Used2LuvThailand

This same sort of situation is happening in many places, not just Thailand. The subject and circumstances change, but it's just another example of the clueless emerging from their hermitically sealed echo chambers to let you know 1) just how out of touch they are and 2) how much they intend to control every aspect of your life....for your own good....so shut up and color. But, let's remember how they're following The Science ™. This is what enables you to believe that a country that has 4 times the number of Covid cases per capita and twice the deaths is 'safe'...as is the case with the UK. Or in the case of the US, there are twice the number of Covid cases per capita, compared to Thailand and 4 times the deaths. The Science ™ tells you why it's safe to have all the bars and pubs open there, and to allow travel from those dirty location to Thailand, but once here to not have anything open. Imagine how clueless you have to be to believe this garbage. These man-babies actually think that people are going to get on planes for 4+ hour flights and spend thousands of dollars to look at temples, go to a 7/11, and be back in your hotel by 10. The world's wealthy are sitting on their edge of their chairs for the latest 'wisdom' emanating from the man-babies' mouths about how they can come to Thailand and spend their millions. It would be funny if so many people's lives weren't being affected. The Thai people deserve so much better than this.

A very interesting conclusion, but you're wasting your time by posting original source information for followers of The Science ™. An important part of following The Science ™ is to first already agree with whatever conclusions have been reached. If the conclusion does not agree with something they previously read on the internet, then it isn't The Science ™.

This should serve as an important indication to any and all planning a trip to Thailand, for whatever reason. Prayuth and his government intends to continue their Covid-zero strategy. The certainty of a future lockdown isn't in question, it's simply a matter of the timing.

For the limited number of people who actually understand how RT-PCR tests work, your statement here shows that you don't. The RT-PCR test is, like any other diagnostic test, approved and effective at detecting Covid. Anyone who says otherwise, is clearly wrong. But, you want to take the binary, zero-sum attitude towards it. ANY diagnostic test for ANY disease has an element of false positives and false negatives. How the tests are run and what devices are used DOES matter. If you're going to comment about the WHO's guidance on RT-PCR tests for Covid, why don't you just go to the source instead of letting third-parties tell you what they're saying? Here's the WHO's guidance: https://www.who.int/news/item/20-01-2021-who-information-notice-for-ivd-users-2020-05 "Careful interpretation of weak positive NAAT results is needed, as some of the assays have shown to produce false signals at high Ct values."

It's not my evidence. It's information and data provided primarily by the US government. If you disagree with the CDC and HHS, then take your disagreements up with them. Again, the CDC's information is not 'my evidence'....or whatever you think that means. I was never trying to prove anything. Like with your confusion over the word 'perspective' I have no idea what you mean by 'a link is not evidence'. From the charts you have copied and pasted from the Johns Hopkins website, it's clear that your 'conclusions' aren't supported. Each bar represents a week, so it's also clear from those charts that the ICU utilization is not consistently over 85% (and where is your 'evidence' that 85% occupancy is a "critical" level?). Like with the word 'perspective' or 'evidence' maybe you don't understand how percentages are calculated or the term 'consistent'. A key aspect in understanding someone's attempt at argument is to look at their premises and I take note of the cherry picked states that you chose to copy/paste. I also take note of your attempt to exaggerate other people's statements in your posts to me and others. I never said that Republican governors were lying about anything. I never said that hospitals weren't rationing health care. Just the opposite. I said that before Covid, during Covid and after Covid, hospitals have been, are and will be at times stressed due to a number of factors. It isn't an unprecedented situation, except for the poorly-informed and frightened. I laughed out loud at "you've got nothing". It seems that like the thousands of CIA/MI6/SAS barstool occupiers in Thailand, you seem to be imagining yourself as a prosecutor in a court of law, a policeman and a doctor all wrapped up in one delusional persona.

The problem with being afraid of something is that you're no longer able to rationally look at the problem and you seem to be incredibly defensive in general. I made the statement about you not knowing what I was vaccinated for, because you implied that you did. Causes/numbers of deaths for 2019 were shown to provide PERSPECTIVE on what the numbers of Covid deaths mean and a comparison to other prevalent and serious causes of death. For a science follower I find it more than amusing that you attempt to quote various newspapers and publicintegrity.org in order to show that the CDC's and HHS's data are incorrect. So, either thousands of hospitals in the US are jointly conspiring to provide falsified data to the US government....or....wait for it....you and those newspapers are wrong. I'll go with the later. Take a deep breath, get the vaccine (as I have) and try to find another subject to be outraged about.

I'm sorry you fail to understand the word 'perspective'. Professor Google is your friend in these situations. Let me try to help you here....I cited information from the WHO to provide a comparison to previous numbers/causes of deaths in order to provide perspective on the number of Covid deaths. I'm not trying to "prove" anything. The WHO is a reputable source of information and those numbers speak for themselves.

You don't know what I was vaccinated for, you don't know when and therefore your statement is unsupportable and the words you would place in the mouths of doctors are laughably false. Hyperbole related to the rationing of health care is just as false as the 'death panel' claims of years past in order to for people to be afraid of the Affordable Care Act. Any doctor will tell you that health care is routinely 'rationed'. Before Covid hospitals would routinely be stressed for a number of reasons, the same happened during Covid and it will happen after the pandemic. The US Department of Health and Human Services publishes updated data everyday on US hospital occupancy levels for all causes and Covid. In addition, there are a number of medical journal articles available from Google that will show what the US hospital occupancy level has been in the past. I will include the link, but I know you won't open or read it. https://protect-public.hhs.gov/pages/hospital-utilization

Numbers are numbers. Their value does not change based upon political affiliation. The value of numbers in 2019 continues to be the same now.

Before 2020, there was the plethora of barstool CIA/MI6/Special Forces veterans doling out their expertise to one and all. Well, that was when they weren't solving all the crimes in Thailand as chief detective/forensic pathologist. Now we've entered the age of the barstool doctor and virologist.

Interesting to read the usual back and forth on this issue. I'd like to add my 2 cents as a previous resident of Thailand and someone who tries to keep up with the news from there. The OP's news article exemplifies the nature of the Covid 'debate'. Is it the most infectious and deadly "virus" of the 21st century? That is a nuanced and loaded statement designed to provoke a reaction. It certainly appears to be the most infectious, but "deadly" tends to refer to a disease's mortality rate. For the 21st century the WHO and CDC estimate that approximately 650,000 people die globally just from influenza EACH year. So, for total numbers in the 21st century influenza is clearly beating Covid. https://www.who.int/news/item/13-12-2017-up-to-650-000-people-die-of-respiratory-diseases-linked-to-seasonal-flu-each-year The Covid vaccines are clearly safe and effective, when considering the scale. Over 6 billion doses have been administered and while there have been adverse effects, it's obvious they're safer than penicillin or aspirin. https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations?country=OWID_WRL I have been vaccinated for Covid, as well as over two dozen other diseases due to previous service with the US military. Prior to 2020 I never had a single doctor or health care provider say, or imply, that my protection against a particular disease was dependent upon the vaccination status of others. They didn't say that because it isn't. There are the usual dueling 'experts' posts and I can't help but to take notice that not a single one referenced a government website, reliable university website or medical journal. Many posters claim to be able to differentiate between real virologist and epidemiologists, but provide no evidence for other posters to reasonably believe that claim. The CDC has a tremendous amount of reliable and up to date information about Covid, as does Johns Hopkins University. I'll post the links knowing that the experts will not even open them to add to their expertise. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality It was also noteworthy that the posters who seem to claim they are more supportive of public health, also seem to be satisfied that their political opponents are more likely to die from Covid due to their party affiliation and/or intelligence. It's hard to reconcile that sort of hate from those who claim to care more than others. The people who seem to be generally against worrying about Covid and are not inclined to support the vaccine don't seem to be gleeful about their opponents' possible death, but merely want to be left alone. The political party angle is indicative of how the 'experts' here don't bother to read beyond the headlines. In the US, for the top 10 states with the highest Covid death rate per 100,000, 4 are run by Democrats. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covid19-death-rates-us-by-state/ You can refer to the Johns Hopkins mortality page to see that a viral infection with a fatality rate of less than 2 percent will never be 'Darwinian'. Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine are medically approved drugs with specific and effective uses in humans. To claim otherwise further detracts from your 'expertise'. But, just as aspirin and penicillin are ineffective drugs against cancer, those two medications show no effect against Covid, but that doesn't make them poison either. Perspective is tough: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death And finally, the 1918 influenza pandemic killed about 50 million people more than 100 years ago when the Earth's population was 1/4 of what it is today. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-pandemic-h1n1.html