TallGuyJohninBKK

And here's where Thailand was, by comparison, in its first weekly COVID report for 2023, Jan. 1 - 7 -- 997 new COVID hospitalizations, and 58 new deaths. In good news, the official weekly COVID death counts for Thailand declined into single digits as of mid-February, and have remained in single digits per week ever since. https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/photos

The Thai MoPH has released its latest national stats of new COVID hospitalizations, which have increased about 550% since the start of April to more than 1,000 per week as of April 16 - 22. The current number of new weekly COVID hospitalizations in Thailand is the largest of any weekly total since the start of 2023, although official COVID deaths were considerably higher at the start of the year. New COVID hospitalizations that were running an average of 24 per day during the first week of April have now reached an average of 155 per day, according to the MOPH. That means the weekly totals of COVID hospitalizations during that period rose from 168 to 1,088 per week over the past three weeks. The latest weekly report from the Thai MoPH covering April 16-22 also recounts that Thailand has now had 6,571 COVID hospitalizations and 278 official COVID deaths since the start of the current year. MoPH weekly COVID report for April 16 - 22 (The red shaded data below reflect COVID hospitalizations. The dark gray shaded sections reflect COVID deaths. The large sized numbers show the weekly totals, whereas the smaller sized numbers underneath reflect the resulting daily averages.) https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/posts/pfbid02USYkizrvqe7JeswruP5pBzxkMUjZy2FyKqECWRoFgZvcpFcMq9mKCvqZhab2XcYKl

You should be: "New research finds that with each repeat COVID infection – even asymptomatic infection – your risk for complications increases. These include: stroke heart attack diabetes digestive and kidney disorders long-term cognitive impairment, including dementia https://health.ucdavis.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-information/omicron-variant

COVID infections are mere infections, which don't necessarily involve being hospitalized. That's going to be the thousands numbers. COVID hospitalizations mean the person was admitted as an inpatient to the hospital because of COVID. That's going to be the hundreds numbers. Two different things. Two different sets of statistics.... See the following. The data you want is there:

No, those comparisons would be just what has long been reported -- COVID has been one of the world's top causes of death since the start of the pandemic -- usually less than cancer and heart disease, but more than most anything else including the flu, colds, etc. https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/covid-19-leading-cause-of-death-ranking/#Total deaths in the United States from COVID-19 and other leading causes, 2020-2022 https://fortune.com/well/2022/09/27/why-covid-isnt-like-the-flu-death-toll-leading-cause-death-omicron-shot-booster-vaccine/

You're the one who's confused. The hundreds of patients count involves COVID HOSPITALIZATIONS. The thousands numbers involve estimates of numbers of infections, which the government doesn't officially count or report anymore. The tell sign is the reference to "in-patients" (meaning hospital admissions) in their report: "BANGKOK Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said today (Apr. 22) that a post-Songkran festival Covid spike has led to the number of in-patients in the capital jumping from around 300-400 cases day to maximum 700"

7 million official COVID deaths since the start of the pandemic, and estimates the real figure is more in the 15-20 million range due to undercounting. "never dangerous for the larger sum of people"???

Temporary Covid-19 surge may result in 10,000 daily cases 4 days ago A new wave of Covid-19 infections is expected to bring daily cases to 5,000-10,000, but a swift decline in numbers is predicted thereafter, according to Dr Nitipatana Chierakul, Head of the Respiratory Disease and Tuberculosis Division at the Faculty of Medicine in Siriraj Hospital. In a statement on his Facebook page, Dr Nitipatana noted a rise in infections caused by the Omicron XBB.1.16 sub-variant but highlighted the majority of cases were mild. He explained that severe reactions were likely due to pre-existing health conditions. He said… “During the new wave, daily cases are estimated at 5,000-10,000 patients, which is relatively low compared to last year. It is anticipated that cases will reduce within a few weeks.” https://thethaiger.com/news/national/temporary-surge-may-result-in-10000-daily-cases-for-a-brief-period

Whereas this OP news report just deals with Bangkok, the Thai MoPH has also released its latest stats of national new COVID hospitalizations, which have increased more than 600% since the start of April to more than 1,000 per week. The current number of new weekly COVID hospitalizations in Thailand is the largest of any weekly total since the start of 2023, although official COVID deaths were considerably higher at the start of the year. New COVID hospitalizations that were running an average of 24 per day during the first week of April have now reached an average of 155 per day, according to the MOPH. That means the weekly totals of COVID hospitalizations during that period rose from 168 to 1,088 per week. During the same period, weekly COVID deaths reported by the Thai government rose from 2 to 5 as of the latest weekly report, though Thailand has a very narrow definition of what it counts as a COVID death, and officials death stats are widely regarded as undercounts. At the beginning of 2023, Thai weekly COVID deaths were in the 50s to 60s. The Thai MoPH no longer publicly reports mere COVID infections / cases. But one Thai doctor recently estimated that Thailand's new COVID case count (not COVID hospitalizations) likely are headed toward 5,000 to 10,000 per day. Meanwhile, the latest weekly report from the Thai MoPH covering April 16-22 does recount that Thailand has now had 6,571 COVID hospitalizations and 278 official COVID deaths since the start of the current year. April 2 - 8 April 9 - 15 April 16 - 22 https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/photos

Ideally, I believe you'd want to have the notarization done by a notary in whatever country your pension provider is located in. The pension provider might accept a foreign country notarization, but also, they might not.

Smart people will follow that general advice: April 19, 2023 Bivalent mRNA booster effective, ‘essential’ for older adults Key takeaways: Bivalent mRNA booster vaccine efficacy for preventing hospitalization was 72%. Bivalent mRNA booster vaccine efficacy for preventing mortality was 68%. Bivalent messenger RNA booster vaccinations were effective for preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in older adults, according to data presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases. ... Hospital records were used to identify hospitalizations and deaths. The researchers then compared rates of hospitalizations and deaths between patients who received a bivalent mRNA booster vaccination and those who did not. https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20230419/bivalent-mrna-booster-effective-essential-for-older-adults

You'll notice that neither the EN language OP nor the TH language report it's based on contain any actual numbers on the LATEST increase in COVID hospitalizations here. (They're usually updated to the public sometime between Saturdays and Mondays for the prior week). Last week's week-over-week report showed a 250% increase in COVID hospitalizations to a daily average of 62 new COVID hospitalizations per day. I suspect in the next day or two, from some source, we'll find out what the actual new numbers are for this just ended week... and obviously they'll be another increase over the prior week. Becaise Anutin's already telling us the latest week was UP again: "Anutin reported that the number of COVID-19 cases had increased as projected by the Department of Disease Control, but there was no corresponding increase in severity, reported INN." As of a week ago, new COVID hospitalizations in Thailand had reached their highest level since late January. Stay tuned.

"Since COVID first hit the U.S., some have argued that the nascent disease is no more dangerous than the flu, which sweeps the U.S. every fall and winter. ... While the two can present with similar symptoms—like fever, cough, fatigue, sore throat, muscle aches, and headache—and are both more likely to be fatal for the elderly and immunocompromised, the comparison falls apart when it comes to the death toll. One graph in particular shows just how stark the mortality difference is between the two. Flu deaths appear almost flat compared to surges in COVID deaths over the past three years." https://fortune.com/well/2022/09/27/why-covid-isnt-like-the-flu-death-toll-leading-cause-death-omicron-shot-booster-vaccine/ And now, even after the recent declines, the weekly COVID death rate in the U.S. right now at 1,160 fatalities is still somewhat higher than the Sept. 17, 2022 weekly figure of 1,055 cited in the chart above. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home

You keep trying to falsely liken the risks of COVID to those of having a cold. They're not the same, as has previously been shown earlier in this thread. But you keep repeating the same falsity. Some surface symptoms may be the same. But the overall risks and health outcomes are not. COVID has been among the top leading causes of death in the U.S. even into 2022. Having a cold (or the flu) is not.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO Technical Lead on COVID-19 March 29, 2023 "At the present time, we’re still in a public health emergency of international concern at a global level as well as still in a pandemic. The virus is circulating. We are in a much better situation than we were since the beginning of this pandemic. While we still see a lot of circulation of the virus, we are not seeing the same level of impact, and by impact we mean there’s a reduced incidence of hospitalisation, ICU and death. But the threat isn’t over...." https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/virtual-press-conference-on-covid-19-and-other-global-health-issues-transcript-29-march-2023

The fact that people may have co-morbidities when they die of COVID doesn't mean they didn't die of COVID... COVID may have caused their death as a primary factor, or it may have contributed to their death in tandem with their pre-existing conditions. In either case, it's still COVID at least contributing to the death. From earlier this month in a time of Omicron: "“There are still people who are getting wicked sick,” said Libby Hohmann, an infectious-disease physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. ... “For most of us, it’s kind of a yawn now, but … you see these people, covid pushes them over the cliff,” she said." https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/04/16/covid-deaths-per-day/

And likewise from the WHO in the past week: WHO warns COVID pandemic still volatile April 18, 2023 "The World Health Organization on Tuesday warned the COVID pandemic was still volatile, saying there could be further trouble before the virus settles into a predictable pattern. In the last 28 days, more than 23,000 deaths and three million new cases have been reported to the WHO, in the context of much-reduced testing. While the numbers are decreasing, "that's still a lot of people dying and that's still a lot of people getting sick", WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told a press conference." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-covid-pandemic-volatile.html

From India's health minister: 'Pandemic still not over': Centre writes to 8 states https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pandemic-still-not-over-centre-writes-to-8-states-amid-consistent-rise-in-covid-cases/articleshow/99670684.cms

Not just one country or one place: "More than a dozen hospital workers at Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center, along with “some patients,” have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting new masking rules at the facility, hospital officials said. “In response, effective immediately, physicians and staff are required to mask in the Santa Rosa hospital and emergency department while providing direct patient care,” Kaiser officials said in a written statement late Wednesday." https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/covid-19-outbreak-reported-at-kaiser-santa-rosa-hospital-local-health-offi/ "BACOLOD City Secretary to the Mayor Karol Joseph Chiu urged the public, especially the senior citizens and persons with comorbidities, to wear face masks in crowded places as the city’s coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases continue to increase." https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1959264/bacolod/local-news/bacolod-urges-public-to-wear-face-masks-in-crowded-places Sensibly, public health officials will urge and/or enforce precautions in places where there are COVID outbreaks or upswings in cases, as they should. India isn't alone in that regard.

Medical research on COVID has shown that it can be a very nefarious illness that potentially can impact and harm many systems in the body, unlike the simple flu or colds, even when the COVID infection initially might be mild or without apparent symptoms. "New research finds that with each repeat COVID infection – even asymptomatic infection – your risk for complications increases. This includes an increased risk for: stroke heart attack diabetes digestive and kidney disorders long-term cognitive impairment, including dementia Each reinfection also carries with it the risk of long COVID or ongoing COVID symptoms that can last for weeks or months after infection." https://health.ucdavis.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-information/omicron-variant And to flesh out the above issues a bit: Another post-COVID-19 risk: new-onset diabetes April 20, 2023 A study of more than 600,000 people in British Columbia, Canada, links COVID-19 and a higher risk of diabetes more than 30 days after diagnosis, concluding that infection may have led to 3% to 5% excess diabetes cases. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/another-post-covid-19-risk-new-onset-diabetes Researchers report ‘striking similarities’ in brains of aging adults, people with COVID-19 Changes in gene expression patterns in the brain associated with natural aging also were observed in the brains of those with severe COVID-19, prompting researchers to emphasize the need for neurological follow-up in recovered individuals. ... “Ours is the first study to show that COVID-19 is associated with the molecular signatures of brain aging,” Mavrikaki said in the release. “We found striking similarities between the brains of patients with COVID-19 and aged individuals.” https://www.healio.com/news/neurology/20221206/researchers-report-striking-similarities-in-brains-of-aging-adults-people-with-covid19

COVID Omicron variant infection deadlier than flu, studies suggest "Two new studies suggest that COVID-19 Omicron variant infection is deadlier than influenza, with one finding that US veterans hospitalized with Omicron in fall and winter 2022-23 died at a 61% higher rate than hospitalized flu patients, and the other revealing that Israeli adults hospitalized with flu were 55% less likely to die within 30 days than those admitted for Omicron in the 2021-22 flu season." https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/covid-omicron-variant-infection-deadlier-flu-studies-suggest Also, COVID has been one of the U.S.'s leading causes of death, even in 2022 -- far more than the flu or colds, which I believe would be listed down below under the "other respiratory" category. So to liken the impact or risk from colds to that of COVID is pure ignorance or willful avoidance of the facts. https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/covid-19-leading-cause-of-death-ranking/#Total deaths in the United States from COVID-19 and other leading causes, 2020-2022

Got news for you on that score: Mandatory face masks and rising cases: latest COVID-19 guidelines across India 17 April 2023 "A recent surge in COVID-19 cases across India has brought restrictions and guidelines back to some states. ... Delhi ...Several hospitals and educational institutions have brought back mask mandates and social distancing protocols. ... In Mumbai, the BMC has made face masks mandatory in civic-run hospitals and senior citizens have been advised to wear masks as a precautionary measure. ... Kerala ... Testing has been increased and masks have been made mandatory for people who are pregnant or have lifestyle diseases as well as for the elderly. https://www.cntraveller.in/story/mandatory-face-masks-and-rising-cases-latest-covid-19-guidelines-across-india/

18,000 COVID "official" deaths per month in the world right now, according to the WHO. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports

It's dying from COVID... regardless of the variant. But these days.... all the main COVID variants circulating are pretty much Omicron, so that in one form or another is what's killing people and still making them sick. Per the WHO: "At the country level, the highest numbers of new 28-day cases were reported from the United States of America (432 798 new cases; -45%), the Republic of Korea (286 182 new cases; +6%), the Russian Federation (259 138 new cases; -24%), France (219 428 new cases; +65%), and Brazil (212 578 new cases; +35%). The highest numbers of new 28-day deaths were reported from the United States of America (5559 new deaths; -32%), Brazil (1177 new deaths; -26%), the Russian Federation (994 new deaths; -4%), Germany (813 new deaths; -58%), and the Islamic Republic of Iran (754 new deaths; +193%)." https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/weekly-epidemiological-update-on-covid-19---20-april-2023 COVID and Omicron are still killing people every day around the globe, though the numbers in many places aren't as high as they were in the worst times of the past. PS - the official case numbers above are pretty likely meaningless as vast undercounts, since most governments these days aren't actively tracking and counting mere cases, just as Thailand months ago stopped reporting them entirely. Although we do have occasional blips like the following: Temporary Covid-19 surge may result in 10,000 daily cases "A new wave of Covid-19 infections is expected to bring daily cases to 5,000-10,000, but a swift decline in numbers is predicted thereafter, according to Dr Nitipatana Chierakul, Head of the Respiratory Disease and Tuberculosis Division at the Faculty of Medicine in Siriraj Hospital. In a statement on his Facebook page, Dr Nitipatana noted a rise in infections caused by the Omicron XBB.1.16 sub-variant but highlighted the majority of cases were mild. He explained that severe reactions were likely due to pre-existing health conditions." https://thethaiger.com/news/national/temporary-surge-may-result-in-10000-daily-cases-for-a-brief-period The majority of those projected cases may well end up being mild, as the doctor says..... But for every day there's 5K to 10K new cases here, some share of those are going to end up dead, and another share will end up requiring hospitalization. And in my view, it's in everyone's best interest to see that those COVID case numbers remain as low as possible.

The new variant has, not Thailand's reported death. Because the variant is much more contagious than its predecessors, and appears better able to evade protections from prior vaccinations and COVID infections. "Due to its estimated growth advantage and immune escape characteristics, XBB.1.16 may spread globally and contribute to an increase in case incidence. However, at present, there is no early signal of an increase in severity. The initial XBB.1.16 risk assessment is ongoing and is expected to be published in the coming days." https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20230420_weekly_epi_update_139.pdf?sfvrsn=c432eac8_3&download=true