UAE bans citizens from travelling to Thailand, Kuwait suspends flights

[MarkyM3]

6 hours ago, Chivas said:

If Kuwait have suspended only a matter of hours before Qatar Oman Etihad Gulf Emirates follow suit

This could be fun lol

Due to fly back to UK on Sunday via Gulf Air. Not looking good....hope I can get away. 

 

When I arrived on 9th Feb,  only me and 3 others in the business class cabin from Bahrain to BKK. London to Bahrain was at least 2/3 full.

 

Due back here in May on EVA Air LHR-BKK. Already booked ????

[vermin on arrival]

Well, I just got back from Chaeng Wattana immigration today to extend my 30 days. Thought it would be deserted with the dearth of tourists. Instead it was the most packed and busiest I ever saw it. I got there at 10:15AM and was number 244 with 147 people wait. Could not believe it, and when I got to section K, I saw why-probably 80% of the extenders were mainland Chinese (probably cornonavirus refugees). There were so many people there they had extra rows of plastic chairs for seating, they had more staff to handle Chinese language translation, and a pre-check table to look over the documents to handle the heavy work load. I got out at 2PM, plenty of time for infection to take place. If I contracted it today, I wouldn't be surprised.

 

The only health check they had was four staff checking for fevers in the entrance to the immigration section. Thankfully almost all the Chinese had masks on, and since they were extending, they have probably been asymptomatic for 30 days, so they are probably not infected. I imagine it must be like that every day there now since they have new measures in place there now to deal with it. If it is easy to spread in this climate, with the huge number of people working and passing through that giant building, building B is an epidemic waiting to happen.

 

Having not expected this, I had not mask or any kind of plan in place for it. I did leave and go downstairs for most of my wait. I recommend bringing a good mask (although it may do nothing in terms of protection from contracting it) if going into immigration for any business now and copious hand washing. Will be interesting when I fly out at the end of the March. Unless they clean them after every usage, that fingerprint scanner will be a petri dish.

[Vacuum]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The news comes after Kuwait’s civil aviation authority also on Monday announced it was suspending all flights to and from Thailand.

Obviously the fugitives left in time...

[Burma Bill]

6 hours ago, Maverell said:

So what do these countries know, that we don't, if they are banning travel to Thailand?

Yes indeed. That also crossed my mind - press censorship by TAT???

[hottrader77]

6 hours ago, Maverell said:

So what do these countries know, that we don't, if they are banning travel to Thailand?

they are forgeting that about 14 have been discharged after treatment and are now negative so there must already be a cure but media does not want it known as they are enjoying the news that makes them money 

[dcnx]

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

You're right about one thing, comparing it to the flu is ignorant, the flu has far more impact on health than this does.

This is the dumbest comment I’ve read in a while.

 

COVID19 has a much bigger r0 factor than the flu and a higher mortality rate. That means it spreads MUCH faster and will kill more.

 

This isn’t the flu vs COVID19, because we now have them both to be concerned about.

 

When have you seen cities shut down, airlines stop flights, and factories shut down over the flu? Losses in the billions already. Governments around the world are preparing for a pandemic that will kill millions of people if it doesn’t end fairly soon. Harvard scientists just estimated this will hit 70% of the world’s population if unchecked. That’s over 100,000,000 deaths.

 

Get off the barstool, buddy. You’re way off on this one.
 

It could fizzle out. Or not. Human testing with a vaccine isn’t coming until April. If it doesn’t fizzle out and they don’t get a vaccine or cure together soon, you’re going to know people who die from this. We all are. I already know someone in critical condition in Korea due to this. It’s very real.

 

 

[FarFlungFalang]

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

So far nearly exclusively the cases are directly related to China, where it is dying down.

The only thing dying down is the acceleration rate of new infections,they are still getting new infections,but the numbers of new infections are just not accelerating as much.

[simtemple]

What effect do you think the collapse of the tourist industry and Coronavirus will have on poor Thai? 

 

Over 40 percent of Thais admitted that they could barely afford food in 2018.

 

 

https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/coronavirus-hits-thailand-hard/

[dcnx]

1 minute ago, hottrader77 said:

they are forgeting that about 14 have been discharged after treatment and are now negative so there must already be a cure but media does not want it known as they are enjoying the news that makes them money 

Don’t be stupid. These decisions cost companies millions / billions of dollars. 80% of the people who get the virus have mild symptoms. 20% are serious. 
 

There isn’t a cure. There’s only recovery. You can also catch it more than once.

 

Whatever news source you’re following, stop.

[fruitman]

9 minutes ago, vermin on arrival said:

Well, I just got back from Chaeng Wattana immigration today to extend my 30 days. Thought it would be deserted with the dearth of tourists. Instead it was the most packed and busiest I ever saw it. I got there at 10:15AM and was number 244 with 147 people wait. Could not believe it, and when I got to section K, I saw why-probably 80% of the extenders were mainland Chinese (probably cornonavirus refugees). There were so many people there they had extra rows of plastic chairs for seating, they had more staff to handle Chinese language translation, and a pre-check table to look over the documents to handle the heavy work load. I got out at 2PM, plenty of time for infection to take place. If I contracted it today, I wouldn't be surprised.

 

The only health check they had was four staff checking for fevers in the entrance to the immigration section. Thankfully almost all the Chinese had masks on, and since they were extending, they have probably been asymptomatic for 30 days, so they are probably not infected. I imagine it must be like that every day there now since they have new measures in place there now to deal with it. If it is easy to spread in this climate, with the huge number of people working and passing through that giant building, building B is an epidemic waiting to happen.

 

Having not expected this, I had not mask or any kind of plan in place for it. I did leave and go downstairs for most of my wait. I recommend bringing a good mask (although it may do nothing in terms of protection from contracting it) if going into immigration for any business now and copious hand washing. Will be interesting when I fly out at the end of the March. Unless they clean them after every usage, that fingerprint scanner will be a petri dish.

Why didn't they offer you a mask? And was there any handgel available?

[sandrabbit]

6 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

it's humidity that keeps the virus alive.  Don't get confident because places like the  humid and warm BKK airport  are an ideal place for a respiratory virus.

not according to this pathology professor

 

https://www.accuweather.com/en/health-wellness/coronavirus-expert-says-the-virus-will-burn-itself-out-in-about-6-months/679415

 

 

 

[Jumbo1968]

52 minutes ago, parafareno said:

i have etihad in april....<deleted> will happen

I have a BA Flight booked in 2 weeks for myself, Thai G.F and our son, Visa all sorted as well, nightmare if flight cancelled.

[Cake Monster]

6 hours ago, BobbyL said:

It is all getting very bizarre. 

The situation is not getting bizarre, its getting disturbing.

I think we are going to see a rise in the cases of Covid19 in Thailand now.

Just a hunch.

 

[Pchan25]

11 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

One thing with the outbreaks in both South Korea and Italy, it can now give us a benchmark on trends, mortality rates and severity. 

 

Currently Italy has 231 confirmed with 7 deaths.

South Korea has 893 confirmed with 9 deaths.

 

Thats a very high death rate compared to the statistics that came out of China and of course death is the ultimate price paid for catching coronavirus, if your one of the unfortunate ones that becomes critical then you have a long stay in hospital with intensive treatment.

You have to check the statistics from Italy in more detail:

for example: "At least three of the deceased had other serious health problems, and most were over 75"
https://www.thelocal.it/20200224/latest-deaths-coronavirus-italy

 

[Arkady]

That will impact medical tourism as some gulf states pay for their citizens to get healthcare in Thailand to make up for lack of hospital capacity at home.

 

[vermin on arrival]

@fruitman No masks were offered. I believe hand gel was available.

[Burma Bill]

Very interesting - NO BAN on UAE and Kuwaiti citizens wanting to visit CAMBODIA, LAOS, MYANMAR or VIETNAM!

[ChipButty]

Im waiting for an update from my daughter who is in the UK she's on the blower with Emirates regarding returning from Phuket to UAE lets see  

[fruitman]

Just now, vermin on arrival said:

@fruitman No masks were offered. I believe hand gel was available.

Alright, well i think they should have offered you a mouthmask of 2.5 baht anyway....but that will break the bank i guess..

[Phoenix Rising]

14 minutes ago, hottrader77 said:

they are forgeting that about 14 have been discharged after treatment and are now negative so there must already be a cure....

Yes, it's called the human body's immune system.

[Bkk Brian]

7 minutes ago, Pchan25 said:

You have to check the statistics from Italy in more detail:

for example: "At least three of the deceased had other serious health problems, and most were over 75"
https://www.thelocal.it/20200224/latest-deaths-coronavirus-italy

 

Sure but that does not help the victims they still died and would not have done if they had not caught the virus. People over the age of 75 still have a life to live.

[elliss]

6 hours ago, fforest1 said:

Dont worry the new smart cars will be out getting those overstayers.....

 

 Plus , Virus Added Tax..

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, GarryP said:

I have always had good service on Emirates Airlines.

Me too! But never again!

 

Rooster

[FarFlungFalang]

37 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

One thing with the outbreaks in both South Korea and Italy, it can now give us a benchmark on trends, mortality rates and severity. 

 

Currently Italy has 231 confirmed with 7 deaths.

South Korea has 893 confirmed with 9 deaths.

 

Thats a very high death rate compared to the statistics that came out of China and of course death is the ultimate price paid for catching coronavirus, if your one of the unfortunate ones that becomes critical then you have a long stay in hospital with intensive treatment.

 

I'm keeping my eye on those two countries.

 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

From the figures in your link and the ones you quoted  the fatality rates are China 3.37%, Sth Korea 1.0% and Italy 3.03%.I'm failing to see the high death rate compared to China as both South Korea and Italy have a lower fatality rate than China.

 

[stevenl]

7 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Sure but that does not help the victims they still died and would not have done if they had not caught the virus. People over the age of 75 still have a life to live.

Doubtful, they are even stating they contracted it but did not die from it.

[Stargeezr]

If I have read and listened to the news right. The vaccine is being worked on, but there

is not a cure out yet. The virus is still being assessed about how different it is from

what the initial estimates were. It is being spread in a few ways, it survives longer

than first estimates, unlike regular flus that you can get a shot to try prevent, the

Corona virus has no shot for, is everyone understanding this? I still see people comparing this new

virus to the other flus and viruses, wake up! This virus may not be as deadly as Ebola, but

it is still killing people, including doctors and nurses.

Geezer

[Woowee]

The only thing I can say is, when I was in Thailand January 25th. I met a nurse from phuket who said she had 25 cases of coronavirus in her hospital alone that were not being reported..... It's weird that she would lie about something like that. Who knows.

[Jumbo1968]

Just now, Stargrazer9889 said:

If I have read and listened to the news right. The vaccine is being worked on, but there

is not a cure out yet. The virus is still being assessed about how different it is from

what the initial estimates were. It is being spread in a few ways, it survives longer

than first estimates, unlike regular flus that you can get a shot to try prevent, the

Corona virus has no shot for, is everyone understanding this? I still see people comparing this new

virus to the other flus and viruses, wake up! This virus may not be as deadly as Ebola, but

it is still killing people, including doctors and nurses.

Geezer

There are no cures for any viruses, a vaccination can prevent it or lessen the effects like the flu jab.

[WaveHunter]

2 hours ago, PremiumLane said:

That is a big leap to make, how do you know far more people will be infected? 

 

"It means stopping the outbreak might be more difficult, since people start to become infectious early on in their disease or may even spread the virus when they’re asymptomatic. But to confirm these two findings, we’ll need more science, said Jennifer Nuzzo, an infectious disease expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “We still don’t know to what extent people without symptoms can infect,” she pointed out."

 

This is a fast moving situation.  We may not have conclusive studies that prove without doubt that asymptomatic people can spread the virus but there is enough evidence to strongly believe that is exactly what is happening. 

 

You simply can not have the escalating numbers you are seeing all around the world despite containment efforts if asymptomatic people are not spreading it.  

 

So what do you do now?  Do you wait for conclusive proof or do you err on the side of caution and assume it is so?  I think the latter is the more prudent way to go.  Unfortunately, much stricter measures are going to be needed to control this.

 

I don't think it's a big leap at all to assume that many more will become infected.  In fact, given the present rate of spread and the failure of present containment efforts to do any more than merely slow the spread down a little, I don't see any way that it can fail to infect many more people, and for a long time to come.

 

Sadly, China's delay in handling this back in December when there was a real chance of containment has probably already closed the window for containment.  There are just too many carriers spread out to all points on the globe now; many of whom were asymptomatic and thus fell through the safety net as they seeded other geographic regions.

 

That's the way many of the leading epidemiological experts view the situation at least, though politician, bureaucrats and other talking heads would have us believe otherwise.

[ianezy0]

And yet, with all the criticisms, you all still insist on walking around without a mask ????...tusk tusk.

What a Bunch of hypocrites. ????????