URMySunshine

7 hours ago, techietraveller84 said:

I wonder how they are going to get the medical staff to go to Wuhan to staff this new, built in 4 days, hospital.

 

Can't imagine there will be many volunteers.

I've seen volunteers coming in on the HS train to Wuhan. There are always brave and noble people in a crisis. It can bring out the best (and worst) in people. Must admit there is the fear virus creeping into my thoughts. We need some good fact based, up to date scientific views. Twitter in English has gone full scale hysteria reposting the more grim looking videos from Weibo with doomsday comments. 

What we can ascertain from the actions of the Chinese government is that they are 'panicking' and on an epic unprecedented scale.

2 minutes ago, Traubert said:

Hallelujah brother.

Here is a more rational and reasonable feed for those that want to get live updates.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/live/2020/jan/23/coronavirus-china-virus-flu-scotland-testing-wuhan-live-news-updates

Given what we don't yet know you would be mad to go and the council are mad to stage it. 

ALL CINEMAS ARE CLOSED IN CHINA - didn't they get the memo ?

33 minutes ago, Traubert said:

Sigh.......

 

Hardly the place to go for factual reporting. The fact that they said 'self-proclaimed' tells us she's not a medic.

There is no doubt that this is serious with serious implications for those most at risk which is the ill, the very young and the old. Thousands die each year as it is. And it is a new virus so there is much we do not know but it is fair to assume at the moment, and in the light of no new scientific evidence that much of the 'hysteria' is a reaction to an unprecedented cautious reaction from the Chinese authorities in light of their response to SARS (which killed just over 800). I'm hoping that a lot of the social media noise is hysteria generated by social media and a lot of collapsing is fainting , panic attacks and sheer fear at what it might be not what it actually is. 

Any way that is keeping me from freaking out at the moment. Sleep Peacefully for we don't yet know what tomorrow will bring. 

China whatever it's faults can teach Thailand a lesson or too in how to deal with a crisis. Which is a bit rich as the vast majority of the wealthy here are of Chinese heritage themselves. I'm thinking SARS ++ - not nice for those poor unfortunates that get infected and ill or die but not a global zombie attack that many are currently fearing and being hyped up on social media with hysterical videos which feed into the sense of panic and despondency. Social media is as much a blessing as a curse especially for developing news. 

3 minutes ago, Liverpudlian said:

Now theres the future brother !

However if you are under state pension age , not claiming and have a 'clean' address you may be good for one !

5 minutes ago, saengd said:

I think one of the reasons I didn't get my heating allowance the previous year was because my flat was rented to a pensioner for 6 months during the qualifying week and they wouldn't make two payments to the same address to different names, without some kind of checks beforehand. I think if DWP saw say a dozen pensioners all using the same address they would check.

Damn - onto my next hair brained scheme. I imagine that soon if not already they will be able to match in/outs on the passport computer with a clarity they never previously had. 

What's to stop some entrepreneurial guy here offering a temporary gaff and postal address to overseas expats for a cut on the basis of no questions asked and postal address / letter opening service. Not offering just saying !

That's actually quite an enlightened policy - back in the UK most councils have started charging for bulk waste pickups or even to use the council dump. Flytipping has increased dramatically as a result and then they just have to divert resources to sort that out. Apparently under a previous management at our condo they hadn't paid the city garbage bill for over 2 years but they still continued to take it away. There's a lot to criticise Pattaya Council for but from where I'm viewing it they seem to have got this right. 

1 hour ago, sead said:

Start with this.

All Mc/ Scooters must have engine start/stop. And set a date where all cars also need to have this future.

Stop all cars immediately where black smoke comes out, no need for some damn test. Jesus

All cars that have even numbers can drive on only even dates. Electric, lpg,cng only vehicles can drive inside town whenever.

I don't start drinking until at least 6pm - you're dreaming I'm afraid. 

3 minutes ago, Salerno said:

555 bit of a difference between a lawyer (barrister) and someone that makes coffee (barista).

not same but different !

5 hours ago, Ventenio said:

Breathing clean air is OVERRATED!!!   Brain issues, allergies, lung problems, early death, lifelong issues..... what's not to like??!!!!

 

all for Pattaya.  and then you get AIDS and we all have a good laugh.

 

toxic air but 20 baht noodle soup.  sounds like paradise.  

 

expats in Thailand really are the dumbest lot of the bunch.  they have no idea pollution is bad for them????!?!?!?!?!!  

 

Don't worry, this year will be different.  

I never know if these type of posts are parody or the oncoming freight train of dementia or a mix of both ?????!!!!!

8 minutes ago, shy coconut said:

The real irony is that you somehow imagine everyone in Thailand burn their rubbish

and no one cares about the environment, you really need to get out and away from

this site to get a more sensible outlook on life.

Wise words indeed. "This site!". 

19 hours ago, unamazedloso said:

Dont worry, the PM said its fine????????

 

good on you guys anyway!????

He is the PM 2.5 of Thailand 4.0 after all. 

23 hours ago, Sametboy2019 said:

A non alcoholic strawberry beer. Goes against everything beer stands for!

Should be a lese-beerjesty law. This just broke it. 

This is what panic looks like - they are in the worse possible place if they don't have the disease sadly. 

4 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

Not many died so far at all. Hardly a pandemic. Media hype.

I have never hoped for a post to be more true than this. Let's hope so. 

31 minutes ago, rabas said:

China shutters all 70,000 movie theatres.

Wow.

 

And now this from the South China Post's (HK) most expert medical reporters:

 

China coronavirus: Wuhan medical staff being infected at much faster pace than reported as national death toll hits 25

 

A description of conditions in Wuhan hospitals. They have assigned a special ward for infected medical personnel.

One wonders is there an element of hysteria here that is fuelling the response - inflamed by the rise of social media amplifying and feeding back everything. If it it 10x worse than SARS then that would only be 8000 deaths in the final reckoning. Not good but no different form an average flu epidemic. Or maybe this time it is different with higher rates of mortality and their response is proportionate or maybe even not enough. The best minds in the world and medical folk need to be fully engaged and fast for sure. 

1 hour ago, englishoak said:

Just in China is closing down access to the forbidden city until further notice... 10 Chinese cities now under quarantine. Thats currently 30 million people. plenty in quarantine zones trying to get away from the epidemic by any means possible, they will lie and do whatever they can to get out as things worsen. Suspect cases now reported in 10 other countries and Chinese new year starts today with millions travelling all over the globe already.  

 

News cycle over the coming weeks is going to be dominated by this outbreak and China is going into lockdown and rumours of the internet in the Wuhan region is going to be shut down are circulating. 

 

Respirator machines are already in short supply along with doctors and nurses already doing quadruple shifts and things are only going to get worse. Then there is the question of logistics as regions in lockdown begin to experience shortages, desertion and esperation etc. On top of all this it is also the season for virus, flu and cold outbreaks which will only confuse diagnosis and add to the panic. 

 

Sidenote SARS took out about 1% of Chinas Gdp during that crisis and its growth has been slowing and accelerating due to the trade war. This crisis could not have come at a worse time for China.

 

Xi is going to have a lot of angry and desperate people very soon. The CCP is not a very forgiving regime and is apt to find blame where it can.. Xi with 1.2 billion looking to him for a solution must be feeling a bit under pressure atm and his mandate of heaven isnt looking so secure all of a sudden. 

 

 

 

 

Hence maybe the 'theatre' of building a thousand bed hospital in Wuhan if that is what it is with dozens of diggers. I would have thought tented temporary field hospitals like the army have would be a better use of resources than that. But like a lot of what will be in the next few weeks there will be a lot of speculation for sure. But what is certain we have never seen a response like this ever and I'm not sure whether that portends good or bad. 

From my personal point of view,  and I was going that way anyway if the burning continues and affects the areas I want to be in I will be spending as little as possible/no time there in the future. My wife will spend quality time with her family , largely indoors and with the air purifier on. The smoke situation has finally made the should I / shouldn't I dilemna a very easy one. Life's too short to spend the time choking on the air if you have a choice. 

On 1/22/2020 at 7:32 PM, Liverpudlian said:

Once a scoucer all ways a scouser, never a miserable moment with us lot .  

Err what about Ringo Starr and his famous quote - used to love Alan beswick winding up scousers on Red Rose Radio back in the day...and listening to Billy Butler on Radio Piccadilly or whatever it was fighting back ....

Asked by the presenter what he missed most about the city, Starr laughed. Ross asked him if there was anything he missed, to which the drummer replied "er, no...", though he went on to say he loved the city as it was where he grew up and where his family were.

His comments were greeted with anger from some people in Merseyside and a foliage sculpture of the drummer at Liverpool South Parkway station was beheaded by vandals three months later, with the sculptures of the three other Beatles left untouched.

6 minutes ago, rabas said:

I had to put them in google chrome to auto translate but but your links really show the fear and desperation these people face. 

 

I've been reading elsewhere about conditions inside hospitals from healthcare workers. This is also the normal cold and flu season. Hospital hallways are packed with 1000s of people waiting hours to see doctors, only to be sent home unless they are critical, isolation beds are all full. I wonder how many went to the hospital with an ordinary cold and return home having just contracted nCoV (the new virus). Hard times.

 

It's grim to watch unfiltered feeds from the frontline and not recommended for those that are easily frightened or obsessive as it's not a movie but reality. They don't mess around.... they are building a 1000 bed hospital in front of your eyes. 

https://live.weibo.com/show?id=1042152:5592fadbfc781bd33bdbdd1199b92585

I think until we know more prudent behaviour and a watching brief are in order. 

Prudent behaviour would be to;

stock up on good quality face masks and hand gel 

stock up on bottled water and food

avoid large crowded places particularly if they are frequented by mainland Chinese

on returning to your home scrub up well particularly your hands

It may all turn out to be a storm in a teacup if so we have supplies for the next time and any extra stocks of water and food can easily be eaten. Well that's what I'm doing and probably not obsessing by the story as it can only make you scared if you follow every single incident and every single gory internet post.