Effective as of December 22, 2021, Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration suspended temporarily the Thailand Pass programs for all new Test & Go and Sandbox applications (except the Phuket Sandbox).
Approximately 200,000 travelers have received a Thailand Pass QR code but have yet to enter the country. These travelers will be allowed to enter Thailand under the conditions of the scheme they registered for except the government will introduce new measures for contact tracing and will ensure all travelers are tested two times during their stay using the RT-PCR method. The second test will be without charge at government-designated facilities.
The reason for suspending the programs is rising numbers of infections attributed to SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529, the Omicron variant. While Omicron is becoming more prevalent, the overall numbers of infections continues to decline. The decline in cases probably won’t last once Omicron takes hold.
This post is a good opportunity also to share what is known publicly about where the visitors to Thailand have been coming from under the Thailand Pass programs. I’ve been keeping an eye out, but so far, it appears the Thai government has released this information only for the first few days of the Thailand Pass program.
According to the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, during the period November 1-10, 2021, there were a total of 30,538 visitor arrivals to Thailand at all international airports in Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang), Phuket, Samui, and Chiang Mai.
The top 10 countries were:
- USA – 3,864 arrivals
- Germany – 3,274 arrivals
- UK – 1,785 arrivals
- Japan – 1,713 arrivals
- South Korea – 1,296 arrivals
- Russia – 1,140 arrivals
- Switzerland – 1,116 arrivals
- Sweden – 1,041 arrivals
- France – 923 arrivals
- UAE – 810 arrivals
The 30,538 arrivals included 19,949 visitors under the Exemption from Quarantine (Test & Go) entry scheme, 9,072 under the Living in the Blue Zone (17 Sandbox destinations) program, and 1,517 under the Happy Quarantine (cute term) requirements for either a 7-day quarantine (453 arrivals) or a 10-day quarantine (1,064 arrivals).
It is surprising that so many would endure being cooped up in a hotel room for so long under quarantine. The people quarantining may not be traditional tourists but are possibly employees on longer-term assignments or foreigners who live in Thailand for extended periods who do not meet the requirements for no-quarantine entry.
Final Thoughts
Under the conditions when it was conceived, the Thailand Pass Test & Go and Sandbox programs were excellent approaches to bringing in more international tourists safely and providing life support to the Thai tourism industry. Unfortunately, with Covid conditions can change drastically with little notice. That creates a lot of uncertainty about travel and many things we do at home. While Thailand is currently maintaining the Thailand Pass programs under the original conditions for those who have been approved, if cases spike because of Omicron, I’d expect Thailand will adopt stricter entry requirements even for those who have been already gotten their QR codes.
Salsaworldtraveler'sblog 
When I read your posts about how Thailand has developed logistic “to capture the covid issue” I am quite amazed. Like the scanning machine you mentioned in one of your previous posts and the other things you gave mentioned.
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Thailand takes Covid seriously. Like most developing countries, it has insufficient facilities (like intensive care units, ventilators, etc.) to deal with mass casualties from a pandemic. I appreciate your taking the time to read and comment. Best wishes for the new year!
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I had tentatively planned to visit Chaing Rai early next year to visit my late step-mother’s family. It looks like our continuing Zoom chats will have to suffice for awhile.
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We had a Christmas Zoom call with U.S. friends and family today. I’ll post when Thailand reopens for entry with no quarantine. I hope you can see your family in person soon.
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I think we’ll be drowning on for a long while John with no foreseeable end in site. xo 💖
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Sadly I agree. Thanks for stopping by Cindy!
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Merry Christmas John! Stay safe and smiling like you do so well! 🙏🎄❤️💕
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Thank so much Cindy! Merry Christmas to you too!😄🎄🌹❤
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Indeed John .. Thanks my friend..U2💕
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I’m sure you’re glad you got there before any of these changes…
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That’s right. With Covid near term travel plans are best until Covid is no longer a major concern.
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seems like the right approach…
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I’m lucky to have a schedule that allows traveling on short notice…
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that can offer lots of advantages…
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well. i was planning on Thailand in March. I’ll see where they are at at the end of February. but it seems there is nothing to rely on today. I will have to see my options. hopefully things will peak within a month or so and start to recede in terms of new cases. I see in South Africa cases have dropped off a bit which might be good news. Some UK experts were predicting a huge spike followed by a dramatic drop too. We can only hope and pray that this is what happens. and get boosted. Apparently Moderna claims their booster is effective against omicron.
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It might be good to apply for permission to enter as soon as Thailand reopens the Thailand Pass programs. I hope you get to go for your sake and Thailand’s. Some good news: There is a new pill that reduces the severity of Covid symptoms.
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I’ll take cheaper, safer, effective medications with known safety profiles. But to each his own.
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There is a new Pfizer pill that reduces the severity of symptoms. I’ll just try my best not to get it. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on the post!
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Yeah, I know about that pill. New and the side effects don’t look promising. And pharma has such a wonderful track record regarding full disclosure. /sarcasm
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Drug companies must be thankful for Covid.
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Pfizer and Moderna especially. Billions of $$$ off of vaccines with no effectiveness or safety. We are such suckers. [facepalm]
Almost certainly, someone connected with pharma got Gupta to publish his fraudulent article in Lancet. Then the FDA immediately retracted its EUA for HCQ based on that article which was retracted two weeks after publication. Then the FDA didn’t reverse its decision about withdrawing the EUA. HCQ is inexpensive, very safe short term for nearly everyone, with strong evidence that it is effective. But HCQ is not a moneymaker for pharma.
The Gupta/Lancet/FDA affair stinks to high heaven.
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I’m not sure I’d trust the company(ies) that make HCQ anymore than I’d trust the companies that make vaccines. They all have the same motives and ethics.
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The companies that manufacture HCQ also sponsor studies to smear it. HCQ is off patent, so it’s not a major money maker for pharma. So they want doctors to prescribe new, expensive drugs like Remdesevir and Molnupravir. Of course, those drugs haven’t had long term safety trials, unlike HCQ and IVM, whose side effects are well known. The drugs are considered to be well-tolerated, especially for short term use.
The people promoting HCQ aren’t making money off of it. $20 to treat covid. Insurance covers the total cost. The pharmacy makes a little. Doctors make no money for prescribing it.
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Good luck with your preferred treatment. I’m sticking with vaccines, masks and other preventative measures and, if I get Covid, medications prescribed by the doc although we certainly can ask about their recommendations for our care.
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I have already tried my preferred treatment, and it has worked great, clearing symptoms within 24 hours.
Unfortunately, the medical profession is mostly clueless. I have read the science on covid–more than 1,000 journal articles. Most docs have only read FDA announcements. If they have bothered to look at journal articles about covid, they have only skimmed abstracts, which are mostly worthless about anything controversial like covid. So, yeah, it’s really sad that someone like me, who is non-medical, knows more about covid than most doctors.
There are some exceptional scientists, like Risch, Kulldorf, Malone, Vanden Bossche, Raoult, and others who are advocating early treatment. And there are some exceptional doctors, like Zelenko, Tyson, McCullough, Procter, Gold, Fareed, and others who are also advocating and using early treatment very successfully.
Vaccines don’t prevent transmission, and their total mortality benefit is negative. 1223 deaths in the first three months for the Pfizer vaccine alone. We have no idea what the mortality data for Moderna or J&J are because the FDA is hiding the data.
Good luck trusting your doc, tho.
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Thanks its worked great for nearly 70 years.
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Oh, we used elderberry concentrate, with zinc, vitamin D, and vitamin C also taken as immune supplements. EC has been used all over the world to treat flu and colds for centuries. Didn’t have HCQ on hand, so we used the backup.
HCQ has a marvelous safety record. After ten years of taking it, you have to watch out for problems with the retina. Of course, using HCQ to treat covid, you don’t have to worry about retina problems because the duration of treatment is very short.
About masking–no physicist is gonna say in a journal article that masks work because he/she would be laughed at The dynamics of masking is a physics question and you see almost no articles about masking in physics journals. I encourage you to check out my claim at google scholar.
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You put it on the dot.
Governments either have the choice of having some balls and not changing things or being a little fussbucket and flipflopping every time the natural numbers flip.
I know what I’d do.
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I’m glad I don’t have to decide these things because there is no answer everyone will be happy with.
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