Thailand News - Corona - By Ola J.

lördag 8 januari 2022

COMING TO THAILAND. We recommend you contact the Thai embassy in your country or contact the Thailand Pass through email or phone. The situation is extremely fluid at the moment and, with the world Omicron situation being equally dynamic, some people may want to reconsider non-essential travel to Thailand at this time. The Thaiger

COMING TO THAILAND

If you want to travel to Thailand, or if you need to, you can still enter through four Sandbox areas - Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga and Koh Samui (which also allows access to Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao).

In all cases there is a 7 day mandatory stay in the 'region' although you will be able to roam around the whole area, and NOT have to stay in your hotel room. You will then be able to travel to other parts of Thailand.

You can also arrive through other international entry points but will need to do a quarantine period, at your cost, at an approved ASQ hotel.

If you currently have an approved Test & Go Thailand Pass you can still enter until at least January 15. As of late afternoon, yesterday, some Thai officials started 'walking back' the announcement about the cut off date at the CCSA briefing.

We recommend you contact the Thai embassy in your country or contact the Thailand Pass through email or phone.

The situation is extremely fluid at the moment and, with the world Omicron situation being equally dynamic, some people may want to reconsider non-essential travel to Thailand at this time.

🔴 #COVID19 update on Saturday: ⬆️ 8,263 new cases ⬆️ 14 deaths ⬆️ 47,964 in care. Richard Barrow

Bangkok Post highlights 8/1

fredag 7 januari 2022

🔴 IMPORTANT UPDATE: I have just been informed by my source in the Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Thailand Pass holders using Test & Go can now change to an earlier arrival date. You just need to write to them with the details. Email tfcovid19@mfa.go.th or if you’re going to Phuket phuket.thailandpass@gmail.com. Richard Barrow

🔴 IMPORTANT UPDATE: I have just been informed by my source in the Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Thailand Pass holders using Test & Go can now change to an earlier arrival date. You just need to write to them with the details. Email tfcovid19@mfa.go.th or if you're going to Phuket phuket.thailandpass@gmail.com.

I've been told that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs really hopes that everyone who successfully applied for Test & Go will be allowed to enter no matter when that is. They, nor the TAT, want a cut off date. The situation is still being assessed. We might hear something on Sunday. Hopefully it will be good news for everyone.

I just want to finish this post by say there is currently NO cut off date to arrive in Thailand despite what you may have read in the media. This date is still being discussed. The MFA tell me there may not even be a date. People arriving in the next week are safe for sure. The CCSA are still assessing whether to allow Test & Go people to arrive after 15th January without having to do quarantine. More news soon.

Good luck!

Covid continues to spike in the Philippines. Will this happen to Thailand? ASEAN NOW

Press Release: Thailand reopens 3 more Sandbox destinations from 11 January 2022 - The following is a press release from The Tourism Authority of Thailand. The statements within are their own. The Pattaya News

Press Release: Thailand reopens 3 more Sandbox destinations from 11 January 2022

Friday, 7 January 2022, 17:50

The following is a press release from The Tourism Authority of Thailand. The statements within are their own.

Bangkok, 07 January, 2022 – Thailand's Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) today approved a new round of relaxed entry measures for international arrivals to Thailand, reopening 3 more Sandbox destinations – Krabi, Phang-Nga, and Surat Thani (only Ko Samui, Ko Pha-ngan, and Ko Tao) from 11 January, 2022 – in addition to Phuket.

Sandbox entry programme available at 4 destinations

From 11 January, 2022, international travellers will be able to travel to Thailand under the Sandbox programme, and can choose to undergo their mandatory 7-day stay in either Krabi, Phang-Na, Phuket, or Surat Thani (only Ko Samui, Ko Pha-ngan, and Ko Tao).

However, all travellers must make sure that they arrange everything in order before applying for the Sandbox Thailand Pass. This can include, but not limited to, a vaccination certificate, a pre-arrival negative RT-PCR test result, prepaid 7-night's accommodation in an approved hotel, prepaid RT-PCR tests for when in Thailand, and an insurance policy with coverage no less than US$50,000.

Travellers must stay at least the first 7 nights within a Sandbox destination if planning to continue the journey to other destinations in Thailand. If staying less than 7 nights, the traveller must leave Thailand to another country immediately.

Lifting of travel restrictions on arrivals from African countries

Also from 11 January, 2022, the CCSA approved the lifting of travel restrictions on arrivals from African countries.

This means travellers from Africa will be allowed to apply for the Thailand Pass under either the Sandbox programme or the Alternative Quarantine system.

New TEST & GO Thailand Pass applications remain suspended until further notice

The CCSA also approved the measure to maintain temporary suspension of the Thailand Pass system for new registrations under the Exemption from Quarantine (TEST & GO).

Entry measures for travellers who have obtained their Thailand Pass QR code before 22 December, 2021, with scheduled arrival dates in Thailand from 24 December, 2021, onwards, are currently under review by the CCSA. The TAT Newsroom will be providing an update via www.tatnews.org as soon as the official information becomes available.

Alternatively, travellers who are currently planning to enter Thailand can apply for the Thailand Pass under either the Sandbox programme or the Alternative Quarantine system.

Thailand's 26 "Blue Zone" provinces remain in place

The CCSA also approved the measure to maintain the designation of 26 "Blue Zone" provinces with pilot tourist destinations. However, stringent health and safety guidelines will be introduced.

Currently, the "Blue Zone" destinations are:

Central Region: Bangkok, and Ayutthaya (Mueang district only), Kanchanaburi, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Phetchaburi (Cha-Am district only), Prachuap Khiri Khan (Mueang, Hua Hin, and Nong Kae districts only), and Samut Prakan (Suvarnabhumi Airport only).

Eastern Region: Chanthaburi (only for Mueang and Tha Mai districts), Chon Buri (only for Bang Lamung, Ko Si Chang, Pattaya, and Si Racha districts, and only Bang Sarey and Na Jomtien subdistricts in Sattahip district), Rayong (only for Ko Samet), and Trat (only for Ko Chang and Ko Kut districts).

Northern Region: Chiang Mai (Mueang, Chom Thong, Doi Tao, Mae Rim, and Mae Taeng districts only) and Chiang Rai (Mueang, Chiang Khong, Chiang Saen, Mae Chan, Mae Fah Luang, Mae Sai, Phan, Thoeng, Wiang Kaen, and Wiang Pa Pao districts only).

Northeastern Region: Buri Ram (Mueang district only), Khon Kaen (Mueang, Khao Suan Kwang, Poei Noi, Phon, Phu Wiang, and Ubolratana districts only), Loei (Chiang Khan district only), Nakhon Ratchasima (Mueang, Chaloem Phra Kiat, Chok Chai, Pak Chong, Phimai, Sikhio, and Wang Nam Khiao districts), Nong Khai (Mueang, Si Chiang Mai and Tha Bo districts only), Surin (Mueang and Tha Tum districts only), and Udon Thani (Mueang, Ban Dung, Kumphawapi, Na Yung, Prachaksilpakhom, and Nong Han districts only).

Southern Region: Krabi, Phang-Nga, Phuket, Ranong (Ko Phayam only), and Surat Thani (Ko Samui, Ko Pha-ngan, and Ko Tao only).

For more information on entry into Thailand schemes, please visit: https://www.tatnews.org/thailand-reopening/

Test & Go. What is the cut off date ? Richard Barrow

** There is NO final cut-off date for Test & Go applicants to arrive in Thailand. This is still to be decided **

There has been a lot of confusion about the future of the Test & Go scheme. For sure we know the suspension of new registrations will continue to at least the end of this month. But what is the fate of the thousands who successfully applied for it and are due to arrive this month? Well, according to Khun Natapanu, the deputy spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who spoke during the press briefing, he said that a final decision hadn't been made yet. A senior TAT executive also said that a cut-off date hadn't been decided yet.

However, the Thai media took the 15th January date on the graphics as the final decision and ran with this story. But which story is correct?

So, I decided to ask the Director General of the Department of Information at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He told me that NO final cut off date has been decided yet. However, approved Test and Go registrants will be able to enter until 15th January. They will then reassess the situation over the next few days and will let us know about what will happen to people who are due to arrive after this date. Hopefully they can enter soon as there are only 4,900 people due to arrive in the last two weeks of this month.

The following is his official statement.

###

Mr. Tanee Sangrat, Director-General of the Department of Information and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shared the following information regarding adjustments to the measures for entry into Thailand, as confirmed at the meeting held today (7 January 2022) by the Center for COVID Situation Administration (CCSA), namely:

The meeting agreed today, to maintain suspension of registration for Thailand Pass for additional international travelers intending to apply for the Test and Go scheme until further notice. But for those who have already received approvals and their QR Code under the Test and Go scheme before this time, are allowed to enter under previous conditions up until 15 January 2022. For those who have received approvals and a QR code for the Test and Go scheme prior to today and have plans to travel after 15 January 2022, their approvals/status will be evaluated once again.

For those traveling into Thailand through the Sandbox scheme (remaining within the Sandbox area for a total of 7 days) or those who will undergo Alternative Quarantine (7 days for those with a complete dosage of vaccinations and 10 days for those who have not yet received the complete dosage of vaccinations), they are still able to register and enter Thailand under those conditions.

Other than that, from 11 January 2022 onwards, new applications for international travelers entering through the Sandbox scheme will be accepted for three additional Sandbox areas (beyond Phuket), namely Surat Thani Province (Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao), Krabi Province and Pang Nga Province, which have a high level of preparedness in terms of provincial management and public health measures, which will allow access to other areas and also help promote provincial island tourism.

For international travelers from Africa for which there are stricter entry requirements into Thailand, from 11 January 2022 onwards, Thailand will lift the designation of African countries as risky (this includes the previous restriction of international travelers from 8 specific African countries) and allow international travelers from Africa to enter Thailand under the same regular conditions as international travelers from all other continents. Currently, many countries all over the world have also lifted heightened travel restrictions for international travelers from Africa.

Mr. Tanee confirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the related ministries have discussed and given thorough consideration to these adjustments, bearing in mind all of the important factors, from the domestic and international COVID-19 situation to public health readiness to the need to relax measures to boost economic activity. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will communicate any further adjustments to the public promptly and in due course.

Thailand News - Corona - By Ola J. - Palmtree