dunroaming

16 minutes ago, Almer said:

What 15.000

See my post further up the thread

2 minutes ago, mrfill said:

Outdoor food markets are open in the UK. The one in my small town operates each Thursday still. Distancing rules being applied as best as possible.

Where we live too.  The stalls now are 2 metres apart and people tend to abide by the distancing rules.

I think that Captain Tom has done a great job in rallying the country behind the NHS.  He has said himself that he never expected for a moment that this would escalate like it has.  Tom's money raising exercise has become the Band Aid of the 21st century (so far).  He has become the poster boy as Bob Geldof was back in the day and like then, the real heroes are those sending in the money.  Which has come from over 50 countries!

I really am not trying to take anything away from Tom, he is a true hero.  There are several campaigns trying to get him a knighthood over this but I do think that would be unfair on all the people who are constantly out there raising money.  Definitely worthy of a gong but not a knighthood.

3 hours ago, fishtank said:

Is this free handout in addition to the 15,000 baht they are all going to recieve from the generous government? ????

I believe it is 5,000 baht a family a month.  My wife's niece has been helping people apply and so far she has arranged for three families to receive the government handout.  Her mother has received two payments so far of 15,000 baht because they have extended business interests including property they rent out.

What you need is a phone (you can see in the above video that many people in are on their phones) and a bank account.  One of the families that the wife's niece helped didn't have a bank account so she went with them to open one.  It was simple enough.

When my wife first told me about the government payments I thought it was the usual load of rubbish you hear.  I have been proved wrong as the payments continue to come through.

3 hours ago, Phuketshrew said:

Just reached 12 million on the BBC World News just now. ????????????

12.4M at the moment with people from 53 countries donating.  No doubt at some stage he will get a visit from one of the royals and very probably a gong from Madge.

20 hours ago, Forethat said:

Totally.

But suspicions of COVID-19 or a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection doesn't mean it was the cause of death,

 

I guess the real issue is why they weren't tested and brought to hospital.

Yes that is true.  Part of the difficulty is when does Cov-19 become the cause rather than a contributing factor.  Initially when deaths were being reported it would often refer to "underlying medical conditions".  So at some point it has to be considered the reason for the death rather than just contributing to it.  I know a few people who received a letter from the government saying they were in the high risk category.  These tended to be those with respiratory problems but also one I know who is a cancer survivor.

19 hours ago, Tug said:

That adds a whole new level to this pandemic do the relapsesers have the capacity to infect others? Yeiks!

We need an effective vaccine and the sooner the better

3 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

North Yorkshire and West Midlands are also hotspots. 

Yes I know that the West Midlands is a hotspot too.  Again a highly mobilised, densely populated area.  I was just trying to illustrate the different dynamics between the USA and Britain.  It can also be seen in Australia against European countries like Italy and Spain.

6 minutes ago, MikeN said:

And New York is not counting those which die at home, only in hospital. Is that honorable ?

One lot of statistics for the USA as at 8th April....39 deaths per million population, the other statistics from a few days later 62 deaths/million !

The USA is not the only country underestimating actual deaths.  It is difficult to calculate home deaths and if the death certificate doesn't specifically say Covid19 on it then it's not counted.  Obviously many people die when they have underlying medical problems which will then be given as the cause of death.  Add to that the amount of time it takes to collate the figures and the daily death toll with be way off the actual number who died on that day.

It is true that some of the over enthusiastic charities have massaged the truth to get a conviction when there is very little evidence.  Given the stories of the compensation given to families of the "victims" it is always a temptation to make up accusations if they think they can benefit financially. Because of this there will always be an element of doubt when it comes to "he said this and he did that".

However Cambodia has always been a hotbed of Paedophile activity, attracting those creeps from all over the world.  I wouldn't be a teacher in Cambodia for all the tea in China. In fact I avoid going to Cambodia at all now, unless I am travelling with a group or my wife.

I think one of the reasons that Thailand has a relatively slow rate of corona virus cases is the culture of the wei.  Thais are not huggers or kissers or even hand shakers like Europeans and Americans.  It is true that I hug my mother-in-law but even many Thais look at us disapprovingly at the physical contact.   Given the proximity to China and the amount of Chinese tourists Thais come into contact with you would expect the cases to be higher.  I know we always accuse the Thai authorities of lying about the figures but this could have a baring.

If this theory has any legs then that would explain the places where the virus spreads the most.  Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket being top spots where you are far more likely to have physical contact on public transport, crowded venues and of course the nightlife centres.   

I think this is worth a listen

Yes the truly wonderful Angkor Wat.  I applaud the return of the pieces but to call hem priceless is a bit of a stretch.  There are thousands of pieces that have been exported over the years of varying rarity and value.  These pieces are obviously genuine and not the usual fakes and it is good that they are back in the country of their origin.

9 hours ago, nausea said:

But it's only like the flu, ain't it? When there's a bodybag shortage that argument (one I subscribed to myself) starts to feel a bit weak, I must admit.

Everyone underestimated the seriousness of this virus initially and the misinformation from China was unhelpful to say the least.

A friend of mine in the US sent me an interesting link

"Her lab is 280 meters from the“ seafood market“. Did a bit of virus she was studying make some sick.
It would be the most extraordinary coincidence."
http://sourcedb.whiov.cas.cn/yw/rck/200907/t20090718_2100074.html

Followed by a second

http://english.whiov.cas.cn/Newsletter2016/201903/P020190314467594129359.pdf

I can understand the pressure on the government to give predictions as to numbers and to when they think the pandemic will peak in the UK, but I really wish they wouldn't.  All that will happen is that people will then say  "But you said...…." when they get it wrong.

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

I think it should be 8pm the other night a group of Farang outside 7/11 drinking the sauce looked like a few Russians

I don't understand how they think a curfew from 10.00pm until 4.00am will stop the spread of the virus.  I understood that the bars and clubs were all closed anyway.  It should be restricted movement and self isolation for the whole 24 hours.

Why isn't Thailand taking it's lead from other countries that are ahead of them?

At last!  I knew there would be a silver lining if we waited long enough.

6 hours ago, CNXexpat said:

It is really horrible right now. Every year the same, nothing will change. That´s why I want to relocate to another city soon as possible.

 

 

One of the main reasons I left Chiang Mai ten years.  Nothing changes no matter how many times they say it will.  We had a six year son and we moved in fear for his health.

5 hours ago, Syduan said:

That's 45 volunteers for every 1 infected.

The volunteers are not there for the people with the virus, they are there to help others avoid it, like all of those who are self isolating.  Way more than the half a million people who are volunteering.

22 hours ago, Letseng said:

I guess the Chinese will be the ones who will provide assistance and materials. Know-it-all Europeans can't help. They go begging for masks and ventilators from China. 

Dozens of companies now manufacturing ventilators in the UK.  Latest is Dyson.  8,000 due to be delivered and installed next week with more to come following that.