone and/or don't have an Email address. It's hard for me to believe you would be denied entry, but this being Thailand, who knows? It's not quite there yet, but this is a good candidate for the next entry on my "I Don't Get It" list.
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Info via AOT app required from inbound passengers at airports

Mar 11, 2020

Starting March 12, all foreign tourists arriving at all international airports in Thailand will be required to download an AOT Airport application onto their mobile phones as a measure to contain the spread Covid-19 in the country.

The requirement also applies to Thai returnees from high risk countries.

The measure was agreed at a meeting of the Digital Economy and Society Ministry, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, the Immigration Bureau, the Department of Disease Control, Airports of Thailand and five telecom operators.

Once the app is downloaded, they will have to fill in the required information - name, surname, passport ID , mobile phone number, e-mail address and present them to the immigration officials on duty . The information will be stored for 14 days after arrival.

In the case of a virus-infected person, the information given will enable related state agencies to follow protocols.

The state agencies will also be able to trace and inform passengers on the same flight as the infected individual.

Digital Economy Minister Puttipong Punnakanta said the measure was meant to reassure both Thais and foreign travellers of Thailand's readiness in tackling the Covid-19 outbreak.

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30383878

[Undaunted]

BKK airport Immigration official contracts the virus:
https://pattayaone.news/suvarnabhumi-im ... -covid-19/

[Undaunted]

Tom Hanks tests positive for Coronavirus:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/busi ... virus.html

[pong]

On those small white cards one has to fill out on entering this Kingdom, there is since they revamped them-and made them even smaller and more difficult for aged people or those with some handicap, there has since been a line for jotting down your @mail. Ditto if one has to fill out the forms for a tourist 60-day visa. Have never tried to find out what happens if one leaves it blank or says NONE.
The UK-female minister for health has also been tested as corona-positive. Apparently she must have been infected at a big meeting where that white-haired big Trump-fan BoJo was also present.
Back to point of protesting Chinese: this is well-known in airline circles, both for Chinese and Taiwanese, its to get a nice dole-out as compensation afters. For the mainland Chinese probably also the 1-child utterly spoilt phenomenon of little emperors. Other countries, other customs.

[Gaybutton]

Back to point of protesting Chinese: this is well-known in airline circles, both for Chinese and Taiwanese, its to get a nice dole-out as compensation afters. For the mainland Chinese probably also the 1-child utterly spoilt phenomenon of little emperors. Other countries, other customs.

Can anyone translate that to English?

Pong, no offense intended, but you write like that all the time. I don't know about others, but for me all too often I don't know what the hell you're talking about. And this part of your post is a prime example.

[Dodger]

Back to point of protesting Chinese: this is well-known in airline circles, both for Chinese and Taiwanese, its to get a nice dole-out as compensation afters. For the mainland Chinese probably also the 1-child utterly spoilt phenomenon of little emperors. Other countries, other customs.

Can anyone translate that to English?

I could be wrong, but I think he's telling us that little emperors from China and Taiwan have now gathered, and are circling the airlines to request compensation for one child in each family to treat the coronavirus.

[Undaunted]

Tourism and the virus: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51796812