Corona virus numbers aren't even close to reality

[jasonsamui55]

I have to say that Thailand's policy is utterly ridiculous and I have a very hard time believing they have only 40 cases. It is probably the 2nd highest in the world and if I had to guess I'd say its closer to 400,000 cases.

My wife and children and myself are all foreigners.  We live in a villa in Samui and have a Thai maid who comes to the house every day from 7 until 3.

Today she came to the house and she was coughing up a lung, her face all red and she said she had a bad fever.  She was wearing a cheap face mask.

I told her, using Google translate app as its how we usually communicate anything more detailed than hello and thank you and goodbye, that I am very concerned about the virus and don't want to any chances whatsoever with two young children. It's more important that my kids stay healthy than my dishes get washed and laundry cleaned.

I told her to go home, urgently and immediately, and go to the hospital.  I specifically told her to tell the doctor to test her for corona virus and to draw blood and send it to the lab in Bangkok and to stay at home 3 or 4 days until she gets the results, and to not come back to work until she has a certificate of clean health specifically saying she doesn't have the corona virus. So she went to the one public hospital on Samui that can do such testing.

She says the doctor asked her if she had traveled to China, HK, Macau, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the usual suspects.  Of course she said no as she has no money or need for such travels, so the doctor refused to draw the blood to test her.  He sent her home and said she had nothing to worry about.

Are you kidding me?  Is this the way things are done in Thailand in the midst of a global pandemic crisis?  Isn't it obvious that one doesn't need to visit those countries to get the virus, especially when 50% of the people walking around this island have originated from or recently been to infected countries.  It already here. 3/4th of everybody on Samui is a foreigner and typically has to exit the country every 30 or 90 days.  I am sorry to say that we are truly living amongst the walking dead, true zombies!

At least China, love it or hate it for its type of government, can actually issue commands from the top down and they are effectively implemented all the way down to the street level and almost immediately.  That's what an authoritative government can do.  In a cluster-F#@$ government like we have here, whether its a dictatorship or junta or whatever, nobody listens to the leaders. They just issue commands from the top and everyone else shrugs them off or ignores them.  This country is about the closest thing one can get to the natural state of anarchy as possible.  Nothing is done about edicts issued from Bangkok, especially in far flung provinces or locations like Samui. 

I seriously have to doubt the official government count numbers of only 40 cases. I'd have to guess it's probably off the charts, probably in the neighborhood of 400,000.  Next to China it has to the a secondary epicenter.  And Thailand government is utterly incapable of doing anything about it, and even if they ever grew the brains or balls enough to block a few potential tourists, it's already way too late.  When the rest of the world has been blocking chinese arrivals for 3-4 weeks now, Thailand still hasn't done a damned thing about it. As you can see here https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/international-travel-document-news/1580226297.htm?fbclid=IwAR11pF3UlcxMokiUlwUftMAzHagFe6x1j-gXIx5OZFu3-vazdN5aaR6ko88 , pretty much every country in the world has some sort of travel restrictions on international arrivals, usually from China, but Thailand has none against any country.  Its still a very open door to all.  Incidentally, as you can see on that website, many countries now have blocks or quarantines in place against people who have recently come from or visited Thailand.

So I thought to myself if the maid is already sick she’ll either die or get better, so I told her go home and stay home for a few weeks, with salary, until she has no more fever and no more cough. I guess that means she will get better eventually. The alternative is she is dead. I don't know what else I can do.  I want to be nice to her and protective of her job, especially since she has admirably taken care of my kids for a few years now, but I am not going to allow my kids health to be jeopardized also.





 

[ukrules]

16 minutes ago, jasonsamui55 said:

I don't know what else I can do.

Well, you could start by hiring a new maid.

 

If you want to send her to Bangkok and do a test in a private hospital then you can get a test done. It's not a blood test though, they're not so cheap either but also not that expensive either. Information about this was posted yesterday elsewhere on this forum.

 

There are other tests to identify which type of well known cold or flu she has - if they come up blank then it's something not so common...and that's worth investigating further.

 

The best option would be to wait for her to get better then add a couple of weeks to that, and that's if she has this new virus which she probably doesn't.

 

Edited February 27, 2020 by ukrules

[SteveK]

Looking at how much Thai hospitals are charging to perform the diagnostic test for coronavirus, it only adds to the idea - that I have doubted all along that people were being effectively tested, and your post only adds fuel to the fire. They don't want to test people because they don't want that figure to go up, putting people off of coming here be it for business or pleasure. No testing means no rise in their number of cases. I doubt that there is one person in the government who could make a competent attempt at describing what a virus is, let alone how to deal with one, as evidence by the health minister thinking that those crappy little blue masks will prevent the spread when the virus is perfectly capable of infecting you through your eyes as well.

 

The only reason that they didn't put any measures in place to prevent people from China arriving is that the government is terrified of upsetting their new best friend, and can't afford to risk damaging tourism from China in the future, as that is what they have doubled down on to cure their ailing tourism industry. Yes, it's all about money, money, money, and as usual it will be the hardworking Thai people who end up suffering because of some very poor decision making.

 

As a result of refusing to implement travel restrictions, it's a fairly safe bet that Thailand will become ravaged by the virus very soon. Lots of people will die, tourism will be wiped out, and many, many businesses, almost all Thai-owned of course will be forced to close. The decision they made to try and keep baht flowing into the country will end up doing exactly the opposite. You can see on Twitter that many Thai people are getting seriously p*ssed off with the current administration, and it's not hard to see why.

Edited February 27, 2020 by SteveK

[Vigilante]

If the thai govt or any govt, tells the truth...

For starters ,even themselves don't know the full 'truth'

..but let's assume they know. it would go like this..

 

'Listen ye great unwashed, we are confronted with a deadly and infectious virus...it could infect anything from 0.1% of the pop. to north of 50%..a sinificant number would croak...hospitals would be overwhelmed within days/weeks...bank runs...empty shelves...collapse of law and order.'

 

You can imagine the reaction from the plebs, and the markets to this announcement.

 

'When things get serious you gotta lie'  J.C Juncker

 

[jasonsamui55]

1 minute ago, Vigilante said:

If the thai govt or any govt, tells the truth...

For starters ,even themselves don't know the full 'truth'

..but let's assume they know. it would go like this..

 

'Listen ye great unwashed, we are confronted with a deadly and infectious virus...it could infect anything from 0.1% of the pop. to north of 50%..a sinificant number would croak...hospitals would be overwhelmed within days/weeks...bank runs...empty shelves...collapse of law and order.'

 

You can imagine the reaction from the plebs, and the markets to this announcement.

 

'When things get serious you gotta lie'  J.C Juncker

 

True on all accounts....

collapse of law and order....didn't that happen in 2014 with the last coup?  LOL Has there really been any since then? In Samui you can go weeks or even months without even knowing there is a government, just if you drive you might see the once or twice monthly police helmet checkpoints from time to time when they need tea money.

[KhaoYai]

35 minutes ago, jasonsamui55 said:

She says the doctor asked her if she had traveled to China, HK, Macau, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the usual suspects.  Of course she said no as she has no money or need for such travels, so the doctor refused to draw the blood to test her.  He sent her home and said she had nothing to worry about.

And people wonder why the UAE has banned it citizens from travelling to Thailand!

 

Expect major spread during Songkran.

Edited February 27, 2020 by KhaoYai

[scubascuba3]

the only way to tell is number of deaths go up, but that's probably a well kept secret

[jasonsamui55]

3 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

And people wonder why the UAE has banned it citizens from travelling to Thailand!

According to the IATA website:

 

https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/international-travel-document-news/1580226297.htm?fbclid=IwAR11pF3UlcxMokiUlwUftMAzHagFe6x1j-gXIx5OZFu3-vazdN5aaR6ko88

 

9 countries have restrictions in place if you are coming from or have recently visited Thailand.  That number will surely grow quickly.

 

UAE
Bahrain
Polynesia
Iraq
Israel
Nauru
Samoa
Saudia Arabia
Trinidad and Tobago

[FarFlungFalang]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

the only way to tell is number of deaths go up, but that's probably a well kept secret

They'll just cow manure their way through the whole pandemic until it's finished then it's business as usual.Just a bit of a blip on the map of Thai history.Meanwhile 60,000 have died of they average flu since this started.Whose being lying about the flu deaths and where those infected have been?Who of those that are infected with the flu been accused of putting lives at risk for not declaring where they have been?What draconian measure's have been put in place to stop the spread of the flu?

[from the home of CC]

if you think there is a hidden 400,000 cases here and you obviously don't trust Thais and their government what are you still doing here with your children?

[CGW]

22 minutes ago, SteveK said:

Looking at how much Thai hospitals are charging to perform the diagnostic test for coronavirus, it only adds to the idea - that I have doubted all along that people were being effectively tested, and your post only adds fuel to the fire.

Agree, be cutting edge journalism if the story was bought to the attention & run in a out off country newspaper! ????

If there is anyone not in on the act!

[jasonsamui55]

3 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

if you think there is a hidden 400,000 cases here and you obviously don't trust Thais and their government what are you still doing here with your children?

leaving at the end of the school year! or sooner if they close schools.

[SteveK]

10 minutes ago, Vigilante said:

'Listen ye great unwashed" 

Thai people believe everything they are told from someone in authority. The government wants to keep it that way. Hence education and social mobility for the working classes must be avoided at all costs. Westerners are not afraid to challenge authority, which is dangerous for a government that likes to spoonfeed it's citizens complete guff on a regular basis to try and keep the status quo whilst the cronies get ever richer.

 

If you ask a Thai person how many cases of coronavirus the country has had, they will inevitably tell you 40. Ask a westerner and they'll probably tell you that it's at least 100x that amount. The Western mindset of challenging authority and being able to see through very obvious lies and smoke and mirror tactics is dangerous for them.

[from the home of CC]

3 minutes ago, jasonsamui55 said:

leaving at the end of the school year! or sooner if they close schools.

to a no virus zone I assume ?

[moe666]

10 minutes ago, jasonsamui55 said:

leaving at the end of the school year! or sooner if they close schools.

Please tell us how you know there are 400,000 cases in Thailand when China only has 70,000thousand. If there was that nimber we would know about it on Thai social media, you could not keep Thais quite abot that. Stop spreading fear and false information with wild speculation.

[SteveK]

2 minutes ago, moe666 said:

Please tell us how you know there are 400,000 cases in Thailand when China only has 70,000thousand. If there was that nimber we would know about it on Thai social media, you could not keep Thais quite abot that. Stop spreading fear and false information with wild speculation.

China has more than 70,000 cases, I would bet my left ball on it. Stop being naive. 

[ukrules]

15 minutes ago, SteveK said:

Thai people believe everything they are told from someone in authority.

No they don't. I don't know a single Thai who believes a word the current government says.

 

They hate them with a passion.

[spiekerjozef]

I would be careful spreading false rumors.

[jasonsamui55]

5 minutes ago, spiekerjozef said:

I would be careful spreading false rumors.

Just recounting a firsthand experience to all those who don’t yet have any first hand experiences. If the truth scares you, then my post can be of no help to you. Sorry for that.

Edited February 27, 2020 by jasonsamui55
Word misspelled

[jasonsamui55]

24 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

to a no virus zone I assume ?

Of course! 

[Curt1591]

There have been thousands of deaths, already, from the "common" flu. They aren't being publicized. This strain is being closely monitored and we are updated often.

Personally, I believe our only hope is that COVID-19 turns out not to be as bad as feared. Because, if it is, we are already screwed.

Case in point:

Grandpa lies about travel from affected region. Has Corona and passes it on to Gramma and the little guy. The little guy heads to school. Hangs out with his pals before and after class. Possibly he even stops by the moo ping lady outside the school.

No one know just how many people have really been exposed.

[churchill]

I wouldn't be so negative .. If there was an outbreak in Samui why aren't the hospitals overrun with people ? I spoke to a Doctor at Nathon Hospital and she said no cases ... Bangkok Hospital in Samui is calm ... Everybody has to be cautious and aware to prevent the spread of Covid 19 as well as other virus . It may be that the infection rate and spread is less easy in the tropics . Image from https://nucleuswealth.com/articles/updated-coronavirus-statistics-cases-deaths-mortality-rate/ 

 

[CharlieH]

In the absence of a credible source for the claims made I am CLOSING this topic as speculative scaremongering !

 

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