Stevemercer

The Australian Embassy is still processing these. I did mine today and there were no dramas (apart from having to get new passport photos). It cost 8300 Baht. They post out the new passports now and they say the process takes 3 - 4 weeks. However, they cancelled my old passport and returned it. Hopefully that won't cause any problems. Anyway, I don't intend to travel overseas and my visa extension is 6 weeks away.

I had to drive in from Khon Kaen the day before (and drove back today). The traffic, as expected, was light. We didn't get stopped at any checkpoints. The hotel we used in Bangkok was about half full.

The only point at which we were closer than 2 metres to a third person was when someone got on our lift at the hotel for one floor. I think the covid ettiquete is one person/couple per lift (e.g. wait for the next one if possible)?

A small silver lining was that my wife didn't want to stop every 30 minutes to eat and look at roadside stalls. Although on the way back we had to stop for chicken eggs (which are cheap in Korat), tree eggs (from the usual roadside stalls) and pig eggs (a new Thai delicasy for my wife). 

If you want beaches that are decent swimming (clean sand, clean water, a few waves) then the Andaman coast is where you should be looking.

I, for one, will try to do my 12 month extension when it falls due in a few weeks. I would hate to be in the line at the immigration office when everyones'  30 day extensions expire at the same time! 

I had a weird cold four weeks ago after passing through Suvarnabhabi on my way back from Australia. The most unusual symptom I noticed at the time was losing my sense of smell for two days. I had never experienced that before. Apart from that i had a headache, vague sore throat that came and went and persistent tiredness. But I never had a cough.

I read a few weeks ago that loss of smell could be a symptom of Covid 19. But then I read elsewhere that loss of smell is sometimes a flu symptom (occurring when you have thrown off the virus, but the lingering inflammation in the nasal passages blocks up the smell receptors).

But it could be all imagination. After all, when sitting next to someone with a cough we all start imagining the germs/viruses invading and start to feel symptoms developing. But then the person moves away and we forget all about it.

The names and addresses have been doing the rounds of Facebook for the last few days. 

Next will be the names and addresses of all the farang hiding out around Thailand.

Maybe governments will have to accept a threshold number of new daily cases (which are within the capacity of the country's medical system to effectively treat and minimise deaths).

Hospitals will obviously properly gear up to routinely treat cases within the next month or two (provided there is not a sudden spike in numbers).

Treatments will get more effective over time with experience. If hospitals are working within capacity, tr and there is no need to make life or death choices.  

So what is a sustainable threshold of new daily cases? I'm sure the calculations have been done. For countries like Thailand and Australia it might be 100 a day (and assuming a fatality rate <1%). If these thresholds (whatever they are) are met than governments can progressively ease restrictions with a view to getting the domestic economy back on track.

But full freedom of international travel will not resume until there is an effective vaccine.

2 hours ago, Bogbrush said:

Part of an interview with Lord Sumption, former Justice of the UK Supreme Court....

 

But the real question is: is this serious enough to warrant putting most of our population into house imprisonment, wrecking our economy for an indefinite period, destroying businesses that honest and hardworking people have taken years to build up, saddling future generations with debt, depression, stress, heart attacks, suicides and unbelievable distress inflicted on millions of people who are not especially vulnerable and will suffer only mild symptoms or none at all.

No, the real question is whether people want governments to put risk the economy or risk their parents, grandparents and other elderly people.

The cohort most at risk (elderly) are our parents, and no government can be seen to be sacrificing their lives for the economy. So governments have no real choice.

It's different during times of war when it seems ok to put young people's lives (ours sons and daughters) on the front line.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

 

Police cracked down on the group after receiving a call that residents in the house were holding a party and disturbing the neighbours with loud music.

 

If only the cops were this responsive to loud parties during more normal times!

8 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

What part of "stay home" don't you understand?

All authorities recommend continuing exercise, including outdoor exercise, for one or two hours per day.

I wondered about the Thai Government making it so difficult for their own citizens to return home (effectively abandoning responsibility for them). What will the government do if some of those citiens manage to avoid the paperwork or an airline undertakes a humanitarian gesture (despite the fines they will face). Deport them if they make it home to Thailand?

I hope the Thai national who is challenging the order is successful. What happened in Auckland is not good.

I don't think the Thai government is that insensitive, but just that they didn't think through the consequences of their 'cunning plan' (which, after all, was always just about public appearances).

6 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

talk about the worse possible thing for a bank to say or do during a global freakout!

 

i saw groups of Thais at banks yesterday in Hua Hin. 

 

i am using BB Visa credit card to pay for food wherever possible.

I think you are right about the banks not thinking ahead! The most likely outcome is misinterpretation by the public creating a run on the banks!

Sorry, above already posted. Vangelis from The Year of Living Dangerously'

Look up the Italian town of Vo that successfully defeated the virus. They isolated the town of about 3000 and tested everyone. They were surprised that nearly 3% tested positive. The positives were treated at home. After 14 days they tested again and found only a minute percentage have the virus.

This is all just speculation on the part of the expert. There is no evidence for a deadly Italian strain.

3 hours ago, smedly said:

Buriram seems to be the only place in Thailand that knows what they are doing 

 

Everything they have done so far is very sensible 

 

I vote this Governor for Health Minister with immediate effect 

 

well done 

Buriram is the Health Minister's power base and he is good mates with the Governor. So you will be supporting Anutin for PM?

It is interesting that the town of Vo, in the centre of Italy's epidemic, is now corona free.

The town has 3000 people and the was locked down and ALL residents tested. They were surpised to find 3% (89 people) infected. Instead of sending them to hospital, where they could spread the virus, all the infected were ordered to stay isolated at home and were treated. Any serious cases were to be evacuated to hospital, but, thankfully, this was not required.

At the end of 14 days the whole town was tested again (including those who initially tested sick) and just 3 people out of the 3,000 tested positive. The process was repeated and now nobody has the virus.

Assuming 100,000 cases in Hubei (the worst affected province in China), which has a population of 58 million, then the infection rate for that province is 0.2%.

Of course, China implemented draconian restrictions after the initial 2 months. Still, there was nearly 2 months of unrestricted spread.

If recommended precautions are followed, the societal risk of infection is closer to 1%. I assume the predictions of 3% or higher assume society flouts the recommended precautions.

The balance of advice seems to suggest 2 years which is about the time needed to develop, test and produce enough doses of a vaccine to inoculate those at most risk.

Current lock-downs will need to be in place for 3 months to be effective. 

Until a reliable and safe vaccine is widely available, the virus will just keep coming back in successive rounds. 

Of course, we can look forward to new Corona strains in the future.

14 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

I said the same thing at dinner with my family last night as well. Maybe a bright side to getting him and his clowns out. 

Be careful what you wish for!

Anutin would be odds on to be PM next!