DivineMadman

I suppose Anutin would be pleased that someone - anyone - gives him the credit for being that diabolically clever. Because the policy applies to Thais as well as foreigners, I don't think screwing the farang is a likely objective. CAAT Rules for Airlines

Doesn't seem appropriate or justified to be singling out "Chinese and Asian" people.

FYI - some of us were just at Telephone pub bar Restaurant . If and to the extent Telephone ____________ is a pub/bar, all signs are being removed/covered. It is a bar no longer. But Telephone: The Restaurant - and I assume Balcony: The Restaurant - will continue operating (until they can't). At least that's the plan now. So it's ok to go to Telephone. Soi 4 is not closing. Also - Telephone and Balcony have removed a bunch of tables so it you can practice social distancing. And the staff are as cute as ever.

I continue to think that the success of the move to Patpong from Soi Twilight shows that there's money to be made with the bars -- in Bangkok at least -- and so when things return to normal the bar scene will as well.

Nothing that I know of other than it's a good chunk of time that they can revisit and extend if they think they need to.

Correct. Again - no word on how it will apply to restaurants or places like Telephone Bar Restaurant. Probably will shut? No word on whether it applies to hotel bars. Some bars/venues are shutting early (tonight the 17th). Fake Club. Stranger Bar.

BTW the note about the bar closings is only confirmed for Bangkok. I don’t even try to follow what might be the rules out yonder

Cabinet has met and now it's official. Pubs, entertainment venues & massage parlors shut 18-31 March. (Also rules about stadiums, arenas closed until further notice.) I haven't seen anything that includes restaurants. But I'm sure more details and contradictory details will emerge. Not a lock-down (yet).

Thai people begin hoarding essentials.

I'm not disputing this, but I just noticed that Freshboys posted this business-as-usual post this morning at about 4:30-5:00 am . It might just be a social media post on auto-mode, or it could be a sign that the bar is still open (until it closes - 55555).

Updated message from the gov't spokesperson about what's going to the Cabinet today. Via Richard Barrow

When they set up the most recent COVID-19 Command Center with Uncle Tu (Gen Prayut) in charge, they of course didn't disband any of the others, bringing the current total to three. Plus the Cabinet has final say on many matters. And then various ministers and spokespeople do things like announce "decisions" or "recommendations" on personal Facebook and twitter.

#ผู้นําโง่เราจะตายกันหมด is reportedly trending on Thai social media. It translates roughly to "Our leader is stupid, we are all going to die." [There is a bit of a story behind the phrasing - not sure it's relevant]

Somewhere I read that the suspicion on the exorbitantly high pricing at the private hospitals was that those hospitals really don't want the hassle of COVID-19 patients, so they are using the high pricing to deter people from going there.

Again, Khao Sod is saying technically that the decisions still have to go to the cabinet on Tuesday. (Sorry - Thai language.). https://www.khaosod.co.th/breaking-news/news_3761670 Richard Barrow says the confusion is that government spokesperson described it as if it were a done deal. Which presumably it is - effectively. Until it changes. 555

Cabinet to vote to postpone Songkran to a date TBD. Certainly a wise decision. Conflicting reports of closing entertainment venues so personally I'm going to wait until the reports are consistent. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1880010/songkran-to-be-postponed-venues-and-schools-closed https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30384184?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=internal_referral Khao Sod says that the cabinet will consider the proposal to close pubs, cinemas, etc., tomorrow (17 March)

And some parts of Babylon are closed for COVID. I don't know how that impacts the fun.

Even the government of China is not saying all is well and should return to normal. Certainly we would hope that Thailand will continue to review the different countries on its various lists. I would expect them to do. Maybe it's ok to give governments a little time? But in any event, the fact they haven't gotten around to putting Spain on the same list as Italy yet doesn't mean China comes off the list. The U.S. didn't restrict travelers from Spain until Friday, and only added the UK yesterday (I think they added the UK). France moved to Stage 3 only yesterday. Hmmm....I have said "Not saying they haven't made ridiculous flip flop bits of buffoonery. They have." Nothing limited to Anutin. But I think the criticism should be a reasonable. And to come back to the same point - your criticism was that the government doesn't listen to experts and then you make an amateur epidemiological argument that China travel restrictions should be lifted because you think it's all ok there, but it seems that the real experts don't share that view. So it all seems a bit biased, eh? And - at least in the U.S. according to the CDC - they expect the disease to go through peaks and troughs. It's complicated stuff, I think.

Not as fun as a bar, but House Samyan (formerly House RCA), the arthouse-ish cinema in Samyan Mitrtown has blocked out seats to permit limited "social distancing." An option in case the bars close. Bring a date!

But at a minimum we can agree that the World Health Organization still lists China as very high risk. Specifically. By name. Not just subsumed into "Global." Even though China is no longer the epicenter, I was not aware of anyone who thought the virus wasn't still a concern for transmission in China. Yes, it is now a global pandemic - according to the WHO. That doesn't mean it is an epidemic in every country. Some countries are Stage 1, some are Stage 2 and some are Stage 3. I didn't think anyone really thought otherwise. (China is still Stage 3.). So what I think the much-maligned (and often deservedly so) Thai government have started doing is the recognizing those differences. The Stage 3 countries that have it the worst (China, Italy, Iran, etc.) have the most restrictive rules. Next up the U.S. and others, where people can come but are subject to self reporting. This seems reasonable to me. (Not saying they haven't made ridiculous flip flop bits of buffoonery. They have.). Yes something can be a global risk, but that doesn't mean it can't be analyzed with more precision. I don't see how anyone can say they think the Thais should remiove the restrictions on visitors from China to help the local tourism sector in one post ("I would much rather they let in Chinese tourists to help keep the bars and massage parlours alive..."), but then turn around and say the only other alternative is to shut the borders entirely.

The very report in this link has the words "Very High" next to China for Risk Assessment. VERY HIGH. So who is ignoring the epidemiological and experts????? Once again. The current risk assessment for China is "Very High" according to the World Health Organization. Personally, it doesn't seem right to me that a non-epidemiologist picks a number for the report for "new" cases and -- contrary to the conclusions of the World Health Organization -- declares that China is no longer a COVID-19 risk, and says the Thais don't take advice from the experts.

To be clear - it's just something that Anutin (not the most stable of gents) has said he will propose on Monday. It has not been imposed yet. Whether Prayut et al. go along with it and then exactly what it will look like will be important. If they toss the sacred coin and decide to close venues, how they actually roll that out will be important. The Bangkok Post article says the committee will specify venues to be closed "zone by zone." Who really knows what that will mean. There are lots of possible outcomes. Maybe Prayut et al. reject the idea (for now). Maybe they close all bars and restaurants. (Personally, I doubt that.) Maybe they limit it to the designated "Entertainment Zones," which might include Patpong and Soi Cowboy and Nana, but maybe not Soi 4??? But obviously that leaves out a lot. Maybe they close all nightclubs to pick up Thonglor/Ratchada. Maybe restaurants can stay open. Lucky Boys serves food. Hmmmm. At this point, it seems that consulting the Sacred Oracle of Tibet is about as reliable as any method for as predicting what any government policy will be in day or so, particularly this one. Yes it's a possibility. If you would otherwise go out to a bar or club, maybe more of a reason to do it if tonight might be the last night for a while. That's my plan. ****** Separately, FYI - Maybe people have already seen - Mahanakorn Rooftop closed for thorough cleaning after an employee tested positive.

Sorry to hear it, but it is the right analysis. Certainly hope Expedia is following the trend and accommodating people who have to cancel or reschedule.

This one is for Vinapu The "Quarantini"