Senior Player

On 7/8/2022 at 7:45 PM, Eleftheros said:

UK excess deaths at the moment are consistently up about 10% over the long-term average, of which very few are Covid-related. Deaths at home are up by 30%, described by one Prof. Levinson as "horrific numbers".

 

An investigation is expected to focus on a narrow set of possible reasons:

• pandemic response (lockdowns, masks etc, leading to downturns in physical and mental health)
• lack of access to healthcare and delayed referrals
• cost of living crisis, deprivation, stress
• heart problems caused by the Covid virus

 

So there must be some other reason why people - mostly of working age - are falling off the twig with such regularity.

You're absolutely right. There were 1,540 more deaths than usual in England and Wales registered in the week ending June 24th, the most recent week for which data are available, according to the latest update from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), released on Tuesday. This is 16.6% above the five-year average. This also brings the total number of non-Covid deaths above the five-year average since April 29th, the start of the recent spike, to 7,840. Of these, a large proportion are occurring in the home, leading to calls for an urgent investigation into why thousands more people are dying than would be expected, despite Covid death numbers staying low.

12 hours ago, joecoolfrog said:

That was my initial thought , there is no way the booking sites will play along with dual pricing. 

Without knowing the full details of how this proposal will work, is it not possible to offer Thais with a Thai National ID card the 50% discount upon arrival at the hotel and keep things as they are on the booking sites? Also, some of these sites operate a "Book Now Pay Later" business model at the hotel, so it wouldn't be too difficult to implement. Just a thought.

I've just read that the Government plans to charge foreigners more than Thais for hotel rooms. According to reports, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports plans to ask hotel operators to implement a dual tariff framework, under which foreign visitors can be charged the same rates as in pre-pandemic days, while locals will be charged discounted rates.

Well, that should make us feel more welcome and get us booking our already expensive flights to Bangkok then.

7 hours ago, George Aylesham said:

If 'face nappies' were in common use in the UK maybe they could reduce the horrendous infection figures there - 21,000 new infections a day and 87 new deaths a day. (source: Worldometer)

Again, you make the common mistake of saying the UK, when the Covid response is down to each of the four nations and their regional assemblies. For instance, Wales is now looking to reintroduce mask-wearing in their NHS hospitals, whereas the other three nations do not. Besides, the 87 new deaths a day you quote doesn't mean they all died of Covid, only with it. In addition, the number of daily death figures have remained pretty constant throughout the last couple of months with no excess deaths from Covid since Omicron arrived. For instance, on April 13, 2022, there were 651 deaths recorded in the UK (source: Worldometer). Did you get all worked up over that figure on April 13th, too? You'd have to go back to March this year to see a bigger increase in that number, and still that was nowhere near the peak levels of January 2021.

The real story is there have been nearly 6,500 more deaths than usual in England and Wales from causes other than COVID-19 in the eight weeks since April 23rd, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

Call me a cynic but this new scaremongering seems to coincide with a new 'super booster' Covid vaccine from Moderna which could be approved for use in UK within days and rolled out in September. 

19 hours ago, Sametboy2019 said:

I know 8 people that have had it in the last two weeks.

Missus was pretty rough. I'm one day in. Chills, weakness...worst part is the blinding headache.

I had it about 2 weeks ago after visiting friends in London. I had the same symptoms as you except for the blinding headache. In addition, I had a slight runny nose (not constant or anything), but mostly a hacking cough and spewing up phlegm combined with chills and fatigue. It wasn't that bad; mild would be my own definition of the experience. It only lasted 5 days max, but I could still get about with ease when I had it. Just for the record, I'm aged sixty and not particularly fit.

As I pointed out a week ago, it's too risky to book an expensive flight to LOS right now as the Thai government have form in slamming on the breaks and going into reverse gear. The plan to downgrade the Covid-19 status from a pandemic to an endemic disease faces a deferral for another week, as health authorities are keeping a close watch on new subvariants and the consequences of lifting restrictions. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it faces yet another deferral after that, then another, and so on. 

From a UK's perspective, the latest Office for National Statistics survey show that infections are rising, but we are not seeing nearly the same levels of hospitalisations or deaths as we did before the vaccine roll-out. Figures published just last week show that an estimated 99.3% of the population have antibodies – whether through infection or vaccination. So as a result, although infections are rising, we are not being swamped by yet another Covid wave. If you want to use the UK, or Europe for that matter, as an example for more Thai restrictions, then you need to be aware that hospitalisations are still low, despite the usual scare stories from the legacy media.

So TAT are proposing visa fee exemption for international arrivals and eligibility extension for visitors from nations not requiring a visa to enter the country from 30 to 45 days? So another day, another new proposal. But will these "considerations" ever become a reality or are they simply more flights of fantasy from TAT? Meanwhile, tourists looking for a 2-week break in the sun are looking elsewhere. Sure, the tenacious and indefatigable will jump through the hoops that are required to enter the Kingdom and wear their dogged determination like a badge of honour. That's all very well if you've decided or planned to spend a long time in Thailand and don't mind the excessive bureaucracy, but what about those who only spend 2 or 3 weeks in the sun, and don't have the same luxury afforded to them as the long-stayers? And let's say they are prepared to undergo the considerable time and effort to get a Thai Pass and have all their ducks in a row—what do they get for their trouble? A decimated nightlife, more uncertainty and vague promises. That's hardly an inducement.

I don't know about other travellers (tourists) but I've already abandoned any plans to return to Thailand this year. I'm now looking at early 2023 as a distinct possibility, having lost all faith in the Thai government's ability to get its act together. 

18 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

I had the smallpox jab when young, and as monkeypox seems to be mostly in the gay and bi population, i wont be worrying about it  enough to worry about with covid.

I agree with you. It's nothing to worry about. There have been previous monkeypox outbreaks before in the West that have gone largely unnoticed by the general public until now.

6 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

So you are using your speculation to try and prove your point? Really? ????

 

This is actually pretty fun, can you give us more of your "speculation" I'm a little bored tonight

Well, are you an expat living in Thailand, so you probably are a tad bored there.

I can’t wait for your next outburst when you find out that his attacker also doesn’t have any travel or health insurance after living in the Kingdom for 5 years. It’s going to be epic. Then again, he probably gets a free pass as his mother hasn’t set-up a Go Fund Me page yet.

4 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

Reading between the lines ????

 

In other words you don't have a clue

It's called speculating. It's also what you've been doing for the past half-dozen pages with the victim being at fault for not having the correct travel insurance in case someone decides to murder him. ????

19 hours ago, darrendsd said:

But that's not stated in the BBC  report is it? It just says the money is to save his eyesight, now it's to pay for his legal bills also? 

 

It could take weeks or months to raise the 15k he is asking for, if it does then maybe the operation he "urgently " needs is not so urgent after all? 

 

Don't take all you read as facts because to me there is something wrong here and again I'm not disputing he was attacked as the report states he will be returning home after the operation so it seems he is not intending to stick around to see justice done

Do you just get all your approved news and analytics from one source... the BBC? I'm merely reading between the lines and based on other sources that he will have to remain in the Kingdom if he is to be successful at pressing criminal charges. Strewth, are you always this imperceptive?

2 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

I had a smallpox vaccination in 1978. It was after the disease had been declared extinct, but a lab somewhere let some of their stored samples loose. I was travelling to Italy in the October and needed a smallpox vaccine to get there.

Indeed, some people would have received a smallpox vax in the late 70's as well, though this wasn't nationwide. Myself, I had one when I was born in Paddington hospital, London, in the early 60s and a booster at primary school (what Americans call elementary school, I believe).

19 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Everyone is susceptible.  SP vax only last 3-5 yrs.  And they stopped giving them when ? ????

 

You ask: they stopped giving them when? Answer: 1971 in the UK. Hence, why those aged 50 and over are likely to be the most protected. 

A study by the NIH found that the smallpox vaccine provided protection for at least 88 years—which was the longest time since vaccination of any of the people tested. In other words, the original smallpox vaccine is good for life. To say that the smallpox vax of the 1940's to 1970s only lasts 3-5 years is just not correct. 

Dr Breban told the Guardian newspaper: "This outbreak was really waiting to happen. Our immunity level is almost zero. People aged 50 and above are likely to be immune but the rest of us not, so we are very, very susceptible."

There is a new smallpox vax available, though. Maybe this new one has a shorter lifespan, much like the Covid shots.

22 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

I live here so I don't have travel insurance but yes of course I have insurance

 

The whole it's ok I won't take care of myself, if something happens I'll ask other people to help me is what annoys me.

I get where you're coming from with regards to having medical cover and the bleeding heart stories, but there are exceptions. This is one of those situations where medical cover or insurance doesn't protect you against physical assault or attempted murder. The victim will still need to remain in the Kingdom to keep up the pressure on the police and provide statements which will cost even more money. This is how some of the perps getaway with their crimes, because as soon the foreigner goes home due to lack of funds or for their work, the case is largely forgotten about or no longer a priority.

21 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

You obviously didn't read the part where I said I'm not questioning his version about the attack  ????

I chose to ignore it because the whole scenario IS about the gym attack! As you didn't specify what you were referring to, I can only assume that you're peeved in some way about his travel insurance arrangements, or lack thereof, not covering assault and battery or attempted murder for his full duration. That's irrelevant. This is about seeing justice served, not travel insurance cover.

Let's hope whatever ironclad travel insurance arrangements you have aren't tested by some nutter blindsiding you with a heavy metal object in Thailand. I'd hate to have to read your sob story afterwards. ????

But as another poster commented above: we're unlikely to discover the true outcome of this cowardly attack, especially as farang-on-farang crimes tend to be set aside and forgotten about, or gathering dust somewhere. He raised a good point: What did happen to that guy who got kicked in the head on Soi 6 outside a coffee bar? I can't quite recall the details of his travel insurance either.

9 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

So you're just taking his side of the sob story ( I don't mean the attack ) without even questioning it? 

I'm taking the story at face value, yes. Chiefly, because I've seen the video evidence of a large man striding up to another man flat on his back, blindsided and totally unaware that he's about to be smashed in the face with a 1kg dumbbell. What's there to question? 

Of course the perp is perfectly entitled to give his side of the story, but so far the coward hasn't. That in itself speaks volumes.

14 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

So these people take a chance and when something happens expect total strangers to foot the bill?

 

He was here on holiday which means he would have more then likely had to take out a years insurance anyway, how long was he here for? How long ago had his insurance finished?

 

He would have had to have insurance to enter the country if he had come here on holiday

 

Doesn't add up does it?

But he's not asking you to foot his medical bill. The choice is yours to make if you feel so inclined. I don't understand why you feel so slighted.

Yes, it's said he had travel insurance to enter the country. But as well you should know, there are some people that like to extend their holiday stay when they're out there, but are also undecided. It's something they decide to do when they're there. I've done it myself. Fortunately for me I didn't encounter some deranged person who decided to sneak up on me and bludgeon me half-senseless. I also factored in my additional stay into my insurance should I decide to stay longer. Evidently this poor chap did not. 

44 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

As I said, I am sorry for what happened to him, but people that can´t pay a small bill when something happens have nothing in Thailand to do.

It's stated in another article that his medical bills could run up to 700,000 baht. I wouldn't necessarily call that a small sum, especially when you're the victim of the unprovoked attack.

Sure, the victim made the mistake of extending his holiday stay that went slightly beyond his insurance cover dates. But how many of you are guilty of doing the exact same thing here? Bottom line, you don't expect to be attacked by some deranged person and need to pay your own medical bills. It would be different if he was riding a motorbike without insurance, but this is not the same. Why isn't it the same, you ask? Because he wasn't putting himself in any direct danger, unless you now consider going to the gym for a normal workout as a high risk endeavour. 

10 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

Where does it say this in the BBC article?

 

He extended his stay but didn't extend his insurance, how many times do we read this in these Go Fund me stories? ????

You can't extend your travel insurance once you've already left your home country and travelled. It tends to stipulate that in the small print. Any insurance company would advise you to take out a full year's policy and not for a limited and locked-in time period.