A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[yinyang]

Buri Ram province locked down
Fever check, self isolation for all entering the province
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 16 MAR 2020 AT 17:43

Buri Ram municipality was quiet on Monday as the governor ordered the province locked down against Covid-19 disease, with strict screening and crowd activities cancelled. (Photo: Surachai Piragsa)

BURI RAM: Provincial governor Thatchakorn Hatthathayakul has ordered a lockdown of the province to combat the spread of Covid-19 disease, applying public health measures to implement the decision.
The governor announced the move on Monday. He said it was aimed at containing the coronavirus outbreak, even though the province had no cases of infection so far.

The lockdown took immediate effect and is possible under health regulations since Covid-19 was declared a dangerous communicable disease last month. The declaration gives health authorities power to make any decision to prevent the spread of the virus, and the governor used this to exercise his power.

The announcement will have an extensive effect on tourism and other businesses. All people entering the province - both foreigners and local residents - will be required to undergo strict screening and then self isolation for 14 days. Authorities and volunteers will check up on them. Those with fevers will be sent to hospitals.

All activities gathering more than 50 people in one venue - including seminars, entertainment events, religious ceremonies, summer courses and talad nad (roaming markets) - are banned for 30 days, or any further change.

• Khmer New Year celebrations face cancellations as Covid-19 fears mount
• Buri Ram villages ravaged by summer thunderstorm
• Govt steps up virus fight

"Violators will be subject to legal action," governor Thatchakorn warned.

Buri Ram is the first province to implement a lockdown without waiting for a government order.
The province is the new home of Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is a deputy prime minister and the Bhumjaithai Party leader. He has moved his address from Bangkok to Buri Ram to stay close to his right-hand man, Newin Chidchob, considered one of the most influential figures in the party.

Mr Thatchakorn said the lockdown was necessary, before the province was damaged by the disease.
"We have to sacrifice organs to save lives," he said, using a Chinese saying in refering to businesses that will be affected by the decision.
The governor urged people to cancel plans to visit their families during the Songkran holiday, to prevent the further spread of the virus. "If you care for your parents, please do not travel during Songkran, to stop Covid-19," he said.
The government will also defer the traditional New Year holiday from next month to later dates.

Mr Newin also posted a message on his Facebook account, giving his support for the lockdown of his home town. He said Buri Ram must be kept safe.

 

[Froggy]

Panic buying is true. Was checking my tires at a shop outside a supermarket near home. Just for fun thought I’d pop in for a look.

 

[Froggy]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tr..._date=20200316120000&seq_num=7&si=%%user_id%%

Bangkok hopes extended railway will ease traffic chaos
Subway system set to double with $9.5bn investment by 2023
YOHEI MURAMATSU, Nikkei staff writer
March 15, 2020 14:00 JST

Bangkok opened its first urban railway in 1999, a relatively early mover in Southeast Asia, but frequent political upheavals and economic fluctuations delayed expansion. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)

BANGKOK -- A city known for traffic gridlock and confusing roads, Bangkok has been trying to improve traffic and the quality of life for its residents by rapidly expanding its rail system.

The Blue Line, Bangkok's first circle line, started operation at the beginning of this month connecting the downtown area with western districts after the completionof a 12-kilometer extensionin the west of the capital.

At Tha Phra Station, the massive X-shaped structure serving the western portion of the Blue Line, service started without a hitch at one of the lower platforms on a recent visit. It took about an hour to travel the entire loop before arriving at one of the station's upper platforms.

Bangkok's railway is set to double to about 300 km in 2023 from the end of last year, making it nearly the same size as Tokyo's subway and one of the largest in Asia excluding China.

The total development cost is expected to exceed 300 billion baht ($9.54 billion) by 2023.

"The development of urban railways is one of the keys to achieving sustainable, high-quality economic growth. Thailand needs to prioritize that," Keiichiro Yuasa, senior representative at Japan International Cooperation Agency Thailand Office told the Nikkei Asian Review.

It is difficult to attract highly skilled staff if they know that their quality of life would be compromised by traffic jams and air pollution, he said.

Bangkok is bisected by the Chao Phraya River, which runs south into the Gulf of Thailand. On one side of the river is the city's massive business district that spans the city center to neighborhoods further east. On the western side of the river are residential areas.

Traveling between the eastern and western halves of the city used to be a hassle, but the Blue Line will make it much more convenient now.

The elevated Green Line, which has been in service for roughly two decades, provides a link to the northern part of Bangkok. A 3-km extension to Kasetsart University opened in December.

Kasetsart is one of the country's largest universities with a student population of roughly 60,000. Before the extension, buses were the only public transportation available for commuting to the school. The line has been a hit with students, and an additional extension has been planned for next year.

The Dark Red Line, beginning from Bang Sue Grand Station in the north, is due to launch next year, extending over 26 km. When the entire line is complete, it will connect to Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi international airports.

"The government wants to gear up and modernize transport systems for all people. We have to fill all major areas with electric trains," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said in September. "Traffic problems can be relieved if Bangkok residents, particularly motorists, have more choices to travel, and a rail network should be one of them."

Bangkok opened its first urban railway, called Skytrains or BTS, in 1999, a relatively early mover in Southeast Asia, but frequent political upheavals and economic fluctuations delayed expansion.

New Delhi, which opened its first subway line in 2002, has seen improvements far faster than Bangkok, with the total route now exceeding 300km. In Thailand, the military government, which took power after the 2014 coup, accelerated the development of urban railways, and expansion finally gained momentum.

The rail construction has sparked a flurry of development along the routes, leading to the formation of new city centers in the greater Bangkok area.

Around Tao Poon Station near Bang Sue, new condominiums have sprouted. One building nearing completion has 740 units and was built by Thailand's Sena Development jointly with Japan's Hankyu Hanshin Properties. A commercial development near the station, built by Thai conglomerate TCC Group, opened for business last November.

"This area used to be a working-class neighborhood, but the streetscape has changed dramatically over the past few years," said a manager at a nearby restaurant.

Another secondary urban center is taking shape in the southeast, thanks to Charoen Pokphand Group. The nation's largest conglomerate poured about 30 billion baht into a mixed-use development that opened near Punnawithi Station.

In addition to residential and office space, the complex also features True Digital Park, the biggest startup campus in Southeast Asia designed to house 25,000 workers.

Sparking this transformation was the Thai government's yearslong mission to reduce traffic congestion. Thailand is Southeast Asia's car manufacturing center, where Japanese automakers dominate. Vehicle ownership has climbed along with the economy.

At the same time, Bangkok has been the scene of disorganized urban sprawl that has left municipal functions concentrated in the downtown area. Roadway construction has failed to keep pace with economic growth. Streets only cover 7% of the city, or less than half that in Tokyo.

As a result, Bangkok, together with Mexico City, was named one of the world's two most congested cities in a 2017 ranking by Dutch digital mapping company TomTom.

Thailand's capital improved to 11th place in 2019, but air pollution still causes public schools to close some days. The government now looks to develop secondary urban centers to resolve the problem.

However, some economic risk factors have emerged that could undercut infrastructure spending. Because of the trade war, the economy grew only 2.4% last year, the slowest pace since 2014. With the new coronavirus hammering the tourism and manufacturing industries, economic growth may dip below 2% this year.

 

[Froggy]

So was on Saturday I had a wonderful breakfast by the pool with the Mrs

Resort lobby

Pool by the breakfast place and lobby

Breakfast open air

Half boiled egg

Thai Kway Chap

Pork boiled rice

 

[yinyang]

Cabinet approves plans to close schools, postpone Songkran
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 17 MAR 2020 AT 14:26

Nana, Soi Cowboy closed too? And no more water therapy for Froggy?

Students wearing protective masks attend an admission exam for the Triam Udom Suksa School,
a state upper-secondary school that has the largest enrollment in the country, at Impact Forum in Bangkok
on March 5, 2020. (Reuters photo)

The cabinet on Tuesday approved plans to postpone next month's Songkran New Year holiday and to close schools to limit the spread of the coronavirus, a government spokeswoman said.

The approvals followed a series of plans announced on Monday to close schools, bars, movie theatres, cockfighting arenas and other entertainment centres as well as postpone the Thai New Year holiday, which falls between April 13 to 15.

"The cabinet approved that the Songkran holiday be postponed and schools closed," Ratchada Thanadirek, the government's deputy spokeswoman, told Reuters.

She added that closures of entertainment venues would be up to the discretion of each provincial governors, adding that more details would be available later.

 

[Froggy]

Cabinet approves plans to close schools, postpone Songkran
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 17 MAR 2020 AT 14:26

Nana, Soi Cowboy closed too? And no more water therapy for Froggy?

We are living in unprecedented and exciting time isn't it? Wonder if I could go for the last bang before it close.

 

[yinyang]

So was on Saturday I had a wonderful breakfast by the pool with the Mrs

Resort lobby

Pool by the breakfast place and lobby

Breakfast open air

Half boiled egg

Thai Kway Chap

Pork boiled rice

I'm a sucker for khao tom moo

 

[yinyang]

We are living in unprecedented and exciting time isn't it? Wonder if I could go for the last bang before it close.

Do it before the ladies go back (if not too late by now). See Morchit's bus station packed to rafters last night.
Prayut's today on cancelling songkran is too late.
Recipe for disaster back Isaan?

 

[Froggy]

These days it's difficult to get dining companions to join this lonely soul. So, lonely

 

[yinyang]

 

[yinyang]

deleted

 

[yinyang]

 

[Froggy]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/A..._date=20200317190000&seq_num=2&si=%%user_id%%

Thailand's economic 'death by a thousand cuts' sows desperation
Suicides rise as debts, drought and coronavirus hit the country hard

MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR, Asia regional correspondent
March 17, 2020 04:06 JST

NAKHON PATHOM, Thailand -- Four Buddhist monks were chanting prayers -- the funeral rites for Thee Pieanmag, a 32-year-old building contractor who had died by suicide in his home.

A sprinkling of Thee's family and friends, all dressed in black, had gathered at Wat Maipinkleaw temple in Nakhon Pathom, west of Bangkok. Beside the coffin was a sepia-toned photo of Thee in a silver frame.

Weerapong Pieanmag was at a loss to understand his younger brother's suicide. "He showed no signs of trouble about his building business, even if it was becoming difficult to get building materials on credit," Weerapong said.

Thee's death was reported in Thai Rath, the country's largest Thai-language daily. The newspaper ran a story in early March, with grim details of his final hours and a headline stating that his suicide was because of "a huge debt."

His premature death was far from an isolated case. Stories of suicides related to financial hardship have become all too familiar in Thailand over the last year -- a dark measure of the costs as Southeast Asia's second-largest economy stutters.

In mid-February, a used-car dealer led his family of four in a mass suicide in Phitsanoulok, a northern province. A note left on his phone revealed he had business debts of over 10 million baht ($313,000).

Just after Thee's death, a 56-year-old businessman in the plastics trade from Samut Sakhon, south of Bangkok, died in another suicide attributed to money problems.

The kingdom has the highest suicide rate in Southeast Asia, at 14.4 per 100,000 people, according to the World Health Organization. Experts see little hope of improvement, at least when it comes to economy-related cases, as the country's middle and working classes will continue to face a storm of problems -- rising debts, weak consumer spending, factory closures, falling commodity prices and a harsh drought, to name a few.

And now, there is the impact of the new coronavirus spreading across the globe.

Massage shop workers wait for customers in a tourist area of Bangkok on March 6. The coronavirus pandemic is just one headwind hitting Thailand's small businesses. © Reuters

Already, in 2019, Thailand's economy grew just 2.4%, one of the slowest rates in the past five years, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), which plans the country's economic strategy. This year's growth is expected to be even worse, at 1.5%, the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking predicts.

Insiders at Bangkok's financial institutions say the actual result could end up being only 0.5%, the lowest in a decade.

"What we are seeing now is slow attrition, a hollowing out of the economy for the small people," said Supavud Saicheau, a leading economist and adviser to Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group, a Bangkok-based business consultancy. "It is economic death by a thousand cuts."

Two recent reports by the World Bank lay bare the roots of Thailand's economic malaise.

They trace the country's woeful numbers to the five years under the previous military junta -- a bitter pill for the generals who run the pro-military government elected last March. In 2014, the year of the coup, growth slumped to 1% due to the political turmoil.

From 2015 to 2018, the World Bank says the poverty rate in Thailand increased from 7.21% to 9.85%. The number of people living in poverty surged from 4.85 million to more than 6.7 million, out of a population of 69.04 million.

These troubling trends, the bank noted, did not stem from severe local or international financial crises, which had at least partly explained previous increases in poverty in 1998, 2000 and 2008.

Nationwide perceptions of well-being are low across Thailand, compared with its regional peers. "Only 39% of Thais in 2018 felt their standard of living was getting better," the World Bank said in early March. It was "the lowest when compared to other Southeast Asian countries surveyed during a similar period."

Poverty is widespread across all 77 Thai provinces, which "signals a reversal in trends from the past," the World Bank report argues. In the 2007-2013 period, "wages, farm incomes and remittances contributed to poverty reduction, but in the period [from] 2015-2017 they became sources of rising poverty."

The dire picture on the ground shreds the rosy image the government painted in 2017. Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, the junta's economic czar and the current regime's key economic adviser, said that "nobody will be poor in Thailand by 2018."

Billions of baht worth of stimulus packages, subsidies and direct cash as relief measures -- euphemistically referred to as "helicopter money" -- have been rolled out. The junta's flagship welfare program, unveiled in 2017, initially disbursed 40 billion baht to 11 million poor people. That number increased to 14 million in the second year, as the regime geared up for the March 2019 general elections.

But stories of families trapped at the bottom of the economic ladder reveal the limits of the junta's and pro-military government's aid.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, front right, launched billions of baht worth of stimulus measures ahead of the general election in 2019, but the economy slowed. © AP

The need for more "helicopter money" could swell in Chonburi, a province southeast of Bangkok, where factories are shutting down due to plummeting exports. Thousands in the province have been pushed out of their jobs as a consequence of a strong Thai baht and a shifting global market for Thai manufactured goods. Now, there are long lines of former factory workers at the local offices of the labor department.

Many are turning to loan sharks to help make ends meet, adding to bulging household debts. Last year, the average debt load stood at 552,500 baht, up from 377,100 baht in 2009, according to the Bank of Thailand, the central bank. Total household debt is now equal to nearly 80% of gross domestic product, the second-highest ratio in Asia after South Korea.

"Our debt is over 2 million baht now, and we are struggling to pay back the 15% monthly interest to the loan shark," said Phatthiraphon Nonsiri. She lost her job in December, after the Japanese-owned auto parts factory where she worked shut down. The closure also affected her husband and her parents, all of whom were employed on the factory floor.

The sudden loss of income, the 29-year-old Phatthiraphon said, may condemn them to "live in the dark." They have failed to pay three months of electricity bills, and they fear their power supply will be cut. "We are stuck," she said, shaking her head.

Empty chairs are seen on a Phuket beach -- usually full of tourists -- on March 11. © Reuters

A similar gloom is descending on Bangkok, including the ubiquitous fashion malls many small and midsize enterprises rely on.

One mall in a northern Bangkok district used to be popular with office workers and students looking for bargains without brand names. Now the upper floors resemble a graveyard of empty stores. Nearly one-third are closed.

"Earlier, when business was good, we earned 200,000 baht a month, but last month sales were down to 75,000 baht," lamented a vendor who sold colorful Hawaiian shirts. "It is hard to stay open, because customers have declined, yet our costs are the same, like monthly rent of 31,400 baht. ... We may close soon."

The plight of Thai SMEs, a driving force for the economy, has not been lost on economists. "SMEs have higher risk, and as a result have more difficulty to get funding from the formal banking sector than large corporates," said Somprawin Manprasert, chief economist at the research division of Bank of Ayudhya.

"The shock from the coronavirus is draining demand, and I am worried, really worried about our economy."

But even before the coronavirus hit the tourism sector, Somprawin's researchers had raised the alarm about farm incomes drying up from the severe drought.

The Yom River is reduced to little more than puddles in this part of Phichit Province, north of Bangkok. If the drought persists much longer, farmers face significant losses. © AP

The dry spell began in mid-2019 and shows no signs of abating. If it continues through July, losses from the rice crop are estimated at 37.8 billion baht and 3.3 billion baht for cassava, according to a March 2020 study by the commercial bank. Rubber and sugar farmers are also hurting.

The drought could not have come at a worse time, the NESDC said last month. A parched rural heartland will not be able to reprise its old role as a shock absorber for a weak economy. In the past, rural areas offered work to families who had lost jobs in factories or small businesses and returned to their villages to harvest the fields.

The discontent among Thailand's economically dispossessed is growing. And the parliamentary opposition has seized the moment to accuse the pro-military regime of forsaking the majority in favor of its powerful financial allies, the Sino-Thai oligarchs, whose fortunes have soared after the 2014 putsch.

Mingkwan Saengsuwan, a former commerce minister, drew first blood, arguing that since the coup the total wealth of the richest 1% of Thais was "worth more than the total wealth of the 99% of Thais combined." He was driving home a point made during a no-confidence debate in the legislature in late February: that by 2017, Thailand had topped the list of countries with the worst wealth inequality, up from 11th place just two years earlier.

Financial analysts have taken note of the glaring economic divide and the pampered oligarchs benefiting from sweetheart deals. The junta turned to the oligarchs to help revive the economy after the coup, enticing them into partnerships by dangling carrots -- tax concessions and protection of their monopolies and duopolies. There is growing chatter within some quarters about Thailand becoming "a country owned by a few for a few," as one veteran foreign analyst in Bangkok put it.

Consequently, political risk is rising, he noted. "Yet, we don't know which form it will take, but if history is a guide, Thais don't do things gradually -- they just blow up."

 

[yinyang]

Hard hitting piece on Prayut's paralysis with pandemic. And good analysis on why (coalition partners portfolios)
And Bkk Post editorial asks for lockdown
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1881055/lockdown-the-best-option

Time running out on govt virus act

ATIYA ACHAKULWISUT COLUMNIST
PUBLISHED : 17 MAR 2020 AT 07:45

The Prayut government’s performance against Covid-19 has been so uninspiring a netizen recently posted: “When I feel down, I listen to Singapore’s PM Lee Hsien Loong and pretend that he was speaking to me.”

Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-ocha on Sunday called for calm as fears over the coronavirus outbreak deepened. Thailand reported 33 new cases on Monday, the biggest jump in infections in a single day bringing the total to 147.
He told people the situation has not reached the stage where they need to stockpile food. The result? Superstores became crowded with panicked shoppers while food and necessities including instant noodles, canned food and sanitary items disappeared from shelves.

Confidence in the country’s leadership has plunged so low it that has become a crisis in itself.
In his Sunday address, PM Gen Prayut assured citizens that the government will be rolling out necessary measures as the outbreak develops.

• Singapore says Asean arrivals must self-isolate
• Lessons from past outbreaks amid the Covid-19 crisis
• Communication key to fighting virus

Alas, what the PM mentioned — mobile applications to monitor the spread, closing down entertainment venues, boxing stadiums and sports arenas — are all behind the curve.
What is the point of the government coming up with yet another app when private citizens fed up with the state’s inefficiency have already devleoped a few that work well?

Why bother with closing nightspots or boxing stadiums now? A dozen or so people have already become infected there. These venues must close anyway.
What about a larger issue like border control? The calls to bar foreigners arriving from high-risk countries have been loud and clear but the government continues to ignore them.

Considering the rapid rise in confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country and the continued spread of the deadly virus around the globe, sealing the country off from risky arrivals should be a priority — that is if the government cares for the health of Thais more than further lossees in tourism revenue.
What has held it up so far?

And what else is in store now people have gone into panic mode? Nobody seems to know. What is the government’s strategy for battling the outbreak? What will the screening policy be as infections progress?

Where can people get treatment? Will there be enough facilities? What about shelters for suspected cases? Help for those who need to go into self-isolation? And what help can the government offer to businesses to prevent them being gradually forced to shut down. These are the issues the PM should have addressed in his speech on Sunday. What can we look forward to, not what should have been done.

Worse than the PM spewing useless yesterday’s news is his telling the public not to accuse his team of being slow.
He said his government had to take into account all ramifications and impacts while trying to take care of both Thais and foreigners.
That is absolutely no excuse. All governments have to do exactly that but they don’t suffer as much criticism. His has not only been slow but disorganised, inefficient and seemingly uncaring. While other nations declared a state of emergency, we Thais should have announced a state of national disarray.

Doctors and nurses have turned to bloggers to help provide them with surgical masks. Citizens warned one another of where confirmed cases were found and places they visited. All the while, the government appears keener to use its resources to witch-hunt those who criticise its performance or punish officials who make it lose face by complaining about insufficient masks.
Even now, the public is still in the dark about what happened to the 200-million masks that the Commerce Minister boasted we had in stock in late January.

Who stole the masks? Transferring the Internal Trade Department chief is again too little and too late. The PM must reveal what went on in his administration that caused an already dangerous health crisis to worsen.

The spike in confirmed Covid-19 cases and the rapidly increasing number of people waiting for test results as well as those under monitoring indicates that the country is reaching a tipping point in disease control.

The government’s responses so far have been sorely inadequate. The PM must stop being in denial and face up to the worrying reality.
This deepening crisis demands that professionals take over. The PM’s team of amateurs should step aside and call for doctors, public health specialists, crisis managers, hospital directors and public communication experts — the best that the country has in these relevant fields — to come together and help it cope with the imminent health threat.

We don’t have a lot of breathing space left.

 

[yinyang]

 

[yinyang]

Latest travel restriction

All inbound air passengers must have Covid-free certificates
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 19 MAR 2020 AT 12:35

A security official directs arriving travellers at Suvarnabhumi airport last Thursday. (Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand now requires all air passengers, Thai and foreign, to show Covid-19-free health certificates and Covid-19 insurance before boarding their flights to Thailand.
CAAT governor Chula Sukmanop announced the condition, and other requirements, on Wednesday as part of government efforts to contain novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
He said arriving passengers who visited China, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Macao or South Korea in the past 14 days will be quarantined.

When passengers check in, airlines must check whether they had visited Covid-19 epidemic areas in the previous 14 days.
Airlines must require passengers to present health certificates issued no more than 72 hours before the flight departs. The certificates must guarantee that the passengers are free of Covid-19, regardles where they board.

• All inbound air passengers must have Covid-free certificates
• B39bn Don Mueang 3rd phase gets nod
• THAI passengers require health certificates

Airlines must also require that passengers have insurance covering Covid-19 treatment in Thailand, up to at least US$100,000.

Passengers who fail to present the required documents must not be allowed to board their flight to Thailand.
Those who comply and are allowed to board must provide the address of their accommodation in Thailand, either by written forms or by AOT mobile phone app.

CAAT also requires airlines to seat passengers as far as possible from each other, and to disinfect their planes - among other preventive measures.
Mr Chula said Thai disease control officials were authorised to isolate aircraft and quarantine passengers.
Airlines that fail to comply must pay for the subsequent transport, quarantine and treatment of passengers, and the cost of related cases of disease control.

 

[dredd]

I think fake news. There is no such thing as a COVID 19-free medical certificate and no insurance will cover COVID 19 treatment.

 

[yinyang]

I think fake news. There is no such thing as a COVID 19-free medical certificate and no insurance will cover COVID 19 treatment.

Dredd, Thai govt flip flopped 2 hours later with yet another confusing double take?.
Seems the big man himself has come out with broadside that this for ALL visitors!
Effectively, travel ban inwards?

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1882315/health-certificates-required-of-all-visitors

Health certificates required of all visitors
Anutin says borders will also be closed
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 19 MAR 2020 AT 19:46
REUTERS

A traveller wearing a face mask at Don Mueang airport on Friday. (Photo by Arnun Chonmahatrakool)

The government will extend the requirement of medical certificates and health insurance to cover all visitors to the country regardless of nationalities to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Thursday.

Thailand reported 60 new coronavirus cases, the biggest daily jump in the number of cases so far to take its total infections to 272, the Public Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Travellers to Thailand have to now show authorities a health certificate, issued no more than 72 hours before travelling, confirming that they have been tested and are free from the virus. They must also present an insurance policy showing minimum coverage for coronavirus of not less than US$100,000.

This measure was previously a requirement for places the government classified as "disease infected zones" — China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Italy and Iran.

"We are blocking infection from coming into the country. That is why people need medical certificates and health insurance to enter Thailand," Gen Prayut said.

"This will now include all countries to minimise infection so we can control it," he said.

It is unclear when the new measure will take effect and how it will be enforced at various border points.
Since people cannot get tested for the virus in most places at the moment due to the high costs and shortages of test kits, the requirement is in effect a travel ban although the government stopped short of describing it as such.

"The measure aims to minimise the number of arrivals as much as possible," said government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul also said the measure should discourage foreigners from travelling to Thailand. "We are enforcing strict measures so that it will be very difficult for them to come here."

The Interior Ministry will also close all borders, he added, without elaborating.
The introduction of the new measures comes as dozens of civil society organisations in Thailand demand the government close the border and restrict people's movement to limit infection.

Thailand has recorded a large jump in the number of infections this week which the health authority has divided into new imported cases and those with connection to earlier cases.
The rise in the number of infections has led the government to close down schools, universities, and entertainment venues around the country which started to take effect on Wednesday.
Thailand has recorded one death since the outbreak, with 42 patients having recovered and gone home and 229 still being treated in hospital.

 

[dredd]

Brother yinyang, expect to see more flip flops in the near future. There will be an outcry from overseas Thais returning home if they put this in effect. How the hell do you expect someone to get a medical certificate to clear someone from COVID19? Who will give you this? Doctors and hospitals all over the world are too busy to be doing such nonsense. If it can be done, other countries would have this stipulation put in place already. This is all done to please local Thais who want to see them get tough on arrivals but I think it is not easy on the ground.

 

[yinyang]

Brother yinyang, expect to see more flip flops in the near future. There will be an outcry from overseas Thais returning home if they put this in effect. How the hell do you expect someone to get a medical certificate to clear someone from COVID19? Who will give you this? Doctors and hospitals all over the world are too busy to be doing such nonsense. If it can be done, other countries would have this stipulation put in place already. This is all done to please local Thais who want to see them get tough on arrivals but I think it is not easy on the ground.

Khun Dredd, Thais abroad now yelled loud in protest.
Siao, if locally can bribe some clinic (as with working ladies get for STDs, HIV check

Thais abroad protest new check-in rule
Health clearance a 'double burden'
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 20 MAR 2020 AT 05:00

People watch as soldiers in full protective gear spray a disinfectant solution on the footpath in Bangkok's Yaowarat area in the early hours of Thursday. The army will be disinfecting various locations across the city until the end of the month to combat the spread of coronavirus. (Photo by Arnun Chonmahatrakool)

Thais abroad who have booked flights back home risk being turned away at check-in if they cannot show a health certificate, which is difficult to get in many countries.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) on Wednesday announced that travellers from 11 more countries are required to present health certificates before boarding flights to Thailand as of Friday. The agency issued another annoucement on Thursday night to cover foreigners from all countries from Sunday.
They include the UK, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and certain cities in Japan.

Foreign nationals travelling to Thailand need verification of their travel history in the previous 14 days and a health certificate certifying they "pose no risk of being infected by the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19)", issued no more than 72 hours prior to travel.
Also required is health insurance that covers Covid-19 treatment and shows minimum medical coverage of US$100,000 (about 3.2 million baht) in Thailand.

• Health certificates required of all visitors

Thai nationals seeking a boarding pass must present a "fit-to-fly" health certificate and a certifying letter from a Thai embassy, Thai consulate office or the Thai Foreign Ministry.

Although Thai nationals require only the fit-to-fly certificate and not the Covid-19-free certificate to board, many are finding it difficult to meet the requirement, especially in Europe.

The Facebook page of the Thai embassy in London has been flooded by over 1,200 comments, mostly complaints and pleas for help.
Gail Powacht, 55, mother of a 20-year-old student in Plymouth, said her daughter had booked a Thai Airways International flight to Thailand on March 27.

"What are these requirements for? It's impossible to get only a health certificate. The requirement for the embassy letter is a double burden," she told the Bangkok Post, adding the embassy will not issue the letter unless a health certificate is presented first.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Cherdkiat Atthakor acknowledged that health certificates are unavailable in many European countries and that this problem has been raised at a meeting of state agencies.

Meanwhile, embassies will be in touch and provide help to Thai travellers, he said. It is unclear what kind of help can be offered especially if health services are already overwhelmed.
A high-ranking Thai diplomat in Europe who asked not to be named, told the Bangkok Post: "With measures like this, many Thais will be stranded abroad.

"In many countries in Europe, medical appointments must be made in advance in the [health] system. For private clinics, also, the patients must be referred by a doctor in a hospital," the diplomat said.
"In this situation, where doctors are busy dealing with Covid-19, nobody will accept appointments for medical check-ups [needed in order to get a health certificate]."