ben2talk

1 hour ago, Thailand said:

Assuming the current figures are correct.

 

Otherwise,who knows.

The figures ARE correct - except that in China they stated that these are ONLY the 'confirmed' cases, which means ones which have been tested. Keep testing down and you keep the figures down...

There are a few thousand WAITING to be tested, and we have no idea about other people as it spreads in the community. My guess is that if they don't get very sick, they'll keep it quiet.

Meanwhile in Bangphli, local authorities are posting messages in local LINE groups telling Thai people they're killing Covid by spraying the sunny moobahn outside...

I'm okay - I've got more books to read than I can manage in my lifetime, punctuated with some great TV, Youtube, online Radio and podcasts... not a problem for me as long as I can get to Makro every month or so to top up, and get fresh herbs n stuff in the soi once a week.

5 hours ago, Timuk99 said:

No tests equals no oroplem right?

Recently reading - over 1000 confirmed by testing, but another 3-4k waiting for their tests... I reckon officially we can assume at least 3000 real infections as a bare minimum with quite a few that'll pop up over the next 2-4 weeks. The curve continues...

On 3/28/2020 at 12:51 PM, pgrahmm said:

No - we're sheltering.....

I ride my bike for exercise when the air readings are semi-ok & the temp has dropped in the evenings.....

There's one house with a sala close to the road....The last few days it's had a group (10-12) of Thais eating together fairly loud with cars, motorcys parked around (not neighbors) - last night passing by there was a gal there walking around with her blouse wide open down the front & a nicely packed & very well endowed red bra in full display..... Possibly swapping......I'm guessing they're going about their lives without any social distancing too.....

The kids are all out playing together in my Moobahn, from a few different households many of whom's mothers are out buying stuff in bulk to sell locally - so they'll be working well to catch some virus and bring it home to us.

On 3/24/2020 at 6:52 PM, saengd said:

High heat and high humidity slows the spread, it doesn't kill off the virus.

Body temperature being 36-37 celcius appears to be the favourite temperature... the only time hIgh heat and humidity will help is if the virus lands outside in the sun.

Once you step into buildings, all bets are off.

Another problem is with cars - my wife, for example, is trying to manage distancing and avoiding the restaurant at her office, but she has 3 passengers to drop off after work every day... she can't isolate in her car after work because it's just socially not feasible. I told her to keep the windows rolled down and set 'fresh air' (lol) instead of circulate on the blower.

On 3/24/2020 at 4:12 PM, anchadian said:

Masks are useless unless you have symptoms yourself or someone is sneezing or coughing close to you.

 

The coronavirus doesn't fly around in the air.

 

Wear disposable gloves is always a better protection.

 

Just my thoughts.

Quite wrong on all counts I'd say - gloves pick up virus, I feel better simply imagining everything is smeared with sh*te, so as soon as I've touched anything that anyone else had access to - be it a parking card button, door, or money - then my hands stay away from me until they get a good wash or some alchohol.

Also there IS evidence showing that the virus was transmitted, for example, 4.5 metres on a bus - once aerosolized it can float around in the air and move with air currents even between rooms.

On 3/24/2020 at 4:16 PM, LennyW said:

I have looked at people in our workplace who wear masks.....they touch their face about 200 times a day adjusting and moving their masks....not a good idea and adds to the risk of infection, and many of them seem to insist on having them hanging around their chin when they are talking!!

Especially in Thailand this is true - I can only wear a mask over my mouth for a short time to protect other people from coughs or speaking, so I guess I'm more of a social distancing advocate and must simply avoid contact...

On 3/24/2020 at 4:17 PM, timendres said:

At this point in time, wearing a mask is mostly to comfort the people cr@pp1ng their drawers around you. It is simply a courtesy, and might spare you a little animosity.

Certainly it's very unsettling to have anyone cough who is not wearing a mask. Yesterday in Makro a Chinese-Thai was merrily coughing his guts up all over the shop and I'd have been happy to see him dragged off to some detention centre...

3 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

I hope he takes FULL responsibility if it all goes out of control.

Probably not, he is used to passing on the blame to others, in any situation.

 

Sure, like the health minister - he can't be held responsible for his subordinates right?

8 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

The problem is that the 'powers to be' are setting false expectations.

Many people here say that wearing a mask is a cultural thing and that we should all do it.

It will not protect you from getting the virus!

So, I am better accepted by Anukin by wearing one but in a bed in an ICU and likely to die. That does not make me feel good.

By the way - I cannot find any in the shops on the island where I live. They have all been exported to ??? Cough cough dead?

Ridiculous, and typical misinformation.

That's like saying sneezing into a tissue won't stop you getting the virus... I'm pretty sure the main reason other people want you to keep your mask on is to cover your fetid mouth, spouting sh*t like this...

Now is the time for staying home and not wasting your masks going out shopping - I'm sure most people have at least a few lying around now.

1 hour ago, petedk said:

Plus... one of their favourite ideas - a possible shutdown of social media. He mentioned something about that they would keep an eye on social media and if necessary close parts of it.

 

I think we are going to see a lot of censorship. Some Thai man was arrested for posting a remark about the scanners at the airport on his Facebook.

 

Be careful what you post from now on.

 

I'd say the biggest issue with Social Media can be the gossip - people panic and start warning friends as soon as they see a single empty shelf (pretty normal in Thailand anyway), or warn them the ATM's will soon be empty of cash because lockdown will mean nobody refilling... stuff like that, basic ignorance really - because ATM's come under 'essential service' and surely won't be shut down right?

Meanwhile make sure you have some cash - my wife just instructed me to empty my bank account because it'll all be locked down.

Now I'm confident they wouldn't lock down bank/ATM refilling services, or pharmacies, or supermarkets... but if stories like this run riot, Thai's will keep the ATM's empty in a pointless cash hoarding excercise...

2 hours ago, offset said:

They should make everybody wear face covering when outside to stop the spread

Then they'd have to shoulder the responsibility of providing enough masks - and outside it's very easy to maintain a 2 metre distance from other people.

I have a handful of N95 masks, and will take one to put on when I enter Makro or Tesco, but it's impossible to buy more at any decent price. If the situation gets much worse, and you're entering areas where the virus can be circulated in the air, then you should also consider putting on some swimming goggles too...

1 hour ago, TheFishman1 said:

Yeah the government ministers are in charge of the mass deal so they don’t like thai ladies cutting in on their business TIT

Interesting how I saw in Makro, a few dozen people crowding around a table to try to cross infect, whilst registering and signing with their ID cards before joining another queue where they could exchange their vouchers for a pack of 3 surgical masks...

So obviously government distribution of the masks is more likely to have a very negative effect on transmission...

4 hours ago, CLW said:

Is it still safe to go to a supermarket and buy supplies?

 

Open market is better?

Well it depends on how crowded it is, I guess. I tend to go out at about 4pm when it's quiet to buy my greens - I bought quite a bit last week, and kept it in a glass of water with a plastic bag covering it, and certainly cilantro and onions were good for a week. For meat, however, markets aren't a great option - but that's more like a monthly trip to top up the freezer.

CP group are going to be making more of a killing now - they're buying out Tesco, but there are no problems with monopolies here, say the Tycoons.

For trips to Makro/Tesco/BigC it's good to have some alchohol - give the trolley a wipe and don't pick your nose. However, money isn't disinfected - so watch how you handle cash - remember your hands and bag or purse (assuming you're not keeping incoming cash in your pockets) are now 'dirty'. Even your credit card will be handled for swiping - so that's something else to remember.

Temperature is one symptom - and could catch someone out and about who has Covid - though it wouldn't catch an asymptomatic 'super' spreader for sure.

Just as these masks - they won't stop you breathing in virus, but they may help limit the amount that you spread it. There are good reasons for doing these things - they aren't expected to be a 100% protection by any means.

I'd say the biggest problem with Covid isn't the death, it's the politics.

Vaping can make the exhalation more visible, but I'm confident that outside, with 2m social distancing, it's pretty irrelevant - so it's certainly just another pose.

The problem is that having been brought up with military influences from school, Thai's love people telling other people what to do - even if it's pointless.

First thought - the best way to catch coronavirus is to indulge in social activity. Visiting massage venues would be high on my list of risks easy to avoid...

The fact that they're running a massage service and worrying about farang giving them the virus is just indictive of low education and ignorance. They're more likely to catch it from ignorant Thai's.

5 hours ago, soalbundy said:

I must live on an island of sanity here in Isan, if it wasn't for the internet I wouldn't know about corona, I was checked once at the hospital dentist for fever. No face masks in sight, no panic buying, no hand sanitizers around, nobody talking about 'the harbinger of death', normal life goes on. Only in the big cities are the herds stampeding.

Sure, the biggest risk is public transport and all those Isaan taxi drivers - and they'll all go home for Songkran anyway so good luck to you.

4 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

The app is only as good as the information that is input.

Exactly. Meanwhile, someone from Singapore who visited someone's office tested positive, the company are keeping quiet now and telling everyone to keep quiet.

Many thousands working there... My wife's moving into the back bedroom today - quarantined between her company, the car and her bedroom.

On 3/11/2020 at 3:34 AM, Thaiwrath said:

Let's all hope so !

They have sheds filled with guns, tanks and money, and Royal backing to have everything back the way it was in the good old days - so I'd say it's impossible unless we want more massacres.

2 hours ago, Curt1591 said:

Don't know about COVID. But, one can't buy an A/B flu test.

My arrhythmia kicked up and my cardiologist is always looking for a "trigger" to blame it on (I suspect it's just part of me). Because I had a cold about a month back, he said he wanted me to get tested for a latent flu. Sent me to their clinic. That doctor said that, with no other symptoms, and nothing current, she didn't want to test.
 

A few days later, my cardiologist called and said that he really would like me to get tested. We called 2 hospitals. Neither wanted to bother. Never thought I'd see the day that hospitals would turn down business!

My point is that, if they are hesitant to do a common test, for common flu, how many are equipped to test for COVID?

My experience is that Thai hospitals are always stretched to the max. When visiting Ramithibodi, I never see empty waiting rooms - usually a line of wheelchairs and beds besides, and just going in there to sign a document to confirm you'd like to book a private room takes all day - and then when you arrive they say the room is full anyway (for a recent stent operation)... so it's unlikely they'll have much extra capacity for testing.