Opinion Editorial: Pattaya entertainment business owner suggests a “Nightlife Sandbox”

[The Pattaya News]

The Pattaya News
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  We recently got an interesting mail/proposal from a bar owner in the Walking Street area who has been touching base with other owners and managers to propose to the city and provincial leaders a “Nightlife Sandbox” for the Pattaya area when/if the area is allowed to reopen to foreign vaccinated tourists. The owner doesn’t […]

Opinion Editorial: Pattaya entertainment business owner suggests a “Nightlife Sandbox”
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[Soi7]

Quote

The owner doesn’t want self-attention,

Haaaaaaaaaa I love this why would they dumb Idea IMO

[Zeb]

A first and vital step in trying to reopen Pattaya, should in my view seek up to date as well as historical data on Covid cases and deaths within the city.

Is this available at all, if not - why has the biggest urban centre on the eastern seaboard been closed down for going on 6 months (this time around) ? 

Its difficult to ascertain what the situation actually is in Pattaya so impossible to accurately gauge when opening might safely be suitable. 

What is the trend in covid cases and fatalities in Pattaya?

What is the extent and trend of testing in the city? Is significant proactive testing being consistently done?

If this information is available it should be made available for discussion.

If it is not available - What is the basis for the extended lockdown which has crushed the livelihoods of some many people and so many businesses.

From available data released by Health officials it might be interpreted that the bulk of cases (but not all by any means) are from industrial type workplaces, families & close friends living and working in cramped close situations - but is this the reality? We just don't know.

From time to time there is occasional mention in media reports of some positive test results within Pattaya but that has been scant overall?

Why not make the current and historical numbers for the city available?

It doesn't seem unreasonable that business people of all types across the city ask for this information as an initial first step.

Would National level authorities permit City officials to facilitate, even pay for more testing so that the actual extent of Covid within Pattaya is accurately determined, if that information is not already available. 

While major decisions are always going to be made at National level, having accurate data to support your case can only help that case.

If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there....

Edited September 17, 2021 by Zeb

[SirL]

I'm probably missing something obvious with this idea.

The point of the Phuket Sandbox is that, by preventing any contact at all between visitors in the 14 day period in which they could possibly be infectious, and locals, there can be no transmission of covid from visitors to locals.  Well that's supposed to be the point, there are actually loopholes, but let's ignore that.

Vaccinated people can be infected (in which case they would almost always have only minor symptoms), so they can transmit covid on to those they get in contact with, for example within WS.  So with this Pattaya Nightlife Sandbox idea, transmission could occur from a minor-symptoms infected vaccinated person to another vaccinated person.  This idea isn't as totally safe as the Phuket Sandbox which involves total separation.

Now of course I think the Thai approach to covid is much more conservative than it need be, but that's what the Thai govt have chosen and I assume they'll stick with.  With their conservative approach, this Pattaya Nightlife Sandbox allows the possibility of infection transmission, and so I assume they'll rule it out.  Things may perhaps get more relaxed, in which case this sort of Nightlife Sandbox might become acceptable, but that's just the hypothetical future.

What would be needed to make this Nightlife Sandbox acceptable would be a quick test so that those entering WS could actually be properly tested, cheaply with almost immediate results.  A forehead temperature test isn't enough.  But that doesn't AIUI exist at present.

[briguy]

1 hour ago, SirL said:

I'm probably missing something obvious with this idea.

The point of the Phuket Sandbox is that, by preventing any contact at all between visitors in the 14 day period in which they could possibly be infectious, and locals, there can be no transmission of covid from visitors to locals.

Well, one thing you're missing is the way the Phuket Sandbox works, ASQ is where visitors are separated from others in their hotel room for a two week period. In the Phuket Sandbox, the idea is that enough locals on the island have been vaccinated that once a tourist passes their Covid test on arrival (as well as further tests in the next 14 days), they can go wherever they want on Phuket as long as they return to their hotel every night to check in. And yes, that means they can interact with locals...

[Billy Shears]

Anyway, any how, anything that can open the bars again is ok with me.

I believe there's only 2 ways to get into soi LK, maybe start there. No Vaccine, no entry?

[eXplosief]

The decision to open bars has until now been nationwide. No local exceptions, not even for Phuket. So why would they do it for a Walking Street to support a business sector that many in the government already want to get rid of?

Another thing is that with the Phuket sandbox they created a local community with high vaccination rates and most importantly very limited travel in and out of the sandbox so they can limit possible spread.

With Pattaya it is almost impossible to limit travel. On the contrary. Opening entertainment will only increase inter-provincial movements. City would be flooded in weekends. To some extent the same happened since the beaches reopened. 

And lastly there are many huge thai oriented venues all over the city. What do you think the reaction will be if farang oriented businesses are allowed to open and they remain shut?

[Ohyesuare]

5 hours ago, eXplosief said:

The decision to open bars has until now been nationwide. No local exceptions, not even for Phuket. So why would they do it for a Walking Street to support a business sector that many in the government already want to get rid of?

Another thing is that with the Phuket sandbox they created a local community with high vaccination rates and most importantly very limited travel in and out of the sandbox so they can limit possible spread.

With Pattaya it is almost impossible to limit travel. On the contrary. Opening entertainment will only increase inter-provincial movements. City would be flooded in weekends. To some extent the same happened since the beaches reopened. 

And lastly there are many huge thai oriented venues all over the city. What do you think the reaction will be if farang oriented businesses are allowed to open and they remain shut?

Also to add that there are so many entrances to Walking Street, no way they'd get enough people to enforce or volunteer to enforce each one and actually take the QR and temperature taking seriously. Even at Central Festival, most of the time the security is not manning the entrance I use but I still do all the required things myself. 

[SirL]

6 hours ago, briguy said:

ASQ is where visitors are separated from others in their hotel room for a two week period. In the Phuket Sandbox, the idea is that enough locals on the island have been vaccinated that once a tourist passes their Covid test on arrival (as well as further tests in the next 14 days), they can go wherever they want on Phuket as long as they return to their hotel every night to check in. And yes, that means they can interact with locals...

I didn't actually miss that - that's why I mentioned the loopholes in the scheme.

Personally, I reckon the downside of catching covid at any time in Thailand, ie a few weeks in full on imprisonmenthospitalisation is so bad that I'd be taking voluntary major precautions even after the two weeks end (there's the test shortly before the flight out to run the risk of, and if you fail that you have to stay in hospital beyond your original departure date).  That extra care I'd be taking would mean I'd be avoiding much contact with locals at any time (which of course misses the point of a mongering trip, which is why I'm not keen on the whole thing).  The extra care I'd be taking means there wouldn't be much risk from the contact with locals you describe, but I understand that most guys don't play it that way.  I think the scheme is designed with regular tourists, and their degree of contact, in mind - the much more contact mongers have IMO represents a loophole that the designers weren't quite thinking of.

IMO the Thai requirement for some sort of imprisonment if you catch covid is so bad that it becomes a game-changer, it's just completely unacceptable compared to the farang approach of just stay at home for a couple of weeks if mild/asymptomatic.  Maybe some guys shut their eyes to that threat.

Edited September 18, 2021 by SirL