Thailand Pass affects post-arrival immigration procedures. Chonburi Immigration (amongst other offices) is reminding newly-arrived foreigners that they need to register their address by providing passport details and proof of address under the TM30 regulations. It is not possible to obtain immigration services, such as a visa extension or a certificate of residence to open a bank account or sell/buy a car, without a TM30 form dated after the last arrival from abroad. Pattaya Mail

Thailand Pass affects post-arrival immigration procedures

Barry KenyonDecember 9, 2021

Recently-arrived tourists and expats often have business at Chonburi Immigration in Jomtien.

Since the introduction last month of Thailand Pass, around 150,000 foreigners have entered the country by air. A sizeable number of them, perhaps a third, have made a beeline for Pattaya and Jomtien. Most appear to be returning residents or family members, but there are also many European snowbird vacationers fleeing the cold weather in northern Europe.



Chonburi Immigration (amongst other offices) is reminding newly-arrived foreigners that they need to register their address by providing passport details and proof of address under the TM30 regulations. There is no need to do this in person if the hotel or condominium has actually recorded personal details online to the immigration bureau. It is not possible to obtain immigration services, such as a visa extension or a certificate of residence to open a bank account or sell/buy a car, without a TM30 form dated after the last arrival from abroad. Short trips within Thailand itself no longer require re-registration.

Thailand Pass has directly affected anyone seeking an extension of a visa obtained from a Thai embassy abroad. In the past, all such visas were stamped into the passport by the embassy in the country of departure. Later, this system was replaced by a vignette or sticker which the applicant placed in his or her passport. But this system has now also been replaced by a new e-visa which is sent to applicants in a detailed email prior to flying to Thailand. This email should be retained after arrival in Thailand. A copy is required by the immigration bureau if and when a foreigner applies for an extension of stay.

Foreigners arriving at local immigration this month say they are confused by the situation at land borders. Although there are active plans to reopen Thailand's borders with Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos, the purpose is to facilitate the transport of goods and to permit open access for workers and market stall holders in borderregions. There has not yet been an announcement that foreign tourists, or Thai-based expats, can pass through border posts as sightseers or visa runners.

Nationally, the immigration bureau has extended the 60 days "Covid extensions" application deadline to late January 2022. This flexibility, which is partly a consequence of land border closures since March 2020, allows foreign tourists whose permissions of stay are running out to remain in Thailand on an ongoing basis. Like all visas, this one is discretionary which means that officers may want to know the reasons for the delay in leaving Thailand, or restrict the initial permission to four weeks pending a notional review. Several thousand "tourists" have not left Thailand for almost two years under the Covid permission arrangements. 

Chonburi announces 170 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 and one new death - The Pattaya News. Thursday, 9 December 2021, 13:04

Chonburi announces 170 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 and one new death

Thursday, 9 December 2021, 13:04

Highlights:

• 170 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Chonburi today

• 202 people recovered and were released from medical care

• 1 new death

The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 170 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 today with one new death, December 9th.

This makes a total of 109,086 cases of Covid-19 in the current round of infections, with 1,836 people still under medical care/supervision, and with a total of 772 recorded deaths in Chonburi since the start of this recent round of infections in early April.

Additionally, 202 people were also released and recovered yesterday in Chonburi. 106,478 people in total have now been released from medical care and recovered in Chonburi since this current wave of Covid-19 began.

Four people were listed as being in serious condition in Chonburi currently, either on a ventilator or pneumonia, and were not vaccinated.

The one new death was a man aged 60. He had personal health problems.

In total, 1,868,524 people in Pattaya and Chonburi have received their first dose of a Covid -19 vaccine which is 80.23 percent of the total Chonburi population. Of those, 292,319 have received their first dose and are what the Thai government calls 608 groups (elders, have chronic health problems, and pregnant) which is 79.02 percent of those in these risk groups in Chonburi.

The district-level new cases were as follows today:

Mueang Chonburi 29, Si Racha 51, Banglamung (Pattaya) 65, Panat Nikhom 1, Sattahip 9, new soldier in Sattahip 1, Ban Bueng 1, Phan Thong 5, and 8 people transferred from other provinces for medical care.

The details on the cases are as follows:

1. Work and stayed in Rayong, transferred from other provinces for medical care, 8 cases
2. Cluster, Celestica (Thailand) company, Si Racha, 10 cases
3. Cluster Meyer Industries company in Si Racha, 6 cases
4. Cluster, Siam Compressor Industries in Si Racha, 3 cases
5. Cluster NTN Manufacturing in Si Racha, 3 cases
6. Risky occupations meeting many people, 2 cases
7. 2 medical staffers
8. Close contacts from previously confirmed cases in families – 46 cases, in workplaces – 32 cases, closed person 6 and joined parties – 4 cases
9. Close contact of a confirmed patient (under investigation), 7 cases
10. 41 cases, close contacts of a confirmed patient (under investigation)



Thailand doesn’t want ALL the tourists back Thailand’s strict COVID measures meant international travel has ground to a halt during the pandemic. December 9, 2021. Bangkok Jack



 But now, with tourism set to start up once again, the country is not sure it wants the same type of visitors to return to its shores.

Historically the country has attracted a huge number of tourists, from unruly gap year backpackers to large tour groups who show little care for the environment.

Now Thailand wants to move on from its 'hedonistic' history of mass tourism, with Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn stating the focus should be on "high-end travellers, rather than a large number of visitors."

One location that would be glad to see change is the Phi Phi islands, world-renowned for their white beaches and clear blue waters. While lockdowns kept international travellers away, this region was quietly recovering from years of overtourism.

Before the pandemic, Phi Phi National Park saw more than 2 million visitors every year with 6,000 people a day making the trip to the world-famous Maya Bay. This uncontrolled mass tourism left the region's delicate ecosystem in disarray.

"The coral cover has decreased by more than 60 per cent in just over 10 years," Thon Thamrongnawasawat of Kasetsart University in Bangkok tells AFP.

The problem got so bad that in 2018, Thon pushed authorities to close part of Maya Bay. It has been closed ever since and, with strict travel restrictions meaning visitor numbers in the region dwindled to almost zero, nature has started to recover.

Endangered whale sharks have been seen off the coast, turtle species have returned and more than 40 per cent of the coral fragments replanted in Maya Bay have survived.

Thon calls it "a very satisfactory figure obtained thanks to the absence of visitors."

To make a full recovery though, these coral reefs would need another two decades without visitors. (continues)

Re-imagining travel to Thailand

There are still many people in Thailand who rely on tourism as a source of income, however, and now the Thai government is hoping to reignite the industry with a focus on a more sustainable kind of visitor.

In the wake of the pandemic, it is preparing to launch a long term residence programme that targets four types of people. Visas, tax incentives and relaxed property ownership rules are intended to attract professionals looking to work from the country, alongside highly skilled people, wealthy global citizens and retirees.

To attract 'quality' visitors, the government is also relaxing regulations around yachting and is revisiting taxes on personal belongings and luxury goods.

Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Yuthasak Supasorn has said that in order for the country's tourism sector to be sustainable in the future, it needs to attract high-value travellers.



The Omicron variant will create natural herd immunity in one or two months if it is not severe, Vichaiyut Hospital respiratory specialist Dr Manoon Leechawengwongs wrote on his Facebook page. The Nation



Omicron can create herd immunity if it is not severe: respiratory specialist

The Omicron variant will create natural herd immunity in one or two months if it is not severe, Vichaiyut Hospital respiratory specialist Dr Manoon Leechawengwongs wrote on his Facebook page.

The post said the variant has now spread to more than 50 countries in one month. Thailand has already found three Omicron cases.

Omicron can spread twice as quickly as the Delta variant and two doses of current vaccinations are unlikely to provide immunity against it.

However, the latest Covid-19 variant is thought to be less severe than Delta, according to available information from Africa. African patients have shown few symptoms such as a cold, sore throat, runny nose, coughing, sneezing, tiredness, headache and body ache. And there have been no reports so far of Omicron causing any deaths.

Manoon expects the variant to spread rapidly worldwide in two or three months. It will be good news if it is not severe, he wrote, adding that it will then create herd immunity and make Covid-19 become endemic.

Manoon said Thais should not worry about Omicron too much. But he urged people to be cautious by wearing masks, keeping a distance from others, washing hands, avoiding closed or crowded places, and getting fully vaccinated.

December 9th. Virologist cautions against possible reinfection of immune escape Omicron variant. BANGKOK (NNT) - A Thai virologist has shared new information and his insights regarding the Omicron Covid variant, suggesting that the new variant could spread twice as fast as the Delta variant, while the immunity from previous infection or available vaccines may not be able to prevent reinfection.

 

By Tanakorn Sangiam

    

BANGKOK (NNT) - A Thai virologist has shared new information and his insights regarding the Omicron Covid variant, suggesting that the new variant could spread twice as fast as the Delta variant, while the immunity from previous infection or available vaccines may not be able to prevent reinfection.

 

Dr. Yong Poovorawan, head of the Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, posted new information regarding the Omicron COVID-19 variant, suggesting higher transmissibility and better immune escape potential of this new strain. In his post, Dr. Yong confirmed this new variant seems to be spreading at least twice as fast compared to the Delta variant, as shown from newer cases now being reported in some 50 countries since it was first identified in South Africa. It is likely that this variant will eventually become the global dominant strain.

 

On the immune escape ability, Dr. Yong said some of the Omicron infections are among fully vaccinated people and those having already recovered from the previous infection, which means immunity from available vaccines and previous infections may not be as robust in protecting against infection and reinfection, however cases among immunized people were mostly mild and asymptomatic, suggesting that the vaccines available today are effective in preventing severe symptoms.

 

Dr. Yong further elaborated that most Omicron cases outside Africa are mild and asymptomatic, while a preliminary report from Africa shows almost half of Omicron patients are asymptomatic, with the remaining cases showing only minor symptoms.

 

He said a thorough contact tracing could become less necessary, as the disease would eventually become similar to other respiratory diseases that mainly affect children with no immunity, who will later develop immunity from natural infection and experience no symptoms when contracting the virus again.

 

Dr. Yong said the disease would no longer be a pressing issue among healthy people, but still poses some concerns among those at risk and unhealthy people.

 

More information about this new variant will soon be unraveled as scientific studies are being conducted around the world.

 

 

 

🔴 #COVID19 update on Thursday: ⬆️ 4,203 new cases ⬆️ 49 deaths. Richard Barrow



Bangkok Post highlights 9/12



The Public Health Ministry will on Friday propose easier access to the country including a change to Covid-19 testing requirements, according to health authorities. Bangkok Post

Entering Thailand may get easier next month

Visitors arrive at Suvarnabhumi airport in Samut Prakan province when the government reopened the country on Nov 1. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)

The Public Health Ministry will on Friday propose easier access to the country including a change to Covid-19 testing requirements, according to health authorities.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Thursday that his ministry would propose to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Friday that the government further relax restrictions on access to the country from December onwards. The relaxation would include antigen tests replacing RT-PCR tests on arrivals.

Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said the ministry would also propose to increase the number of entry channels to the country, from air travel only to air travel plus some water and land channels through checkpoints considered to be safe.

The increase in immigration channels was possible because the Covid-19 infection rate among visitors who arrived through the "Test & Go" programme was very low, at 0.08%.

The "Test & Go" programme welcomes fully vaccinated visitors from 61 countries and two territories. Those visitors will not be quarantined if they test negative for Covid-19 right after arrival. 

Bangkok intensifies efforts to limit spread of COVID-19 Omicron variant | City health officials will be sent to two hotels in Bangkok’s Bang Rak district to collect specimens for testing from staff who were in close contact with the American businessman from Spain, who was identified to be Thailand’s first case of Omicron variant infection, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said today (Wednesday). Thai PBS World

Bangkok intensifies efforts to limit spread of COVID-19 Omicron variant

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City health officials will be sent to two hotels in Bangkok's Bang Rak district to collect specimens for testing from staff who were in close contact with the American businessman from Spain, who was identified to be Thailand's first case of Omicron variant infection, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said today (Wednesday).

The move is part of the city administration's pro-active and precautionary steps aimed at limiting any spread of the Omicron variant, following the initial detection of the easily transmissible variant in the country.

The governor said health officials will advise the managers of the two unnamed hotels to clean their hotels with disinfectants regularly, to instruct their staff to comply strictly with basic safety measures and to screen all the newly arriving guests.

He also said that district officials, accompanied by local police, tourist police, military officers and health officials, will be sent to inspect eateries that serve alcohol, to ensure they are strictly following the COVID Free Setting and Amazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration (SHA/SHA+) standards.

Communities where many foreigners are staying, especially Africans, such as Silom, Bang Rak, Soi Nana, Khao San Road and the Thonglor area, have been targeted for checks and local residents have been advised to report to authorities the "presence of foreign strangers", said Governor Aswin.

The city administration is also providing free rapid antigen COVID-19 tests to members of the public at its 11 hospitals.

Drive-through facilities are to provide free tests at the new southern bus terminal in Taling Chan district, from now until next April, said the governor.