Covid19 test for stay in Thailand

[CO-CO]

IMMIGRATION BACKTRACKS ON PLAN TO REQUIRE COVID-19 TEST FOR VISA EXTENSIONS
By Khaosod English -January 19, 2021 11:30 am
A file photo of a man taking a swab test for the coronavirus.
A file photo of a man taking a swab test for the coronavirus.
BANGKOK ? A spokesman for the immigration police on Tuesday walked back on his announcement that a negative COVID-19 test result will be mandatory for every foreigner who wishes to extend their stay in the kingdom.

Immigration bureau spokesman Archayon Kraithong previously said on Monday the new measure will be applied to ?every type of visa,? regardless of how long the foreigner has stayed in the country.

But less than an hour after his remark was reported on Khaosod English ? sparking an uproar among expats on social media ? the spokesman reached back to say he was misinformed about the new policy, and offered an apology.

?I apologize for the misunderstanding,? Maj. Gen. Archayon said. ?It will only apply to certain types of visa, most likely the permanent resident visa.?

He went on to say that the Immigration Bureau will have to wait for the Council of State ? an agency tasked with settling legislative disputes ? to interpret the latest regulation concerning coronavirus and arrivals from overseas published on Dec. 25.

?We?re waiting for the Council of State to interpret the new regulation,? Maj. Gen. Archayon said.

The order added COVID-19 to the list of prohibited diseases for foreigners who wish to enter or take residency in Thailand. Other diseases include leprosy, ?dangerous stage? of tuberculosis, elephantiasis, drug addiction, and tertiary stage of syphilis.

The announcement did not mention any restriction that must be taken on foreigners already residing in Thailand.

?This is such a pointless exercise,? Twitter user Siobh?n Robbins wrote. ?If long term expats have Covid19 then with borders basically closed and 14 mandatory quarantine they have almost certainly got it via local transmission in Thailand. COVID19 doesn?t pick people by race, yet foreigners are once again singled out.?

Read: Some Hospitals Apply ?Farang Pricing? for Coronavirus Testing

Local immigration offices appeared to be unaware of any new measure that would require foreign residents to present a negative coronavirus test upon renewing their visas.

?I haven?t heard about it,? Chonburi immigration chief Narain Kheungsanook said by phone.

Phuket Immigration Deputy Chief Col. Nareuwat Putthawiro also told The Phuket News that his office has not received any such order.

?We do not require any medical documents for an application to renew a visa, because there are few foreigners? movements outside Phuket. Most of them live and work in Phuket, and have done so before the new wave of COVID-19,? Col. Nareuwat was quoted as saying.

It was far from the first time that the immigration contradicted itself on its own enforcement of visa policy.

A spokesman said in July that an amnesty would not be granted to foreigners stranded in Thailand due to the pandemic, though they later did. In 2018, Chinese nationals flying from Hong Kong were also barred from using a premium lane reserved for Chinese nationals at an airport in Bangkok.

[iammike]

I like this comment on Thaivisa about this

Once again different immigration offices issuing different stories. I swear the word coordination is just not understood here.
For long term expats, who have not traveled anywhere, this makes absolutely no sense.

[iammike]

This one (excerpt from the post Co-Co posted) is spot on

?This is such a pointless exercise,? Twitter user Siobh?n Robbins wrote. ?If long term expats have Covid19 then with borders basically closed and 14 mandatory quarantine they have almost certainly got it via local transmission in Thailand. COVID19 doesn?t pick people by race, yet foreigners are once again singled out.?

[Gerry]

Another storm in a teacup.

Foreigners are hardly being singled out. It's just another,possible, requirement at immigration.

My extension is not for a long while. I'm not even going to give this much thought. It will all be sorted after a while. These things always are.

I am still expecting vaccination to appear on the list of requirements fairly soon.

[iammike]

>snip>
I am still expecting vaccination to appear on the list of requirements fairly soon.

I think fairly soon is approx 3-6+ months because that is how soon I expect enough Vaccine is available for us (excluding of course Private Hospitals)

But as of course TiT

[gotlost]

Thanathorn queries govt?s Covid-19 vaccine deal, links with royally owned Siam Bioscience
By THE NATION

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Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit

The Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit slammed the government for its tardiness in providing Covid-19 vaccines and pointed out that the company tasked with manufacturing the vaccine locally is owned by the King.

In a Facebook Live session on Monday, Thanathorn said the government has been careless in negotiations for the vaccine, adding that Thailand only completed discussions with AstraZeneca in October last year. In comparison, he said, several countries had started discussing purchase options with vaccine producers in the first quarter of 2020.

Moreover, he said, the 26 million doses purchased from AstraZeneca is not enough, and even with the 2 million doses the government is buying from China?s Sinovac, only 21.5 per cent of the population will be covered.

He added that the Cabinet had on January 5 okayed the purchase of another 35 million doses from AstraZeneca, but the contract for this plan has not been signed yet. So, the leader of the now-defunct Future Forward Party asked if these 35 million doses were part of the earlier deals with AstraZeneca and Sinovac.

As for the vaccine manufacturing deal with royally owned Siam Bioscience, Thanathorn said the company is tasked with producing 200 million doses per year. Of this, 176 million will be sold to other countries in the region, while the remainder will be sold locally.

Siam Bioscience was established in 2009 with an authorised capital of Bt48 billion, but over the past 11 years, the corporation has made losses worth Bt581 billion, Thanathorn said.

The government, meanwhile, has announced it will give Siam Bioscience Bt1.44 billion for the project.

The Progressive Movement?s leader also said the government claims to have approved a vaccine plan from the first quarter of last year, but pointed out that Siam Bioscience was only added to the plan in the second quarter of 2020 ? when anti-establishment protesters began holding their rallies.

Hence, he asked whether the AstraZeneca-Siam Bioscience deal is politically motivated.

He also suggested that the government should consider other choices, adding that it is imperative for the authorities to start providing vaccines as soon as possible.

He also said he was curious to find out if the prime minister will compensate people in case the procurement of vaccines ? considering the government has chosen very few options ? encounters problems.

In response to Thanathorn?s statement, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the Covid-19 vaccine is an important matter and should not be linked to politics.

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30401459


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-- ? Copyright The Nation Thailand 2021-01-19


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