Oblomov

2 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

But if it's deemed an emergency you will be treated free of charge.

If it's an emergency then better to go to a hospital nearby than fly half way around the world don't you think 

5 minutes ago, SidJames said:

Can anyone explain why Gibraltar is threatening to lock down & it has the highest vaccination percentage on the planet?

Also may I bring up the subject of attacks on unvaxxed people filling up ICU beds & ask if we know how many beds are filled with smokers?

I don't hear any government or political party in the world saying that they will ban smokers from working or going to social events & yet smoking is a real choice whereas catching a virus is not for the most part.

Will that only happen when the tax revenues from tobacco  don't meet the costs to health care?

Some countries are saying that they will make these vaccinations compulsory next year so will they also ban smoking?

Disclaimer: I'm double jabbed & used to chain smoke until I gave up 20 years ago.

Smoking, high levels of obesity, poor dietary choices... all contribute to less than robust immune responses to viruses and compromise treatments, including vaccines, as good as they have been at giving health services a chance at continuing most of their core functions.

It's been good to see all of the new walkers and joggers taking their health more seriously and I hope that continues. Improving vaccines along with improved personal responsibility for one's own health in some, as well as maintaining personal hygiene and common sense distancing gives us all a chance to move into the inevitable necessity of living with this, as well as all of the other nasties that have always been around.

I wonder if the age demographic has something to do with Gibraltar's decision to pre-empt an increase in cases. The news seems to be dominated by Germany and Austria at the moment so haven't seen anything about Gibraltar

3 hours ago, blackprince said:

 5 reasons (below) have been identified for the surge in Germany, but I can understand why a German official is particularly concerned about the unvaccinated infections because they are likely to hit the health services hardest (subject to age groups and other health conditions).

 

But without hard detailed data it's not possible to say which is the biggest cause, and it seems a bit unnecessary for people here to be intolerant of views that are different from their own.

 

My hunch is that complacency following vaccination is likely to be the single biggest cause of new cases, but without hard data it's just a hunch.

 

On the other hand in the UK it was schools that were the biggest single sources of new cases when I checked a couple of weeks ago. And given the very low incidence of serious illness in schoolchidlren, and the fact that most of their families have been double jabbed, it's not quite as serious as it might appear just on the basis of the numbers.

 

The effect of the unvaccinated

Waning immunity

Fewer contact restrictions

The delta variant is more infectious

The seasonal effect.

 

https://www.dw.com/en/5-reasons-germanys-covid-19-infections-are-soaring/a-59793087

 

As well as the inevitable schools component in UK, some of the difficulties arise from UK's population centres being so densely populated  - In London, a significant majority of houses are  multiple occupancy with multiple flats, each with multiple occupants. Like our seasonal flu outbreaks, that seemed to sweep through London extraordinarily fast (though none in the last 2 years) this virus finds the perfect breeding ground in places like London, with people squeezed into transport and accommodation, especially in the colder weather when life and transport switches indoors.

On 11/16/2021 at 2:00 AM, blackprince said:

*Deleted post edited out*

 

Not wishing to be disputatious, but the vaccines are not for "experimental" use, and no authority has ever claimed they are. And you need to familiarise yourself with what "emergency" use actually means regarding vaccines.

 

I assume by IFR, you mean the fatality rate (ie mortality/death rate). As I've pointed out even the right wing Telegraph acknowledges that the fatality rate is not the only issue, it's also the long covid rate (very high as indicated), and even more importantly the overloading of the NHS which you may remember was even Johnson's rallying cry last year.

 

I'll also add that prior to the vaccine rollout in the UK, Johnson's bungled response resulted in the UK achieveing the 3rd worst covid fatalities per 100,000 population in the world, as evidenced by John Hopkins, possibly the most comprehensive an reliable sours of international stats about this pandemic.

 

PS "An Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) is a mechanism to facilitate the availability and use of medical countermeasures, including vaccines, during public health emergencies, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic." FDA.

It's not a great mystery why UK fared so badly with fatalities - even before this present virus, the NHS was buckling under the strain of treating so many people with myriad and complex obesity related conditions. Theatre  and recovery medical professionals in our immediate family face huge additional problems treating any respiratory illness when people are so compromised by the many obesity related health issues. UK also has an extremely aged population so is hit hard also due to this.  In the last year or so, much more is being done institutionally and personally to address this, so that a more robust immune response can work in tandem with a pretty solid vaccination program.

Also, UK has much too densely populated cities (especially in 'flat-share' London.) to make distancing rules as effective as they might be in say Scandinavia. Waning vaccine immunity is being addressed pretty fast with 14 million boosters already administered to the oldest and those with compromised immune systems.

Therapies for the post-viral effects of Covid will hopefully be introduced in the race to keep up with a mutating virus. It's a wake-up call to all of us to get as fit as possible and the correct weight etc., as all treatments work much better  in these circumstances. 

4 hours ago, Gold Star said:

Escaped a wildlife trafficker, only to be caught again?

Hope she manages to escape once more back into the jungle and stay hidden.

I really hope so too 

14 hours ago, steven100 said:

actually he is correct in that every child should learn to swim, it should be mandatory ....  as for the language I have always said schools MUST make english a requirement.  A child that can speak English has a far better opportunity to travel and advance in life through career prospects, than one that can't. 

And the importance of exercise and good diet has never been more important - You're dead right as all of my Thai friends that learned languages all of those years ago when I first lived in Bangkok, some taught my myself, are now living very fulfilling lives in Amsterdam, London and Copenhagen. 

On 7/26/2021 at 5:37 PM, The Cipher said:

Doubt it. In today's world we lock down the fittest so that the least fit can survive a little longer.

And in the process of locking down the fittest (the tax payers that fund our services,) the very services the oldest and weakest rely on for myriad other needs, is compromised and rendered unable to cope Witness now the staggering backlog of treatments in health services and the crushing of our most productive people.

No of course it will never end but we'll have to get used to it, just like we tolerate and manage risk in all other parts of lives. It's obscene that nothing much is reported of the masses of kids begging on streets (and worse,) as well as the disruption to treatments for significant other illnesses due  to this much too singular focus on this present threat to societies and health. Of course, if they're not our kids starving and not us missing treatments or losing livelihoods, then we have the luxury of only fearing this present virus. 

Excess deaths will even out and we'll all find an acceptance with those (not through choice but by the fact of them) just as we know and accept all the other nasties that will carry us off. I think vaccines are the best hope to limit the terrible disruption to the increasingly difficult lives of so many and the core services of health services globally.

It's a pity voices are never so loud and unremitting on the causes of these viruses as there are many others seeking that bridge and capable equal misery and chaos.

Will it end? No - Will we get used to it like all the other viruses and disease? Yes, because we will have to.

Rented possibly 20+ condos over the 30 years I've lived winters in Bangkok and other places - Never had an issue with any landlord and always had all of the deposits returned minus the outstanding utility bills. 

I've always found renting accommodation in Thailand much easier than almost everywhere else I've lived/worked etc,. so always relaxed about renting in Thailand

17 minutes ago, steven100 said:

what are you on about ... $7,000 to show for a 60 day TV     ?

I ha to show £5000 or above for the past 6 months so had to convert 6 statements to PDF then reduce and merge them - this was required for a 60 day single entry as well as the MEV

On a previous application I showed 20 x that amount in a different kind of account but it wasn't accepted so had to do the bank account statements

Seems odd that much less in a bank account is more acceptable than a lot more in a different account but hey, nothing surprises me now after 50 years of fun and games with visas : )

15 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Sadly, too many arrive here with this description 

Sadly too, they are the lurid headline that gets shared, whereas the masses of decent travellers obviously barely get a mention.

Seen this type all over but I guess in Thailand, smashing a room up gets national coverage whereas in many countries, it's only the murders or very violent attacks etc., that get in the headlines.

He probably would have been less infamous had he done that in Pattaya  : )

He's got 'winner' written all over him  - one of those tattoos must say that on the law of averages

58 years old and still being a complete  idiot and terrifying those in that homestay no doubt

Unfortunate that this moron will be all over the Thai press and not the decent and respectful visitors from many countries that obviously don't get the headlines

Comparing with Germany/UK/France, where on some days 900,000 tests garner 35,000 cases, the ratio of cases is much lower. In UK, the falling rates reflect the higher vaccination rates (not the fault of countries with less easy access to home developed vaccines,) but also the higher levels of anti-bodies in those that have had the virus. As with major flu outbreaks, a natural resistance post infection is an important element in blunting outbreaks.

The Oxford AZ vaccine, built on a platform used for flu vaccines for decades, is reported to now being 'tweaked' to better combat the inevitable and more wiry variants. With UK doing 500,000 genome sequencing tests per week in Cambridge, hopefully identification of concerning mutations can be identified faster.

Hopefully we're moving towards a rational accommodation with this, just as we have (eventually) with all of the other illnesses and viruses amongst us, as the potential for chaos of this has certainly and vey quickly damaged so many of us in so many ways.

42 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I agree that humans are making Bkk sink, but I don't think we are causing the weather to change.

 

I'm involved n and also very interested in engineering and find it astounding that aquifers are being drained rather than a more sustainable solution found and still so much water just wasted.

Follow the money. It's cheaper to suck water out of the ground than develop more sustainable solutions. Greed rules, IMO.

 

Might be cheaper in the short term but it won't seem like that when the super wealthy move to the new capital and leave all the peasants in the mud : )

25 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Indeed they are, but because of water extraction from under them, not sea rise.

 

That is well known for Bkk, but for Jakarta how about THIS.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sealevel-subsidence-jakarta-sr-idUSKBN0K016S20141222

Jakarta is sinking because of a phenomenon called subsidence. This happens when extraction of groundwater causes layers of rock and sediment to slowly pancake on top of each other.

Yes I know they've been  draining aquifers  for decades and that causes the subsistence but my general point was that human activity is at the root of this self destructive ruin - of course most of our main cities have their genesis as ports, so are at vulnerable points for storm surges and rivers rising and pushing through cities.

I'm involved n and also very interested in engineering and find it astounding that aquifers are being drained rather than a more sustainable solution found and still so much water just wasted.

1 minute ago, spidermike007 said:

The Thais are the true Zombies in the room now. They simply cannot wrap their minds around that concept. 

I don't think a lot of Westerners can either LOL

On 11/12/2021 at 6:46 AM, arithai12 said:

If a person arrives in Thailand being double-vaxxed, negative before flying, negative at arrival, what does it matter whether they are from this or that country? Assuming that the certification is trustworthy, which probably is the case in Germany.

 

Besides, there is free travel without passport stamps within EU, so difficult to tell if a person arriving from Germany actually spent the previous 2 weeks there or somewhere else.

 

Some just can't comprehend that a tourist, double vaccinated and double tested and no doubt very careful leading up to flight time, is possibly the least likely spreader at the moment they land anywhere.

UK tested 900, 000 + to find 40, 000 cases and dropping - I'm sure Germany has an equally robust testing regime

Thailand finds 8,000 cases from how many tests?  35,000 ?  

Heavily scrutinised visitors are not the risk and hopefully numbers increase and regular Thais, friends and partners to many of us here no doubt, can get their lives back and feed and educate their kids and get back some hope.

He wrote that he is assessing climate change by looking out of his window and confirming the sea is still in the same place as yesterday LOL  So I'm not sure he's the man to ask for a good plan LOL

6 hours ago, champers said:

Still available or banned? Asking for a friend.

Still available - a friend told me 

1 minute ago, JaydenL said:

That's what I thought before the pandemic when I relocated here, I always felt that I could leave Thailand and go to Vietnam to live for a few months, not staying here for a year or two consecutively. It's just that now traveling is not so easy anymore, quarantine rules, entry requirements, it's hard to predict, as well as apply for all the formal documents, getting an insurance and so on. I just wish it was different, maybe it would take some time to make it easier. That's why I hope there would be some sort of leniency regarding the current extensions.

 

I think I could go home easily, it's just that I would probably feel more depressed there with no close people around me, just starting my life over.

Where are you from buddy?  

I dotted around SE Asia for 25+ years but as you say the times have changed. I guess you're in your 20s right?  i first moved to Asia when I was 25 but kept some freelance work in London and Ireland. Wouldn't that work for you for a while? Some time in your own country to work and save then head back to Asia and feel more secure that you can feel relaxed there. 

I had many terrible departures from Asia in the early years but in time, that way of life becomes normal and you can build your savings and feel more secure. Thailand can seem like this paradise that's hard to leave, as i often felt like that about Bali.

Talking of Bali, there is a vibrant and young digital nomad community there and if you're on the list of 19 or so countries that are allowed in, it's very cheap this time of year it being monsoon season.