TallGuyJohninBKK

And meanwhile from the same media outlet one day after the OP report here: ‘Alarming’ rise in Americans with long Covid symptoms CDC data shows nearly 18m people could be living with long Covid even as health agency relaxes isolation recommendations Fri 15 Mar 2024 Some 6.8% of American adults are currently experiencing long Covid symptoms, according to a new survey from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), revealing an “alarming” increase in recent months even as the health agency relaxes Covid isolation recommendations, experts say. ... When the same survey was conducted in October, 5.3% of respondents were experiencing long Covid symptoms at the time. ... More than three-quarters of the people with long Covid right now say the illness limits their day-to-day activity, and about one in five say it significantly affects their activities [emphasis added] – an estimated 3.8 million Americans who are now experiencing debilitating illness after Covid infection. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/15/long-covid-symptoms-cdc From the U.S. CDC survey data cited in the above Guardian report: The percentage of significant activity limitations (‘yes, a lot’ response) from long COVID, among adults who are currently experiencing long COVID Source: The above U.S. survey used the definition of long COVID as symptoms lasting 3 months or longer, whereas the OP Australia survey asked about symptoms one year after infection.

Study's excess deaths related to COVID for the years 2020 and 2021, global and by selected countries: (includes deaths directly due to SARS-CoV-2 infection and those indirectly due to other social, economic, or behavioural changes associated with the pandemic). Global -- 15.9 million Thailand -- 63,000 United Kingdom -- 137,000 United States -- 1,021,000 Main findings "Our comprehensive set of updated demographic metrics indicate profound changes in the global health landscape during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic relative to historical trends. Long-term trends of decreasing mortality were superseded by marked increases in mortality rates in age groups older than 15 years during 2020 and 2021; in contrast, mortality in children under 5 years remained largely unaffected by the pandemic and continued to decrease globally. Global life expectancy declined sharply during 2020 and 2021, reversing the longstanding trend of life expectancy improvement. Age- standardised rates demonstrated the pandemic was disproportionately severe in countries within sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, south Asia, and Latin America." https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736(24)00476-8

In a stunning reversal of decades of progress, global life expectancy at birth fell 1.6 years from 2019 to 2021, with 16 million of 131 million total deaths in 2020 and 2021 directly or indirectly attributable to COVID-19, reveals one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind published yesterday in The Lancet. The Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2021 Collaborators analyzed trends in death rates and life expectancy in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations from 1950 to 2021, with a focus on the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic period. ... About 131 million people around the world died from any cause in 2020-2021 combined, with 15.9 million more deaths than expected due to COVID-19 infection or pandemic-related social, economic, or behavioral factors, such as delays in seeking healthcare. ... Global life expectancy climbed 22.7 years from 1950 to 2021, from 49.0 to 71.7 years, but from 2019 to 2021, it dropped 1.6 years, reversing historical trends. Thirty-two countries (15.7%) saw increased life expectancy. (more) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/2022-covid-pandemic-had-shaved-16-years-global-life-expectancy-research-reveals COVID-19 had greater impact on life expectancy than previously known, but child mortality rates continued to decline during the pandemic Published March 11, 2024 A new study published in The Lancet reveals never-before-seen details about staggeringly high mortality from the COVID-19 pandemic within and across countries. Places such as Mexico City, Peru, and Bolivia had some of the largest drops in life expectancy from 2019 to 2021. The research, which presents updated estimates from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2021, provides the most comprehensive look at the pandemic’s toll on human health to date, indicating that global life expectancy dropped by 1.6 years from 2019 to 2021, a sharp reversal from past increases. ... “For adults worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a more profound impact than any event seen in half a century, including conflicts and natural disasters,” says co-first author Dr. Austin E. Schumacher, Acting Assistant Professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. “Life expectancy declined in 84% of countries and territories during this pandemic, demonstrating the devastating potential impacts of novel pathogens.” (more) https://www.healthdata.org/news-events/newsroom/news-releases/covid-19-had-greater-impact-life-expectancy-previously-known

(CNN) --Americans may feel like they’re reliving 2020, with a general election rematch set for 2024. But while the politicians’ faces are the same, life is much different. On March 13, 2020, then-President Donald Trump declared a national emergency for the Covid-19 pandemic. No one knew at the time exactly how much life was about to change. Reading CNN’s coverage from that era, however, is like transporting oneself back to the time that so many people have either forgotten or want to block out. We had no idea what was coming. But it’s equally remarkable, precisely four years later, how Covid-19 has both changed American life and also faded to the background. (more) https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/13/politics/covid-anniversary-what-matters/index.html

SARS-CoV-2 viral fragments can remain in blood and tissue for more than a year after infection, which researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) say could contribute to long COVID. In two studies, the researchers found SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the blood for up to 14 months post-infection and for more than 2 years in connective-tissue samples from 171 COVID-19 survivors without evidence of reinfection. The team obtained the samples from UCSF's Long COVID Tissue Bank, which houses samples donated by patients with and without long COVID. ... Michael Peluso, MD, who led the studies...added that more research is needed to determine whether the viral RNA contributes to long COVID and related events such as heart attack and stroke. His team is involved in clinical trials that are studying whether monoclonal antibodies or antiviral drugs can eliminate the RNA and benefit long-COVID patients. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/sars-cov-2-rna-can-persist-blood-tissue-may-play-role-long-covid-research-suggests Evidence of long-term infection Early in the pandemic, COVID-19 was thought to be a transient illness. But a growing number of patients, even those who had previously been healthy, continued having symptoms, such as, brain fog, digestive problems and vascular issues, for months or even years. The researchers looked at blood samples from 171 people who had been infected with COVID. Using an ultra-sensitive test for the COVID “spike” protein, which helps the virus break into human cells, the scientists found the virus was still present up to 14 months later in some people. Among those who were hospitalized for COVID, the likelihood of detecting the COVID antigens was about twice as high as it was for those who were not. It was also higher for those who reported being sicker, but were not hospitalized. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1036945

Five-year Mucosal Immunity in human Coronavirus Challenge (MusiCC) project will be led by Imperial College London An international consortium of researchers specialising in human challenge studies is embarking on a $57 million project to develop advanced, virus-blocking coronavirus vaccines that could stop SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses from infecting people in the first place. Led by Imperial College London and co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the consortium of more than a dozen scientific teams and organisations will begin by running trials to select particular viruses and identify the best conditions under which to safely induce infection in healthy volunteers. Researchers at multiple clinical research facilities will use a selected virus to try to infect healthy volunteers who have received an experimental vaccine. Unlike traditional vaccines which are injected into muscle, these experimental vaccines will be inhaled into the lungs or sprayed in the nose and are designed to induce a type of protection known as mucosal immunity, which scientists believe could be the key to stopping onward transmission of coronaviruses. (more) https://www.biospectrumindia.com/news/57/24361/international-consortium-embarks-on-57-m-project-to-test-inhaled-nasal-vaccines-against-viral-infection.html "As the lead and convener of the consortium, Imperial will work with all MusiCC partners, including, for example, the University of Antwerp’s Vaccinopolis in Belgium, to establish human challenge models that can be used in multiple trial sites. The trials will test potential mucosal vaccine candidates against betacoronaviruses – the sub-family of coronaviruses that includes the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, several seasonal viruses that cause common colds, and the MERS coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Using harmonised standard operating procedures, the trials will take place across several sites in the UK, Europe, the United States and Singapore and will each involve a small group of young, healthy volunteers. In the challenge trial, volunteers will first receive either a dose of an investigational vaccine designed to provide mucosal coronavirus immunity or placebo before being intentionally exposed to a calibrated dose of SARS-CoV-2." https://cepi.net/global-consortium-plans-coordinated-human-challenge-studies-hunt-transmission-blocking-coronavirus

It's interesting that this Saimai Survive organization and the activist behind it are seemingly in the news almost every day lately, representing a succession of clients who typically have gotten nowhere in trying to deal with the Thai police going thru the regular channels. If memory serves, the recent cases have included alleged rape victims, victims of wrongdoing by police, victims of botched plastic surgery jobs where the police seemed unwilling to act, cases where minors have been abused, and on and on and on... All Saimai Survive examples below, and often until recently consisting of the organization and the victimized party/parties presenting their plea via press conferences to Deputy National Police Chief Hakparn (aka Big Joke). https://aseannow.com/topic/1320341-teenage-thai-girl-accuses-tattoo-artist-of-sexual-assault/ https://aseannow.com/topic/1318564-disturbing-behaviour-of-police-officer-who-raped-minor-exposed-by-another-student/ https://aseannow.com/topic/1319421-thai-resort-owner-allegedly-drugs-attacks-rapes-party-entertainer/ https://aseannow.com/topic/1315547-top-media-influencer-claims-that-chinese-men-target-thai-women-for-love-in-what-she-calls-‘son-hunting’/ https://aseannow.com/topic/1312760-fortune-teller-tricks-thai-woman-into-sex-and-14-million-baht-loss/

Then Krungthai has this newly added language in their fees schedule regarding Dynamic Currency Conversion not abroad, but when someone wants to use a foreign VISA or MasterCard at their bank here in Thailand: https://krungthai.com/Download/rateFee/RateFeeDownload_4801242_67_E.pdf (page 30 of the above PDF file) This above in purple seems to be a new category of fee for the bank regarding DCC, but seems separate from the fees discussed in the OP news report here, since those pertain to using the Thai bank cards outside of Thailand, not domestically.

As an example of what I said above about Thai banks' longstanding practice of charging foreign currency conversion fees when their cards are used outside of Thailand, here's an excerpt from Krungthai Bank's current fees schedule regarding using their debit cards in foreign countries: https://krungthai.com/Download/rateFee/RateFeeDownload_4801242_67_E.pdf (page 29 of the above PDF file)

'Fraid not re "not common anymore"... The foreign currency/foreign use fees still tend to be the common/default practice at banks in both the U.S. and the U.K. The financial institutions that do NOT charge such fees are far and away the exception, not the rule. Examples: https://www.usnews.com/banking/articles/foreign-transaction-fees-by-bank This chart below is older and for U.K. credit cards, but you get the picture: https://wise.com/gb/blog/non-sterling-transaction-fee

DCC, as implemented here in Thailand, was always an "optional" ripoff... As in, the customer using a foreign card in Thailand had to be given the option of either agreeing to it or declining it. And the DCC meant not a flat fee surcharge, but instead a special lower exchange rate (higher price) with the end price being displayed in the currency of one's home country card instead of in baht. If the customer refused/declined DCC for the transaction, it then would be charged in Thai baht at the standard, no surcharge price. I don't see anything optional about what the Thai banks are talking about here. Rather than DCC, what they're doing actually seems instead to be what's generally called a "foreign currency conversion fee." Which, a lot of western banks impose a surcharge of 3% or more for when using their cards outside the bank's home country.

I'm perplexed by what's going on with the OP report... because... as you suggest in your comment... It's been my experience that at least several of the major Thai banks (and probably most all, because they tend to have mirror policies) already have long been charging foreign currency conversion fees when the Thai bank cards are used outside of Thailand. My Thai wife just returned from a business trip to a foreign country. She checked with her major Thai bank before she left home here, and was told there'd be a 2.5% surcharge for whatever ATM withdrawals or purchases she would have done outside Thailand with her Thai bank debit card. And AFAIK, it's been like that for a long time, because I remember checking long ago what would happen if I ever tried to use my Thai bank debit card during travel back to my home country, and got the exact same answer.

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for Feb. 25 - Mar. 2, 2024: --462 new COVID hospitalizations, down 25 from the prior week --2 new COVID deaths, down 1 from the prior week --263 current COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition, down 25 from the prior week (dark purple) --91 current COVID patients hospitalized requiring intubation/ventilation to breathe, down 20 from the prior week (light purple) (cumulative figures are COVID new hospitalizations (4,661) & deaths (48) since the start of the current year) https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

Rest, fluids and medications are your friends We’re four years into the pandemic, and by this point, most Americans have had Covid at least once. But when the virus comes for us (again), it can still feel just as alarming as your first bout. Here’s a guide to what Covid looks like now and how to treat it. Symptoms The most common Covid symptoms haven’t changed much since the start of the pandemic, and they remain consistent for the latest dominant variant, JN.1, said Dr. Soniya Gandhi, the associate chief medical officer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. They include fatigue, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, headache, body aches and cough. All or any of those in isolation can still be Covid,” Dr. Gandhi said. Some people may develop conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, or experience gastrointestinal issues, like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but those symptoms are rarer. Anecdotally, experts said, one of the most notable symptoms early in the pandemic — the loss of taste and smell — also appears to be less common these days. (more) https://archive.is/8Qqcu https://www.nytimes.com/article/covid-symptoms-treatment.html

Sounds like he already bought his plane ticket prior to successfully having obtained his visa... So the return flight and his intention to stay were both just short of 90 days. PS - I've been out of the tourist visa world for many years... But this was the first time I can recall ever hearing a demand for a signed ID photocopy from the accommodation operator being part of the tourist visa application process.

On a parallel issue here... I had a friend who just applied for a tourist E-visa via the Los Angeles USA consulate. In response to his application, they sent him a message asking for proof of his intended accommodation AND a signed version of either the Thai ID (for Thai accommodation operator) or foreign passport (for foreign accommodation operator). He shared with me the screenshot image of the message he received demanding the accommodation operator ID documentation... He was having a hard time getting the place where he wanted to stay to give him that kind of documentation. One of the things I suggested to him, if he couldn't resolve the ID documentation issue, was to consider going Visa-Exempt instead of the tourist visa... But apparently he intends on a longer stay than the visa-exempt would provide.

Latest weekly COVID report from Thailand's Ministry of Public Health through March 2 -- 91 hospitalized COVID cases on ventilators (the light purple colored section below) Plus 263 COVID cases hospitalized in serious condition (the dark purple section below): https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

After my initial run with EaseUS, I went back and started playing around with subsequent updates to original full backups, and found the program seems to have an odd versioning system. And at least in the free version, I can't find anyway to make a default setting for what kind of backup I want... It seems like I have to manually select it each time. "Full Backup" is always available. But then the program also offers "Differential Backup" which handles all changes from the last full backup, or "Incremental Backup," which handles all changes from whatever the immediately prior backup was. The end result, after the initial backup run for any profile, is the program ends up creating separate and different file folders with separate dates and file sets for each subsequent backup -- which is going to get pretty complicated and unwieldy if someone is re-running a differential or incremental backup every day or every week even. I think that's an implementation of what's called "versioning." But in my case, I just want one set of files and folders that exactly match those on my source drive, not dozens of partial file change folders organized by date. Choosing the "full backup" each time would avoid all that, I think.... But as I mentioned above, at least in the free version, I can't find any way to set a default for what mode of backup I want the program to run for any given profile. It seems to be a manual setting that has to be chosen via a right-click on the Backup Profile entry.

Gave SyncBack Free a try as well... Worked well, not too complicated, maintained the native files and folders structure, included a day and time scheduling component, and also several optional backup modes, including one called "mirroring" that says it maintains an exact version of the content on the destination location by deleting any files there not any longer found on the source location. MS SyncToy also used to have an optional mirroring mode, which is what I wanted, but notwithstanding, it never seemed to delete files on the destination drive that had been deleted or renamed on the source drive, meaning the destination drive over time ended up getting cluttered up with deleted files and folders from the source. https://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/compare-simple.html PS - I just tested the mirroring function on SyncBack, and quite happily for me, it worked exactly as promised. I deleted some of the folders on my Source location, and then re-ran the backup profile, and sure enough, the deleted Source folders/files were likewise removed from the Destination folder. Good deal!

Whoa!! This one looks a whole lot more sophisticated and complicated than for the basic needs I outlined above. Seems like more of a developer and system administrator's solution, as opposed to a basic consumer software solution. "Beyond Compare is a software application used by developers, system administrators and others to compare, merge, and synchronize data. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux." https://www.scootersoftware.com/home

So far, I've installed and tried the free versions of both EaseUS and GoodSync, and they both appear to meet my various needs, including both having automated scheduling functions. The Goodsync website has a chart that appears to say the free version only will allow "Number of files 100". But when I set up and ran my trial backup, it had more than 100 files, and the free version handled that fine... So I'm not sure what to make of their supposed limitation, at least, haven't run into it yet. https://www.goodsync.com/personal Thus far, the EaseUS version seems a bit more simple and uncomplicated in its interface, whereas the GoodSync UI seems more complicated but also more powerful. But they both appear to accomplish the basic needs of a single PC files and folders backup to an external or separate drive keeping intact the basic files and folders structure.

I just tried this (EaseUS Todo Backup), and it appears to offer most or all of the criteria I outlined above: https://www.easeus.com/backup-software/tb-free.html I just ran a quick trial backup with some sample files and folders, and it worked just as expected and promised. And it has a files and folders option for backup that keeps the file/folders structure intact. Also has a basic scheduling component available, and the ability to manually select the specific files or folders you want and where exactly you want them backed up. The one immediate downside I noticed about this free software (which also has paid upgrade options) is that EaseUS when using the free program pretty much bombards you with what I presume will be recurring upgrade offer screens and promotions aimed at getting you to send them some of your money.

Thanks! Haven't tried it. But that's exactly the type of backup solution I'm looking for -- one that keeps the directory structure and file structure intact and directly usable in the backup destination, just as if those were the original files. And $21 is a reasonable, albeit not free, price. Does it have a scheduling feature that allows you to set it to automatically do the backups every day or week or whatever?

Another thing I should mention is, it's important to me to be able to manually select what drives/folders I want backed up, and where the backed up data is stored. That's because, I keep on my personal files on my D drive instead of the standard C drive, which is reserved just for my MS Windows OS. Also, I don't like and don't want to use MS One Drive, which seems to be the standard default destination for backups with MS's latest built-in Windows Backup software, since it is not very customizable. And for this question, I'm not looking to create a full system image of my entire Windows PC. I just want an easily, automatically kept up-to-date local version of my local files kept in a standard folders and files format.

While I have cloud backup solutions, for many years, I've also kept local file backups of my Windows PC documents/data using the free MS SyncToy software and large volume external USB hard drives. But now with the update to Windows 11, MS SyncToy no longer seems to work, or at least is very difficult to get working on a Windows 11 machine, so I've been looking for ideally a free software solution like MS SyncToy that can work on Windows 11 machines? The ability to set and schedule automated backups like SyncToy could would be another plus. Any suggestions? One of the thing I liked about SyncToy was that its backups were in normal, easy to see and access files and folders format, not like some of the Windows and other backup packages that do their backups by amalgamating everything into single mass backup files that have to be unpacked and restored in order to actually see what's there. That's NOT what I want. Thanks in advance for any suggestions to use on a Windows 11 platform! 🙂