tisdag 1 mars 2022

Latest Updates about the Thailand Pass. This is a special dispatch about the latest news about Thailand Pass. Test & Go was re-launched only one month ago on 1st February, and they have already made the first adjustments to ease entry restrictions. This first step starts today, Tuesday 1st March. We are expecting another review at the end of this month with a possibility of more easing of entry rules in April or May. Richard Barrow


Richard Barrow's Letters from Thailand
Richard Barrow's Letters from Thailand
This is a special dispatch about the latest news about Thailand Pass. Test & Go was re-launched only one month ago on 1st February, and they have already made the first adjustments to ease entry restrictions. This first step starts today, Tuesday 1st March. We are expecting another review at the end of this month with a possibility of more easing of entry rules in April or May.

New Rules for Thailand Pass
After a few false starts, the Test & Go scheme is now back on course. Starting from today, Tuesday 1st March, we are back to a proper test and go system. The 2nd RT-PCR test on Day 5 has been dropped as well as the controversial need for a second stay in a SHA++ hotel. 
The Day 5 test is back to the ATK test that you can do at your own convenience and upload the results to the Mor Chana app. Though, if it is anything like it was when I arrived in November last year, that won't be easy. I didn't upload it in the end and there were no consequences. Your Day 1 hotel should give you the ATK test kit and answer any of your questions. 
The other big change was that insurance was revised down from a minimum of $50,000 to $20,000. If you work here in Thailand and pay into social security, you can still use that. All of this is for people arriving on the Test & Go and Sandbox schemes.
The following are the latest press releases from the TAT Newsroom about the changes:
People with Thailand Pass before 1st March
The number one question that I got since the announcement about the relaxation of entry rules is what happens to the people who already got their Thailand Pass approved but arrive during March or April. Do they have to stay in a SHA++ hotel on Day 5 and also do the 2nd RT-PCR test? The answer to that is very clear. People who already got approval for Thailand Pass and arrive from 1st March onwards will be exempt. I know some hotels have already contacted their guests to offer them a full refund for the stay on the 5th day. Unfortunately, they are not obliged to do this. The government cannot tell the private sector what they must do. But at the very least, they should offer you a voucher. Good luck!
Warning about Scams and Viruses
There is always going to be people who are going to take advantage of others during times of crisis. We are seeing that with the Thailand Pass too. Be careful of emails that you may receive that say they are official. They are coming from many different domains, but none of them are government domains. For example, support@passinformationthailand.com.
The latest email scam doesn't contain a link or something to download which makes it look safe. What it says is that there is a problem with your application, and they ask you to reply with some information. They are not interested about the information you send back. You will get an automated reply with an attachment which they say is your updated information for you to download and check. Don't! It contains a malware.
Useful Websites and Links
Wherever possible, it best to get your information from official sources. Unfortunately, as you have seen from above, there are people out there who just want to make money out of you. There are some websites pretending to be official sites for Thailand Pass and SHA++ hotel booking. They were basically created to make money every time you make a booking. However, in this present situation when dates need to be changed or money refunded, it is best to book directly with the hotels instead of a third party.
The following are two official sites that you should bookmark:
THAILAND PASS (https://tp.consular.go.th) - This is run by the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Note the .go.thin the address that shows it is a government website. This is where you apply for a pass. They also have a useful FAQ section. To apply for the pass is free.
TAT NEWSROOM (https://www.tatnews.org) - This is the official news site for the Tourism Authority of Thailand. This is where they post their latest press releases for the media. They also translate the information released by the government and new laws published in the Royal Gazette. 
The official Thailand Pass website also has links to places to buy insurance and to browse SHA++ hotels and AQ hotels. Obviously, there are other options available like contacting these places direct.
What's Next for the Thailand Pass?
We are expecting them to again make some changes to entry rules as early as April. This is because the Thai government have already started to treat Covid-19 as endemic rather than pandemic. Starting from today, people who test positive, and have no or mild symptoms, can choose to isolate at home for seven plus three days. The first seven days is strict and then the last three days you are allowed more freedom but must try and avoid crowds. Of course, this is just for people who live here and it doesn't include international arrivals. The rules are still that even if you have your own home, you need to quarantine in a hotel or hospitel for ten days.
The big question, of course is what will the next changes be? The pre-departure test has long been touted as something that should be dropped first. The TAT has already noted that some countries don't have these kinds of tests available any more and so it will limit the potential number of arrivals. If they don't drop that in the next round, they might at least change the RT-PCR test on arrival to the quicker ATK test. This would mean it will literally be test and go and no need to book a SHA++ hotel. 
Of all the things that they will ease or drop, I think the Thailand Pass will be the last thing to go. But hopefully we will see Thailand fully reopen to tourists and returning Thais and expatriates within four months. Let's see.
Thailand Pass Community
Before I sign off, can I please make a request? I cannot answer personal emails with long and complicated questions. I have a fulltime day job at the school and there aren't enough hours in a day for me. Everything I know I always pass it along on my social media accounts which I will link to below. There are also some good Facebook groups that you can join that help you with answers. If you are on Twitter, I have also recently launched a Thailand Pass Community and I am making sure that all questions received there are answered quickly.
Thanks again for subscribing to the Letters from Thailand newsletter. I should be back to the regular weekly newsletter schedule starting from Sunday. I am now travelling again and I have a lot of things to share with you. I hope to see you soon!
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Richard Barrow's Letters from Thailand
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Daily cases may hit 100k by Songkran Covid-19 daily caseloads could top 100,000 by the Songkran festival in the the middle of next month in the worst-case scenario, according to the Department of Disease Control (DDC). Whether the level of infections will drop or intensify in the weeks ahead depends on how strictly Covid-19 precautions are adopted, said the DDC. Bangkok Post

Daily cases may hit 100k by Songkran

Covid-19 daily caseloads could top 100,000 by the Songkran festival in the the middle of next month in the worst-case scenario, according to the Department of Disease Control (DDC).

Whether the level of infections will drop or intensify in the weeks ahead depends on how strictly Covid-19 precautions are adopted, said the DDC.

The precautions include refraining from group activities, working from home more, delaying non-essential travel, maintaining a high vaccination rate and practising the VUCA (Vaccine, Universal Prevention, Covid-19 Free Setting and ATK) measures.

The DDC said the most optimistic outlook is one where the precautions are fully implemented, in which case the daily infections will taper off and be maintained at about 20,000 starting in the middle of this month.

In a less optimistic outlook where precautions are being exercised at the current level, daily caseloads are predicted to rise to 50,000 until the Songkran festival.

In the worst-case scenario, in which precautions are not sufficiently practised, infections may well spike to 100,000 a day everyday until the middle of next month, said the DDC.

The country reported 22,311 new Covid-19 cases during the previous 24 hours, the second consecutive day of declines from the peak of 25,615 on Saturday, the Public Health Ministry announced on Monday morning. There were 42 more coronavirus-related fatalities.

Apisamai Srirangson, spokeswoman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said on Monday a total of 213,645 people are being treated for Covid-19, of whom 83,479 are in hospitals. Of those hospitalised, 82,499 or 98% had minor symptoms.

She said people with few or no symptoms should stay home and not seek admission to hospitals in a bid to free up beds for patients with more severe symptoms.

Dr Apisamai suggested experts, who have made forecasts about a rapid surge in caseloads which may cause panic among people, also offer views on how to reduce infections.

Also from today, a revised Test & Go scheme will go into effect. A second RT-PCR test previously required by the scheme on Day 5 of entering the kingdom will be scrapped and replaced with ATK testing.

The revision also requires only one night of SHA Extra Plus or Alternative Quarantine accommodation booking on the day of arrival, instead of two nights.


Hotels, hospitals urged to give travellers refunds. All 2,157 hotels and their partner hospitals or Covid-19 test centres have been asked to voluntarily refund the second RT-PCR test and room booking on the fifth day to tourists or convert it into credits as the government insisted that it will not mandate operators to pay back those advance payments. Bangkok Post

Hotels, hospitals urged to give travellers refunds
People emerge from the arrival hall at Suvarnabhumi airport after disembarking from a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV846 from Jeddah via Riyadh on Monday. It was the first direct commercial flight from Saudi Arabia in 32 years, following the recent normalisation of diplomatic ties. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)
People emerge from the arrival hall at Suvarnabhumi airport after disembarking from a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV846 from Jeddah via Riyadh on Monday. It was the first direct commercial flight from Saudi Arabia in 32 years, following the recent normalisation of diplomatic ties. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)

All 2,157 hotels and their partner hospitals or Covid-19 test centres have been asked to voluntarily refund the second RT-PCR test and room booking on the fifth day to tourists or convert it into credits as the government insisted that it will not mandate operators to pay back those advance payments.

Meanwhile, the government pledged not to make any immediate change that will add more burden to the private sector when relaxing travel rules in the future.

Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, deputy governor for marketing communications at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said 77,851 registrants from last month would be affected as they already paid for the second test and room required under the previous rule that expired yesterday.

However, the actual number of those who can travel might be around 40,000.

Of this amount, around 20-30% are locals who would definitely ask for refunds for both the cost of the room and RT-PCR test as they have permanent residence.

He said the remainder are international tourists who may need to cancel just the Covid test but keep the room on the fifth day if they remain with the same travel plan.

Hotels should negotiate with partner hospitals or Covid test centres to refund the test fee of around 2,000 baht to tourists in order to maintain positive tourism sentiment.

Last week, hotels that already received payment from tourists and confirmed their bookings for the Thailand Pass Hotel & Swap System were confused as the Royal Gazette on the new entry rule starting from Monday hasn't mandated them to refund the expense on the fifth day to tourists.

Some hotels said that without a legal order from the government, their cancellation policy cannot allow such type of refund.

"The Tourism and Sports Ministry will issue an announcement asking cooperation from hotels to refund the fifth day expense to their guests. This rule is definitely not mandatory. Hotels are encouraged to manage those bookings according to their own cancellation policy. If refund is not possible, they should consider converting payments into credits or vouchers for in-house services or restaurants," he said.

From Monday, those hotels who received room plus RT-PCR test bookings on the arrival date should also prepare antigen test kits (ATKs) as a compliment to guests for the self-test on the fifth day.

They should help tourists to download the MorChana app to report the result to the system.

Speaking at an online meeting with the private sector yesterday, Mr Siripakorn said some provinces, such as Phuket, Phangnga and Krabi, that have a central RT-PCR payment system are ready refund tourists and will also offer ATKs for the fifth day test.

A number of hotels joining the forum commented that such a decision created an extra burden for hotels in particular as they have to handle losses from additional operational costs they already prepared.

Mr Siripakorn said the government acknowledged these problems and will address this issue more carefully when more rules are relaxed in April.

"Removing the fifth day test is the decision we gathered from the private sector. It might be cumbersome for hotels during the first few weeks of March, but in the long run, the ease of travel will benefit the whole industry," said Mr Siripakorn.

He said Thailand will continue easing more travel rule after the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) recently approved tourists to take dedicated domestic flights to provinces which means they are not bound to take just direct flights and being restricted to a 5-hour destination from the airport.

Tourists can now take connecting flights from the port of arrival under a sealed route to their destination to pass immigration and then take a RT-PCR test in the province which is their final destination.





🔴 #COVID19 update on Tuesday ⬇️ 20,420 new cases ⬆️ 43 deaths ⬆️ 215,725 in care. Richard Barrow