TallGuyJohninBKK

"DePape will be booked in San Francisco jail on suspicion of attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and several other felony charges, Scott said." "“The motive for this attack is still being determined,” S.F. Police Chief Bill Scott said." https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/live-updates-paul-pelosi-attack-17541903.php

The circumstances and info released thus far suggest your conclusion above COULD be the case... But AFAIK, as yet, there's been no specific information publicly released as to just what exactly may have motivated the guy who's been arrested in the case and what have been his political views. I suspect something will be forthcoming soon.

Last time I checked, China wasn't using mRNA vaccines domestically as yet. And those vaccines, despite their limitations, have clearly been shown to be more effective than the original Chinese produced ones like Sinovac and Sinopharm. China Gets Its First mRNA Vaccine Approval. In Indonesia. Indonesia has cleared an mRNA Covid-19 vaccine developed by a Chinese company. But those types of shots, considered among the most effective, aren’t yet available in China. Sept. 30, 2022 "First developed and approved in the West, mRNA vaccines have been embraced by countries all over the world, including Indonesia, and are considered among the most effective vaccines that the world has to offer. But more than two years into the pandemic, they are not yet available in China, which has relied on an increasingly draconian “zero Covid” approach to keep cases and deaths from the virus low." https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/30/business/china-mrna-covid-vaccine-indonesia.html Part of the explanation of why China is resorting to the Zero COVID lockdowns policy instead of its own vaccines?

Because in other countries, things aren't "back to normal" even though some politicians and governments are pretending they are. Thousands are still dying of COVID every week, and forecasts are that things will get worse toward the end of the year, per Johns Hopkins' report below: "The number of new daily global COVID-19 cases is projected to rise slowly over the coming months, increasing from about 17 million now to about 18.7 million by the end of January 2023, the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts in an analysis published this week. The increase will be impacted by the emergence of various Omicron lineage subvariants, seasonal behavioral changes, and COVID-19 policies in China, where many of the world’s most susceptible population resides. The model’s reference scenario also estimates 245,000 additional reported deaths due to COVID-19 will occur through February 1." https://myemail.constantcontact.com/--COVID-19-Updates---October-27--2022.html Note the final sentence above -- "The model’s reference scenario also estimates 245,000 additional reported deaths due to COVID-19 will occur through February 1."

Especially when that person is an apparently brilliant but nonetheless whack job.... Not gonna be buying a Tesla or using Twitter anytime soon, as long as he remains in charge. For example, among others: "Musk was criticized for his public comments and conduct related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[343][344] He spread misinformation about the virus, including promoting a widely discredited paper on the benefits of chloroquine and claiming that COVID-19 death statistics were inflated.[345] ... On March 19, 2020, Musk predicted that there would be "probably close to zero new cases in [the U.S.] by end of April".[344]Politico labeled this statement one of "the most audacious, confident, and spectacularly incorrect prognostications [of 2020]". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk#COVID-19 Then there's the storied exploits of his personal life, which would make a bad soap opera seem like classic literature in comparison. Too much weird stuff there to even begin quoting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk#Personal_life

And how many times have we heard all of the same before, and how many times has the actual police response been a brief and then forgotten show in a feeble effort to think they can persuade the public that they're actually doing something... when they're not. You can hardly go a day in Thailand where there's not news of some place being busted for operating without a license, opening beyond hours, serving alcohol without a license, gambling, engaging in on-premises drug sales, locked or non-existent fire exits, etc. etc. I loved the following sentence in the OP article above: "The police must also monitor that no gambling, prostitution, and human trafficking are discreetly provided in the establishments." Yes, we don't want them to be "discreet". If they were discreet, they're not going to make as much money as if they're up-front and very visible... And that means more money for us!

The info in the OP here is about the most common COVID symptoms, meaning those symptoms are going to be in the routine COVID cases. Regarding the comment above, it seems trying to forget or ignore the fact that COVID since the outset is estimated to have killed between 15 million and 18 million people worldwide, three times the official COVID death count of more than 6.5 million. Global COVID-19 Death Toll May Be Triple the Reported Deaths https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2791213 Those numbers are bad enough as they are. Had nothing been done in terms of precautions, restrictions, vaccines, etc., who knows how much higher the COVID death and misery toll would have been. As it is, right now, officially, COVID is still killing more than 3,000 people per week around the world, and they're not dying from sniffles or sore throats. From the WHO's COVID dashboard of weekly COVID deaths: https://covid19.who.int/

The answer to your question above is YES... especially for the over 50s and other vulnerable groups. Anytime more than 4 months after your last prior vaccination is time for a new booster. The only looming question is how soon the newer bivalent vaccines are likely to arrive in Thailand. At this point nearing the beginning of November, it seems pretty certain that's likely to be more than 4 months from now... Meaning someone already due for a booster shot now shouldn't wait... Hopefully, the Thai government in the months ahead will make something public giving a better idea of just when the bivalent boosters are going to become available here... As for stocks, at least in Bangkok, the Thai government is continuing to offer free vaccinations, including boosters for farangs, at various locations on various days... So there doesn't appear to be any shortage of supply at least here in BKK... And some of the private hospitals lately have been offering discounts on their stocks of the original Moderna vaccines.

So two Thai government officials are arrested for selling private phone number info to scammers.... And we have here an article on the various arrests... But neither of the arrested government officials are named. Why? No finger pointing photos? Just little illustrations on a computer screen. How about giving those two criminals (alleged) the same lack of privacy that they gave to all the citizens whose contact info they sold to scammers.

Let's take the reasonable estimate based on info above in this thread that half of those infected might end up surviving. Then take the following from the U.S. CDC on one way among others that Ebola can be spread: "Semen from a man who recovered from EVD (through oral, vaginal, or anal sex)." https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/index.html Then consider this is Thailand and what Thailand is about for international tourists/travelers... and take it from there.

As things stand right now, the current, original vaccines have been shown to be quite effective in preventing/reducing the risks of COVID death, hospitalization and serious illness during the first several months post injection. But those protections have been shown to begin waning substantially by the time people get about 4 months post injection, particularly with the current Omicron variants. Thus getting another booster is generally recommended after four months, because the booster will restore the original levels of protections. And various governments, I believe, plan to start using the newer bivalent vaccines as boosters for people who've already had their original two shots. The new vaccines are supposed to be more effective against the currently circulating Omicron variants. But the initial early reports on whether they really are more effective than their predecessors have been mixed. If they end up being not more effective, then in all likelihood, they'll be at least as effective as the original vaccines. So either way, boosting one's protections with one vaccine or the other would seem warranted, particularly if the person is older (advanced age alone is the greatest risk factor) or has any of the other various medical conditions that put them at greater risk for serious COVID illness.

Hadn't seen this from a week ago in the U.S.: Five US airports screening travelers from Uganda in response to Ebola outbreak The U.S. has begun screening travelers from Uganda in response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak. ... According to the CDC, approximately 140 people enter the U.S. from Uganda daily, and although no confirmed cases of Ebola related to this outbreak have been reported in the U.S., the CDC has implemented entry screening for U.S.-bound travelers coming from Uganda. CDC specified that health screenings will take place at five domestic airports — Chicago O’Hare, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, John F. Kennedy (NY), Newark Liberty and Washington Dulles — for all travelers who have visited Uganda within the last 21 days. The CDC said this is a “standard public health practice” on par with patient isolation and contact tracing." (more) https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20221019/five-us-airports-screening-travelers-from-uganda-in-response-to-ebola-outbreak

I don't presume to know what's "normal" or not normal among various folks here... But I know that in my case, using the Grab app for restaurant food deliveries to home in BKK, I'll typically add a 20 or 30 baht tip within the app, depending on how long the rider's delivery trip is. It's a small price to pay for the convenience of having food delivered to my door without me having to go out. And, with Grab, they're often offering various available coupons to reduce your order cost by anywhere from 40b to 100b, if you pay attention. So those end up more than offsetting the small added expense of the tip. Plus, in the broader scheme of things, I don't think Grab delivery drivers are getting rich off whatever they earn from their delivery compensation alone.

Uganda's widening Ebola outbreak tops 100 cases; more deaths reported Uganda's health ministry today reported 14 more lab-confirmed Ebola cases, pushing the outbreak total to 109. Health officials also reported 2 more deaths, raising the total to 30. Earlier in the outbreak before the first cases were confirmed, the ministry reported 20 suspected cases, all of them fatal. ... The World Health Organization (WHO) African regional office said in its latest weekly health emergencies update that Uganda's outbreak has expanded to two more districts, Kampala and Wakiso, raising the number of affected locations to seven. It warned that further expansion of the outbreak is possible, given that high-risk contacts have been identified for follow-up in five yet-unaffected districts. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/10/news-scan-oct-26-2022

I'm assuming he would be applying for a non-O visa based on retirement, not a legally married Thai spouse? Apart from his travel expenses to a foreign country, AFAIK, the Thai embassy there for a retirement visa is going to want to see financial proof of.... --either at least 800,000 THB on deposit in a bank, OR monthly foreign pension income of at least 65,000 baht per month deposited into a Thai bank account. "Retirement At least 50 years old A letter from a Thai bank certifying that the applicant holds a bank account with a fund of at least 800,000 baht; or a letter issued or certified by an Embassy/Consulate that the applicant has a monthly income of at least 65,000 baht (or equivalent in other currency)." Plus a 2,000 baht, non-refundable visa application fee. https://vientiane.thaiembassy.org/en/non-o-visa/

Another tip..... especially if your location has any difficulties in finding its location... You can write out brief location finding instructions in English, use the Google Translate website or app to translate them into Thai, and then add them as a stored note in your Home Address delivery information kept in the Grab app. That will make it easier for the driver to find you and avoid the potential Thai language phone call... But if they do happen to call and you don't speak any Thai, you can always ask them to send message to you in Grab app instead.......

Based on the description of the OP above, his friend might well have a problem financially qualifying for a new non-O visa not done in-country via an agent.... From the OP: "he has very little money available , living on his state uk pension, the oid lower rate"

Obviously that hasn't been occurring in Uganda, and that's why the Ebola disease lately has been spread from the hinterlands, and now has made it into the Ugandan capitol. As Uganda's Ebola outbreak intensifies, cases expand in Kampala "Uganda over the past few days reported a surge in new Sudan Ebola cases, with lab-confirmed cases rising to 90, including 9 more in Kampala, the country's capital and most populated city. The cases are the first from Kampala, home to 1.7 million people. The initial case-patient was a man who had traveled there from an earlier-affected district and died at the hospital where he sought care. ... Outbreak responders have identified 1,830 contacts for follow-up monitoring, and 28 people are currently receiving treatment." https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/10/ugandas-ebola-outbreak-intensifies-cases-expand-kampala How long before one of them ends up making it to Uganda's international airport at Entebbe, about 25 miles away from the capital? And then, of course, there's this means of Ebola transmission, which is comparable to Monkeypox, and could involve a traveler who on the surface would appear perfectly well... "Semen from a man who recovered from EVD (through oral, vaginal, or anal sex)." https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/index.html

Good summary of the process! I use the Grab app all the time to pay for restaurant food deliveries to home, as well as grocery shopping deliveries from supermarkets. It's very easy and works very well. Regarding payments and tipping, at least in using the Android mobile app for Grab, if you've set up a bank card as your payment method, the app allows you to add a tip within the app that gets charged separately, only after your order is successfully delivered. So in that scenario, you don't have to have any actual cash or pay the driver anything at all. Also, as far as directions to your location are concerned, again within the Android app, the driver can send messages to you, and you can send messages to the driver from within the app. And it has a language translation feature built-in... So the driver presumably would send you a message in TH language. And right underneath that message, you tap a "translate" button and the app automatically translated the driver's message into your language within the app. Easy peasy... And so you can write a message to the driver in English, and they'll end up seeing it translated into Thai. PS - also, I know from personal experience, the Grab app also supports the use of international VISA and MCs as a saved payment method -- just so long as your intl card is unlocked and not blocked for foreign (TH) use. You don't have to use a TH bank card, if either you don't have one, or you'd prefer to use your home country VISA or MC card instead, both debit and credit.

Your post that I was responding to wasn't talking at all about the death rate of Monkeypox. It was talking about the disease's ability to spread. And that's what my response was addressing. Monkeypox ended up spreading beyond Africa in a significant way this year. And there's no reason to think Ebola could not do the same, if proper precautions are not taken -- which is in fact the subject of this thread. It seems there's quite a few similarities in the means of transmission between Monkeypox and Ebola... See the following from the CDC regarding the various means of transmission of Ebola: "The virus spreads through direct contact (such as through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth) with: Blood or body fluids (urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk, amniotic fluid, and semen) of a person who is sick with or has died from Ebola virus disease (EVD). Objects (such as clothes, bedding, needles, and medical equipment) contaminated with body fluids from a person who is sick with or has died from EVD. ... Semen from a man who recovered from EVD (through oral, vaginal, or anal sex)." https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/index.html

Given that size of an operation, with many people coming and going and scores of luxury cars parked thereabouts, you'd almost think the local plod would have to be deaf, blind and dumb to not be aware something was going on there... But then again, they don't seem to actually get out and patrol much in their jurisdictions. I guess that makes things a whole lot easier for them...

See the related thread for Pattaya options here:

The original COVID vaccines, including Pfizer and/or Moderna, are still available for free variously from Thai government outlets and for pay from various private hospitals. As regards booster shots, yes, those are recommended, even 2 or 3 boosters after the original two shot vaccinations. The general timeframe and recommendation period is any booster should be done no sooner than 4 months after the last prior shot. The newer 2nd gen bivalent boosters are supposed to become available in Thailand sometime (as yet unspecified) into 2023. But if it's already been 4 months or more since your last COVID vaccine shot, then generally you'd be recommended to get another booster now... Particularly since it's likely to be 4 months or more from now until the newer 2nd gen vaccines are likely to become available here.

An interesting article from The Atlantic recently that suggests a lot of what generically has been called "Long COVID" ends up being what the author calls "Medium COVID." In other words, the term "Long COVID has been used broadly to describe a range of post infection symptoms -- sometimes lasting weeks, sometimes lasting months to a year, and supposedly, very rarely longer than that. But that the majority of the highest risk period seems to be in the months immediately following infection. Medium COVID Could Be the Most Dangerous COVID After you’re infected, the first few months may pose the greatest risks. "As the pandemic drags on, data have emerged to clarify the dangers posed by COVID across the weeks, months, and years that follow an infection. Taken together, their implications are surprising. Some people’s lives are devastated by long COVID; they’re trapped with perplexing symptoms that seem to persist indefinitely. For the majority of vaccinated people, however, the worst complications will not surface in the early phase of disease, when you’re first feeling feverish and stuffy, nor can the gravest risks be said to be “long term.” Rather, they emerge during the middle phase of post-infection, a stretch that lasts for about 12 weeks after you get sick. This period of time is so menacing, in fact, that it really ought to have its own, familiar name: medium COVID." (more) https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/10/covid-symptoms-medium-term-post-infection-complications/671684/

And some people thought the same thing about Monkeypox in the past...that it was just an Africa problem...until it wasn't.