4 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

 

The east/west cultural difference will always be there.

 

For me, I think there is no harm in wearing masks and if Thailand want to insist on them being worn, then I shall wear one.

 

 

There are probably too many Thais who think that they have low CV19 numbers because of wearing masks.

Not just in Thailand, in HK and Taiwan they firmly believe this as well, and I'm sure in many other places in Asia.

12 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

I questioned why you claimed that "Asia is lying and pretending" You do realize there are over 48 countries in Asia.

 

Bar China which nobody believes, you come back with the lack of testing in Myanmar, Laos, Japan and Thailand which I agree leaves a lot to be desired but does not back up your claim they are lying. 

 

South Korea, Singapore for example you said Asia, you mean they are lying to? 

 

Again you're making claims with no evidence, a pattern from you.

Also, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia. All have responded well and masks are part of the equation. Singapore did so later in the game.

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

Asians see face-masks as a 'magic talisman', if you wear it anywhere on your body, you will be safe.

Don't believe me look at Anutin, Thai health minister, he wears his around his neck, the magic will keep him safe.

Well I did say maybe just one...but most Asians aren't using it that way. Certainly not in HK and Taiwan, but am sure you can find pictures where some have them off. Very rare to see them hanging off inside stores here, at least in BKK.

Taipei subway

15 minutes ago, Logosone said:

All of us, the top scientists who advise the government in the UK and decide on policy actually addressed the mask issue.

 

Are you one of the top scientists advising the UK on policy?

There seems to be a big divide between the Asian and western medical communities on this issue. I may not be being scientific enough, but I favor the Asian approach for pragmatic/common sense reasons, with which many might find fault. I don't think all the Asian Health Ministries and doctor's associations are led by unscientific fools (or maybe just 1). I think there will be a lot more studies on this coming out soon. I think there are many reasons for differing approaches having success. Obviously, I respectfully disagree with your viewpoint.

1 minute ago, Logosone said:

A Chinese study from Hong Kong itself, published in the Lancet, concluded that figures from China are most likely inaccurate by a very large margin:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/23/china-coronavirus-cases-might-have-been-four-times-official-figure-says-study

Yes, Chinese data is bad. Not so HK. They are not the same. I have many friends in HK following this.

1 minute ago, Canuck1966 said:

It also requires the user to put them on and take them off properly

And not to reuse a disposable item multiple times

They work in hospitals because there is a strict protocol for PPE after each patient/shift

 

Average Somchai on the BTS starts to think he's invincible with a moth eaten old mask on that he's touched a thousand times with his grubby fingers 

I think it's really about reducing the aerosol droplets from breathing and talking in close quarters such as indoors in public and transport and making sure sneezes and coughs don't blast out and highly contaminate surfaces that can be touched.

2 minutes ago, Logosone said:

And yet after the Czech Republic required the wearing of masks the number of deaths went up, not down.

 

Wearing masks therefore is not 'powerful' at all, it has no impact whatsoever on the death rate. See Czech Republic, a perfect example.

 

Unfortunately figures for Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia Laos, China et all are not worth the paper they're written on.

I don't think they are fudging things in HK.

Well there is significant research going into the wearing of mass now. For it to be really effective it requires 80+% compliance:

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/masks-covid-19-infections-would-plummet-new-study-says?fbclid=IwAR1LryGzu5-60MlFn56vrg_UXSh8FVqR7vPLfJZZVZpg0UeerhIPq3S5liA

From the above article links to other studies. This one has downloadable pdf: https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202004.0203/v1

and another linked study from top article: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2004.13553.pdf

and another current study linked from the top article: https://rs-delve.github.io/reports/2020/05/04/face-masks-for-the-general-public.html

well taiwan's 1 hour test with 90% accuracy is a virus test, which is good news

18 minutes ago, Maestro said:

A test for antibodies is not a test for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing Covid-19.

However the second one test for the virus: 1 hour 90% effective. Their work is clearly moving in the right direction.

25 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

I am skeptical on the accuracy of the tests, but the poster i was replying to, said that there is a new one.

I have been reading and listening a lot during these weeks, and i'm growing more skeptical everyday.

Something is fishy, and i'm not referring just to the tests.

on the 10 minute test: "Chen claims that the test has 100 percent sensitivity and 95 specificity, reported BCC News. Hsieh Szu-min (謝思民), project manager and infectious disease specialist from NTUH, said that its high level of sensitivity was demonstrated by the fact that it detected antibodies in 13 coronavirus patients tested."

18 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

I am skeptical on the accuracy of the tests, but the poster i was replying to, said that there is a new one.

I have been reading and listening a lot during these weeks, and i'm growing more skeptical everyday.

Something is fishy, and i'm not referring just to the tests.

Yes, these are both new tests. I trust what comes out of Taiwan. It is a a democratic country whose response to the pandemic has been one of transparency. It reported that there was human to human transmission in Wuhan in the early days and was brushed aside by the WHO and China. I believe it was the first nation to close it's borders to mainland Chinese(maybe HK and Macao too) when the WHO was saying it was unnecessary at great cost to itself since Chinese are their number 1 tourists.

People don't realize that Taiwan is one of the most advanced societies in the world in health care and were probably the most prepared for this epidemic. It punches well above it's weight in health care system and medical research. And fyi covid cases 440 deaths 7. No lockdown.

and also another taiwanese company: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3917201

Taiwan invents 1-hour coronavirus test kit with 90% accuracy

Taiwan's new rapid test kit far more accurate than made-in-China version

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3930271

Taiwan develops 10-minute coronavirus test kit

Taiwanese company's 10-minute coronavirus antibody test kit ready for mass production

On 5/8/2020 at 6:29 PM, mauGR1 said:

Not sure what you mean, although i guess you're keeping up with the news.

I was referring to something i read about the scientist/s who invented the test, and they were saying that the test is only 80% reliable IF performed correctly.

Sorry, too lazy to look for links.

Taiwan had developed tests 90+% reliable, one which only takes 10 minutes. They need to get them into mass production asap.

Here is an article about a study/model that is in favor of mask usage with links to other evidence from the article:

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/masks-covid-19-infections-would-plummet-new-study-says?fbclid=IwAR1LryGzu5-60MlFn56vrg_UXSh8FVqR7vPLfJZZVZpg0UeerhIPq3S5liA

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2004.13553.pdf

https://rs-delve.github.io/reports/2020/05/04/face-masks-for-the-general-public.html

https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202004.0203/v1

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

You apparently overlook the reality that the disease has NOT been squashed. It's still lurking in carriers, waiting, waiting.

In Taiwan it seems to be well under control. However, one should remain vigilant and they are. And there, mask wearing will still be the norm in public transportation and crowded public places for quite a while I believe.

6 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Do they provide any scientific evidence to support that, or is it just the usual, "I think, so it must be true" rational?

Not that I know of, but they have had an amazingly successful record. 440 infected 6 dead and 28 days without a single local transmission and current streak of 3 days with 0 transmissions. No lockdown done and almost back to normal. So no hard science but in other articles from there they believe if both people wear masks the transmission rate would be 1 or 2% at most.

23 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Official NZ government policy as announced less that 1 hour ago is that the evidence does not support mandatory mask wearing.

Really Interesting Taiwan is firmly in the other camp.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3931339

A small excerpt from the article.

"TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Taiwan's pandemic situation has become more stable, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Saturday (May 9) that mask-wearing has played a key factor in the island nation's success in containing the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19)."

I must admit to being quite down. I was in the process of giving up my flat in BKK and moving on from Thailand and going back to Taiwan on March 29 where I had work lined up and a flat paid through the end of the year. Then March 18th got word Taiwan was closing but bungled it and couldn't get a flight out before midnight and work most likely gone. Normally my life requires international mobility. Now I'm stuck in my flat in Bkk with 80%+ of my stuff in storage and don't know when I can get back to my home in Taiwan. I usually only spend 4 months a year here and am not here for the worst of the summer. I am more depressed than I have been in quite some time.

1 hour ago, chessman said:

A good question to which there is a good answer.

 

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/comparing-covid-19-deaths-to-flu-deaths-is-like-comparing-apples-to-oranges/

interesting article. Seems like they have been trying to scare people into getting the flu shots. Wth....