AndrewMciver

What about all those that are being caught positive at day 13 

Were these Thais?

When will the penny drop that it's quite dangerous opening up to Indians - who are quite literally desperate to get out of Covid infected India. 

2 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Everyone I know flying around Europe seems all planes are full to the brim..no distancing whatsoever, would assume it's the same on most flights. Contradictory to say the least, all the distancing and paperwork required before and afterwards only to be crammed in like sardines for 12 hours without an inch distance to the next passenger....

I've been watching a few videos - and the check in, boarding, getting onto the planes has very little social distancing. Just rammed in queues with no social distancing. Crazy

Flying Emirates next week. What are the covid infections risks of flying during this period?

Are people made to test flying Emirates, or can they get a test whilst in Dubai on arrival? 

How risky is it in general flying during this period. I believe everyone has to wear a mask, but you can remove them whilst eating. What if cabin crew are infected? What about surfaces, seating, IFE screens, trays, air filters?

14 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

First of all, the person standing in front of you has to be infected. This country has been in lockdown for 6 months, so the probability to find an infected person, is imo not that easy, unless we're talking about an illegal migrant worker. You seem like a worrier. Take a chill pill and relax. 

I'm currently in a highly infected region of the world - the UK.

12 hours ago, sezze said:

Yes any mask is better then no mask at all . So far it looks like UV radiation kills it pretty quick , so outside events at daytime (sun ) is probably quite safe . Im not saying there aren't any cases in Thailand , but prob due to the high UV , and living outside makes the people who are sick , nearly unnoticed . Summer in Europe was pretty calm for C-19 and now it is flaring up everywhere , and there might be reasons here and there , but imho is that shorter daytime / lower UV also has got something to do with it .

If you look at Tour de France cycling , the mountains were loaded with people at times and yelling and getting very close to the cyclists at times . Yet nobody of the cyclists have got it ... you can all call it coincidence , but i certainly believe that there is a reason .

UV isn't doing much good in Brazil or India. 

So a mask will prevent some of the viral load getting in you, thus reducing the illness - is that rite?

1 minute ago, torturedsole said:

Lock yourself indoors for the next five years. It's the only way to achieve what you're looking for.  

You've made your point. You don't take this seriously. Now can you just leave so i can get some answers and feedback to the question. 

Just now, jastheace said:

face to face contact you say.

you mean french kissing. yeah that's fine, i searched and there's nothing wrong with that, just don't sit closer to 2 metres to anyone when doing it. hope that helps.

No. 

I'm talking about someone come up to you and talking to you less than a meter away.

Yeah thanks for the comments that have little or nothing to do with the question asked.

Anyone else?

I've had far too many encounters this past week with people rite in my face, showing no respect at all for my boundaries during this pandemic. 

Whenever i step back, or ask politely to keep some distance, i get that cliched laughter with the complimentary 'stop being scared you stupid horse worshipper' (or something to similar). 

My question then is how easy is it to catch Covid from someone who comes rite up to you - less than a meter? I'm not asking about touching surfaces with infection on that you then rub into your eyes, or mouth - i'm just talking specifically face to face contact. 

My own research has been conflicated. From the scarily easy - droplets from an infected person can be inhaled, go into your eyes. To now i've read that it would take on average 15 minutes in close proximity face to face catch some droplets (on average) - longer if you were outdoors. This is based on local news coverage of school children being sent home, and only those immediately around them being told to go home. I myself was conflicted by this revelation - which may perhaps be house manure.

Any thoughts and feedback ?

What would happen to the 10 year old boy ?

On 8/3/2020 at 4:49 AM, Samui Bodoh said:

I posted this in another thread, but i think it is relevant to this discussion as well. BTW, a better statement from the tourism guy is to let long-term people in rather than a country-specific group.

 

I think it is time for Thailand to re-evaluate its Virus Response policy.

 

Thailand has been following a 'Zero-Tolerance' policy, but I think it is time to move to a 'Managed-Tolerance' policy. I make this suggestion based mainly on two factors; I think it is inevitable that the virus will return to Thailand and a calm, managed response is more effective than hysteria. Secondly, the economic damage being done to millions is more harmful than the virus itself and needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

 

We recently saw new cases in Vietnam, and I think that we are going to see new cases in Thailand soon; like most people I take the government's claim of zero cases with a grain of salt, although it seems like they have done a very good job overall. However, I don't think it can last. A better policy is to prepare, both medically and in terms of public opinion/education, for the return of the virus. Is this a radical idea? No, not really. Members will recall the phrase "flatten the curve", but perhaps a reminder is needed that the idea is to manage the virus so that the health system isn't overwhelmed; a policy of Zero Tolerance is incompatible with an open society and/or open economy. It is time to re-enforce the precautions needed, but also to allow for an economic re-start which includes outsiders/foreigners. A final point; humanity's best minds and a boat-load of resources are being thrown at the problem. This global effort, propelled by the power of competition, is expected to produce a vaccine either this year or early next year while treatments are being developed and refined daily; we as a species are going to beat this scourge, and relatively soon.

 

The economic damage being done to Thailand is immense. Yes, I know that we don't hear about it too much, but there is a reason for that. The people talking in the (not quite free) Media are almost all in a 'Virus-Proof' economic situation; they aren't directly affected so they don't feel the urgency of fixing the problem. Firm numbers are difficult to come by, but it seems around 6-9 million Thais are very badly hurt by the economic fall-out of the virus, and those people need to be both helped and heard. The damage done to these people is egregious and growing worse; some government support is being withdrawn, the option of 'Go Back to the Farm' isn't really possible anymore (and not a great idea regardless), and they will soon need more food and rent support to survive. Further, many aren't well-educated and don't have transferable skills, so their options are limited. Finally, even before Covid-19, their economic situation was in decline; it is in free-fall now and they can't be ignored. Simply put, plans for their economic regeneration must to be formulated now and implemented soon.

 

When people are hungry, all bets are off.

 

How to proceed?

 

It is the beginning of August; continue/speed up the current repatriation policy 'as is', but ramp up the public education aspect of change. Announce that by October 1st (perhaps Nov. 1st?) that the airspace around Thailand will be open to commercial air travel, long-term tourists (Snow-Birds who 'winter' here), remaining residents and retirees will be allowed to return with a few restrictions (test before boarding or on arrival, reasonable insurance, self-isolation at home on arrival, etc. BUT no mandatory state quarantine), implement common sense visa issuance (sorry Floridians and Texans!) and most of all prepare the Thai people for the idea that although there will be cases of the virus, they will be managed, and the benefits of re-opening are a risk worth taking. Yes, the end of mandatory state quarantine is essential if this is going to work; I believe that the long-term visitors will respect the self-isolation policy and Thailand's million strong public health volunteers can monitor them, but they won't come if they are going to be locked up. Moreover, the selection of the residents/retirees and 'Snow-Birds' as an initial group isn't accidental; these people already know the Kingdom and understand life within it, are good 'testers' of a new system, have a lot of money to spend, and can be excellent examples of a working policy of re-opening. Finally, allowing these kinds of visitors would build confidence, test whether short-term tourists could actually visit (I think not yet, but...), and help protect the tourism infrastructure from further and/or irreparable damage.

 

There are those who will argue that it is better to keep the borders closed and wait this out, and I honestly have trouble arguing against that idea (I don't want to catch the <deleted> thing). However, those who make that point rarely take the next step; what do you do with the 6-9 million people damaged by the current policy? Will those that advocate for closed borders take in homeless people? If so, how many? One family? Two families? Three? Will those that advocate for closed borders give up a percentage of their salaries/pensions to help? If so, how much? 25%? 35%? 45%? Will those that advocate for closed borders pay school fees and related costs for all the children of unemployed/underemployed parents? How many kids? One? Five? Twenty? The question isn't merely an intellectual exercise, it has real-world implications and consequences. 

 

If you want those 6-9 million people to sacrifice for you, what are you going to sacrifice for them?

 

To sum up, I think that the question of whether or not to keep the border closed is incomplete. The question should be: if you keep the border closed, then what will you do for the 6-9 million people economically-eviscerated by the response to the virus? Opening the Kingdom to visitors in November for the high season would likely see a few cases of the virus, but the Thai medical system can handle that (it did before, right?) until a vaccine is widely available. It would begin the process of re-starting the tourism industry in Thailand (20% of GDP!!!), begin the process of building trust again, re-start the employment of huge numbers, give Thailand a 'leg up' on future tourism business in the region, and alleviate some of the damage done to the poorest in the Kingdom. The alternative is a policy of rot, idleness, atrophy and decline with an indefinite timeline. 

 

History is replete with examples of people hiding behind walls for protection, but it rarely ever works (especially against something the size of a virus); see the 'Maginot Line', the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, and more. History shows that a combination of pro-active tactics coupled with reasonable, layered defenses provides a better outcome to almost any problem.

 

Nonsense. 

Living in Thailand with no (or a very small) covid, is paradise. 

Yes there will be people hurting with a lack of tourism, but the alternative being death raging through the country (which in turn will turn off tourism anyways) is not a viable alternative.

The correct solution is to protect the population, and hopefully in a few months we start to see treatments and a vaccine (although i'm not hopeful). 

5 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

There appears to be no mention of the $100k insurance requirement, hopefully that has been dropped.

NOT A CHANCE IN HELL this will be dropped. The hospitals in Thailand are making a killing (literally) with this insurance policy.

It's good they are keeping the numbers small. 

However, i sense they will open up soon enough. I don't really trust Thai authorities to closely monitor a high number of people in quarantine. I've already witnessed alot of abuses during the process. 

The grass always looks greener on the other side, but if the virus rips through Thailand it will be carnage and everything closed down again, with life loss. 

36 minutes ago, Artisi said:

The problem with this conspiracy theory is, how many foreigners are currently flying into Thailand? 

Quite a fair few now. 

6 hours ago, maqui said:

By the 4th quarter, the US will have 300,000 fatalities, a little bit less than 1% of the population. Now you might say that, since 99% of the population will survive, a death rate of 1000 per day is pocket change and should be ignored as the new normal.

Maths is not my strong point - but 300,000 out of of a population of 320,000,000 is not 1%.

It's actually 0.09%

BIG DIFFERENCE TO YOUR ARGUMENT ! Still horrific though. 

4 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Lets face it, nobody wants to go to a government hospital for 2 weeks minimum in quarantine if you test positive and have little symptoms. Its a strong incentive to not get a test and just hope you'll be ok if you think you have it. Self medicate unless you get severe symptoms.

Pretty much. 

8 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

I find it very, very hard to believe he has not been tested for COVID if he in fact has symptoms suggestive of it. Beware of second hand info. Many Thais have no idea what symptoms of COVID are and think anyone on a ventilator must have it.

I emailed my quarantine hospital today to ask about covid protocols incase i catch it in quarantine - i was told to keep positive and drink vitamin C. 

Apart from a few top class interntional hospitals, i have my doubts how great the health care system is in Thailand. 

12 hours ago, harryviking said:

And what about that guy arriving in Korea from Bangkok about a week ago testing positive for Covid-19?? Wonder how he got it......since there was no covid-19 there I mean....

That was a bizarre one too. 

What about the DJ too. 

There also seems to be an enviromnment of fear of getting a positive test. You are essentially threatening people with a quarantining in a hospital, leaving work, if they come down with the virus. In that sort of environment you are more likely to have people reluctant to get a test. 

2 minutes ago, Gumballl said:

My thoughts... UAE wasted a lot of resources.

 

A person should only get tested if they are ill, or have come in contact with someone that is infected.

 

Simply testing for the sake of testing is pure stupid. A person may test negative, and in the 24 hours or so while waiting for this result, they could catch the virus.

ASYMPTOMATIC. Carrier can pass the virus on, without the carrier having any symptoms. 

Although totally agree the UAE system is haphazard. Mass testing, yet open borders to the world - no surprise it has one of the highest rates in the world of covid infection.