8 Tourist provinces Planning to Reopen October 1...???

[Old git]

The UK moved Thailand to the red list because of the increase in covid case rates, as well as the low vaccination levels which leave Thailand vulnerable to the new covid variants. The data being collected and reported related to vaccination levels is clearly flawed and unreliable which may have also contributed to the "code red" designation.

I haven't seen any information released by the UK suggesting that genomic sequencing had anything to do with their decision - but could very well have missed this.

The organisation that is collating the genome data for the WHO (I forget the acronym) put Thailand on the bad boy list for not reporting enough data. Without sufficient surveillance and reported data, a new nasty variant of Covid might go unseen and then be spread by travellers. That (I think) is the primary logic for keeping some nations, including Thailand, red listed.

That it's been 8 months now since any significant new variant was last detected, and the scientist in charge of the AZ vaccine project is now publicly saying that she does not expect any new and dangerous variants to emerge now - should.. hopefully.. bring an end to the red list.

On the other hand, why the heck is a country like Thailand, well developed in terms of medical facilities, not reporting sufficient genomes?

[gerefan2]

Thailand was added to the UK Red List less than a month ago. For anyone to expect it to be deleted now was living in cloud cuckoo land.

There will have to be evidence of a sustained reduction in covid before the UK considers its deletion.

That may take months as there is certainly no such evidence at present, in fact quite the reverse in the last 3 days.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[Dodger]

According to a Chief Executive at Moderna the pandemic should be over next year.

I liked what this guy has to say. Not because I understand all this stuff that well - but because it sounded like good news, and that's what I think we all need the most at this juncture.

Read below:

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/m...055132723.html

[Nirish guy]

We were also told it would be over in 3 months previously by those who are meant to know these things and yet here I am a year and five months later still trying to avoid it, so I wouldn't go popping any champagne corks JUST yet perhaps :-(

[Old git]

Thailand was added to the UK Red List less than a month ago. For anyone to expect it to be deleted now was living in cloud cuckoo land.

There will have to be evidence of a sustained reduction in covid before the UK considers its deletion.

That may take months as there is certainly no such evidence at present, in fact quite the reverse in the last 3 days.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

If the number of cases was the main driving force behind red listing, it would be bizarre to red list a country with far fewer cases per head of population than the UK.

The primary driving factors behind the listings seem to be a) The quality of Covid surveillance and reporting of genomes and b) The known presence of variants that have not circulated widely in the UK.

[Dodger]

The primary driving factors behind the listings seem to be a) The quality of Covid surveillance and reporting of genomes and b) The known presence of variants that have not circulated widely in the UK.

You could very well be right - and I wonder if the political unrest and heated protests in Bangkok had any influence on this as well???

In any event, it looks like they (the CCSA) have moved the reopening target from October to November anyway - so maybe the status in the UK will change by then.

[extronaut]

I don't know about this "sandbox" tourism thing. It just isn't my idea of travel.

Plus, I expect the sandboxes will just be full of nothing but bloody tourists. I predict that everything there will be hyper expensive, because the price gougers will have us by the balls. Think airport level prices.

Currently, my plan is to wait until this fucking thing is finally fucking over, before I think about visiting anywhere in that part of SEA. If that never happens, so be it.

Been thinking of putting the sex tourism thing to the side, and just traveling for the hell of it. Japan or Taiwan look nice.

[goji]

Plus, I expect the sandboxes will just be full of nothing but bloody tourists. I predict that everything there will be hyper expensive, because the price gougers will have us by the balls. Think airport level prices.

If it's a Sandbox based on some kind of "open prison" model, where we are told where to eat and where to go, then I think you're completely right. It's going to be full of tourists and prices will be unreasonable.

However, as I understand it, the Phuket sandbox allows people to go where they like on the island. OK the hotels are off an approved list, but those can be researched in advance.
So if Pattaya has an open prison style sandbox and Phuket has no such restrictions, starting the holiday in Phuket would be sensible.