Rapid Antigen Tests Required for Restaurants in Chonburi

[Kenny]

How does it work in Jomtien ? Do you need to show ID before the test ?

All that happened here was that I was tested when I entered the bar and my name and contact number were recorded.
I was encouraged to photograph the test result as it would be good for entry to other bars for 3 days.
I am not an authority on this!
Just reporting my experience.

[Manforallseasons]

Passing a test is no big deal, whether it is free on Soi Bukhao or costs 60 Baht for patrons of gay bars.

Failing and being sent to quarantine for 14 days and then getting billed for it would be less amusing.

At Tree Town, people had to show ID before being tested. So quietly sneaking off home for a few days after failing won't work, since immigration know where we live. Obviously I didn't get tested, as I just went to check it out on a "dry" night.
The testing people were doing a little trade at 20:50, but weren't exactly busy. 200m down the road, the other free test centre at LK seemed to have no customers when I went past.

How does it work in Jomtien ? Do you need to show ID before the test ?

Also, I don't know what the specificity of their tests are. I just looked at one US paper and they ranged from 92% to 100%. So the lowest quality has almost a 1 in 12 chance of a false positive result. That would be rather high for my liking, if testing every 3 days and a getting a "Go to Jail" card for failing.

All things considered, I don’t think people will be running to bars and restaurants which will further devastate what business is left.

[Nirish guy]

All things considered, I don’t think people will be running to bars and restaurants which will further devastate what business is left.

Or another way of looking at it would be that "untested people, who may well be asymptomatic may just decide to stay home over the next week or two while this is in place rather than getting "caught", rather than them being out every night possibly spreading the virus ( even more than they already possibly are). If so Im sure the authorities would be thinking "great, job done" either way there then perhaps.

[Dodger]

Or another way of looking at it would be that "untested people, who may well be asymptomatic may just decide to stay home over the next week or two while this is in place rather than getting "caught", rather than them being out every night possibly spreading the virus ( even more than they already possibly are). If so Im sure the authorities would be thinking "great, job done" either way there then perhaps.

Funny you should say this, because this is exactly what my partner Jai said to me last night.

His opinion is that the governor did this for several reasons; 1) As a way to discourage some (not all) patrons from going to restaurants if they suspect they could potentially have the virus, 2) As a means of reducing the number of people going to these public venues during the Omicron surge, thus lowering the risk, and 3) getting more positive tests on the books to use as justification for additional countermeasures which may be necessary in the near future.

Just so you know, Jai may have been raised in a jungle village where he had to climb trees to find insects for dinner, but he also graduated from one of the highest ranked Universities in Thailand with a 4.0 grade average. Rarely is he wrong - about anything.

[DoubleDutch]

By 1 AM Monday morning I had entered four bars and several restaurant during the day, no one asked me anything, we were sitting with friends on steps at Tree Town on soi Bukhao 'testing center' where staff outnumbered the testees 10 to 1, it was funny to observe all the excitement.

I nor any foreigner in their right mind will submit to this test if ID is required, there will always be ton of places here that will never follow this idiocy. This law is very likely forgotten before it's even enforced.

But panic away if you must.

[goji]

Testing of customers at bars is likely to reinforce the illusion of a higher infection rate amongst Farang.

Of course Omicron arrived with inbound travellers, including the 28(?) Thais who were infected whilst visiting Mecca.

However, once it's here, it's likely to spread amongst Thais and Farang. So far, Thais have been able to dodge testing, whilst Farang arriving now have 2 PCR tests. So on a per capita basis, more cases will be detected among Farang, purely due to a higher testing rate.

[Dodger]

Testing of customers at bars is likely to reinforce the illusion of a higher infection rate amongst Farang.

In all fairness to the Governor, I just can't see where creating any illusion at this point would serve the Provinces best interest.

Chonburi desperately needs tourists which has been front-and-center to all efforts up till this point, but keeping the virus from becoming a wildfire has to take precedence. Everyone losses.

I take the liberty of casting stones at the government whenever I think it's warranted, but in this case it's Mother Nature we're up against - and casting stones at the wind only works if you're a pitcher on a baseball team practicing for your next game.



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[StevieWonders]

I take the liberty of casting stones at the government whenever I think it's warranted, but in this case it's Mother Nature we're up against

They can sleep easy in their beds tonight - what a relief they won't have to worry about your vote until the next election. Oh wait, you're a non-resident alien and they don't give a rat's arse about your opinions anyway

[goji]

keeping the virus from becoming a wildfire has to take precedence.

With vaccines and a milder virus variant, they have the option of doing nothing at all.
So far, as far as I can tell, that's pretty much what Boris Johnson is doing in England. In London, Omicron infections have increased rapidly, Delta infections have decreased and the number of people in hospital for COVID has been decreasing. So it seems to be working fine at present.

Thailand has the same choices.

[StevieWonders]

With vaccines and a milder virus variant, they have the option of doing nothing at all.

Exactly (not) - the effectiveness of the Chinese vaccines most Thais have received is the reason why arsenal is locked down in China - the Chinese government doesn't even believe its own vaccines are any good