Covid-19: Prestigious Bangkok international school admits it has to close because 60 teachers are in virus quarantine

[Nanaplaza666]

Closing schools ???? ?? Is that on prayuts orders , scared for more protests ?? 

[herwin1234]

1 hour ago, Tayaout said:

Soon they will have to close all schools but they will probably still allow tourists from affected countries to come in without quarantine. 

i am confused. you are saying Thailand should close its borders to the USA  and Europe? 

[Krataiboy]

7 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

At this stage, I don't know if  the deluge of Chinese nationals makes a difference.  China has been able to contain its epidemic. On the contrary, it is Thailand that will present the risk since Thailand most likely is now a disease reservoir holding thousands if not tens of thousands of infected people.  Thailand had an open door policy for  the past three months that put it in that position. I do not accept the Thai assertion of less than 50  infections.

 "China has been able to contain its epidemic?" Are you kidding?

 

Worldwide, there are currently 82,294 confirmed cases of COVID-19—1,185 of them new. Of those cases, 78,630 are in China, where 2,747 people have already died from the illness. Outside of China, COVID-19 has been confirmed in 46 other countries, affecting 3,664 people—57 of whom have died.

 

The Communist regime is entirely to blame for this situation.

 

The Chinese heirarchy knew they had a potentially deadly virus escapee on their hands as long ago as November, but didn't own up until weeks later, after their containment efforts had obviously failed and infections were starting to crop up elsewhere.

 

Had Xi Jinping put the risk to global health ahead of the Communist Party's pathetic aversion to losing face at home and overseas, we would not now be expecting the WHO to finally get off the fence and declare COVID-19 a global pandemic.

Edited February 29, 2020 by Krataiboy

[misterphil]

3 hours ago, sensei said:

An Adventist school in Saraburi will close down for TWO WEEKS because a parent who just came home from JAPAN went to pick up his kid.

 

 

And which school is this?

 

3 hours ago, sensei said:

[herwin1234]

28 minutes ago, Xbeemer said:

So a bit of fact for all the negative Thai bashers on here, Thailand is ranked by WHO in the top 5 best prepared countries to handle a pandemic. You're welcome.

"facts". lol. This is TV. The forum for the Sherlock Holmes ("it was not a suicide but the Thai wife did it!") and the amateur virologists ("its a bit like the Ebola virus!") and conspirarcy theorists ("we will never know the facts!") and the ever present dumb rascist who now can trash both Thais and Chinese. 

Facts are there are relatively few cases, and the WHO is positive both about China and Thailand. Fac6 is Thailand is doing a good job in a difficult situation. Fact is the Forum Farang just is waiting for something bad to happen, that makes their day. 

[wotsdermatter]

8 hours ago, rooster59 said:

must go into voluntary quarantine.

The use of the word MUST is making the voluntary act of quarantine rather pointless as MUST is rather more of a command.

'nuf sed.

[Nyezhov]

13 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

Had Xi Jinping put the risk to global health ahead of the Communist Party's pathetic aversion to losing face at home and overseas, we would not now be expecting the WHO to finally get off the fence and declare COVID-19 a global pandemic.

All I know is my kid has been told not to come back to her school (Shanghai) until further notice, per the Chicom .gov. She is here in Cambodia teaching on line, waiting. 

[Ventenio]

Am I reading this headline correctly?  60 teachers in, maybe, 60 classrooms with say 20 students in each classroom who have family and friends and take public transportation....

 

nothing we can do, just enjoy your day.  I'm in a cave in North Korea.

 

NOT one reported case.   

 

[Artisi]

24 minutes ago, herwin1234 said:

i am confused. you are saying Thailand should close its borders to the USA  and Europe? 

If necessary, but it will never happen, can't upset anyone. 

[Krataiboy]

6 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

All I know is my kid has been told not to come back to her school (Shanghai) until further notice, per the Chicom .gov. She is here in Cambodia teaching on line, waiting. 

My daughter's Thai boyfriend, a student at a Chinese University, is in the same boat. He is doing his studies at his parents' home here, waiting for the all clear to return to China.

[A Los for words]

A non story. Lots of schools have teachers and students whose teachers and students are in self-quarantine. Nice that they added the word, 'Prestigious' though.

[Accidental Tourist]

As an old Thai saying: Is save to sneeze...

[InsertNameHere]

2 hours ago, DavisH said:

Italy is the source of the spread into much of Europe, along with Iran. 

Yes exactly, at this point we are way past the point of constanly faulting China it is now a world issue.

[Senior Player]

40 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

They seem to be doing a pretty good job of it in China.

Firstly, the draconian social distancing measures China has taken won't be so easy to impose or implement in societies that aren't used to being told what to do. One only has to look at the amount of self-entitled individuals that scream "balderdash" and "man-flu won't stop me from doing what I want to do" to see that it won't be as easy to contain as some might think. The Chinese and Iranians are used to being told what to do. Can the same honestly be said of our own western societies? I'm not advocating that we should all go communist, I'm just highlighting how certain countries are better mentally prepared when following draconian decrees than others are. 

 

Secondly, the case numbers coming out of China might not be at all accurate and are only being put out to allay fears within their own country and show their people that they're on top of it. Let's not forget that the Chinese government has changed the definition of what the coronavirus infection is 6 times so far, so it stands to reason that by continually redefining the symptoms they've been able alter the figures. I'm not saying I have all the answers, but one has to be a little sceptical of what the Chinese government say and the dubious claims of WHO and its Director-General Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, who does appear to be in the pocket of the Chinese government which has led critics to question the relationship between the two entities. An example of this would be China's sway over the WHO and its success in blocking Taiwan's access to the body, a position that could have very real consequences for the Taiwanese people if the virus takes hold there. There's plenty of other examples that I won't list here as I'm sure you're all familiar with them and can get the information elsewhere if you really want to.

 

Having said that, for now, I'm just sitting back and seeing how things unfold and hoping the world can get a lid on it before it really does get out-of-hand.

[Canuck1966]

2 hours ago, Jane Dough said:

The question might be asked: What was Harrow doing to prevent those 60 teachers from going abroad and thus threatening a school closure. Yes, their half term was a couple of weeks ago but should the management not have shown a little more foresight? If I was a parent at that school I would be miffed....especially if I had stayed at home and not traveled to countries at risk. The cost per term is well over 150K.

 

Rooster

And the rest, it's over a million a year once you add on all the extras. 

I was looking at it a few years ago and was pretty shocked at the price

[johnarth]

when is someone going to poke the general in the nose? and he needs to be shown the hanging as a warning

[rickudon]

14 minutes ago, Senior Player said:

Firstly, the draconian social distancing measures China has taken won't be so easy to impose or implement in societies that aren't used to being told what to do. One only has to look at the amount of self-entitled individuals that scream "balderdash" and "man-flu won't stop me from doing what I want to do" to see that it won't be as easy to contain as some might think. The Chinese and Iranians are used to being told what to do. Can the same honestly be said of our own western societies? I'm not advocating that we should all go communist, I'm just highlighting how certain countries are better mentally prepared when following draconian decrees than others are. 

 

Secondly, the case numbers coming out of China might not be at all accurate and are only being put out to allay fears within their own country and show their people that they're on top of it. Let's not forget that the Chinese government has changed the definition of what the coronavirus infection is 6 times so far, so it stands to reason that by continually redefining the symptoms they've been able alter the figures. I'm not saying I have all the answers, but one has to be a little sceptical of what the Chinese government say and the dubious claims of WHO and its Director-General Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, who does appear to be in the pocket of the Chinese government which has led critics to question the relationship between the two entities. An example of this would be China's sway over the WHO and its success in blocking Taiwan's access to the body, a position that could have very real consequences for the Taiwanese people if the virus takes hold there. There's plenty of other examples that I won't list here as I'm sure you're all familiar with them and can get the information elsewhere if you really want to.

 

Having said that, for now, I'm just sitting back and seeing how things unfold and hoping the world can get a lid on it before it really does get out-of-hand.

Exactly my own thoughts. Xi wants to be seen to be winning against the virus, truth is secondary. One question is whether all those millions affected by the Chinese lock down are being tested, or just sitting it out at home. Also, now that China is moving towards restarting their paralysed economy, a small uptick in cases is likely as more people move around. I would assume the number of cases will stabilise, but not end.

 

Iran isn't even seriously trying to contain the virus, probably because they do not have the resources to do so ....

 

USA only testing 'likely' contacts/returnees, given the population and how many travel internationally, their case count is also abnormally low, 3 new cases have been reported with no links....

Over 800 new cases this morning in South Korea, and over 200 more in each of Iran and Italy. Hardly under control, globally. I think we will have a better idea of the problem by start of April.

[amdy2206]

I can't understand the mentality of these, so called, intelligent people!! Teachers, high risk working with vulnerable kids, travelling to these areas!!! Do they have enough brains to teach???? Exposing their students to this virus. I suggest they are quarrintined and lose their salary!! Let alone lose any respect the school and parents may have given them. SO SELFISH. 

[Levanter]

2 hours ago, Xbeemer said:

So a bit of fact for all the negative Thai bashers on here, Thailand is ranked by WHO in the top 5 best prepared countries to handle a pandemic. You're welcome.

Are you referring to the 2019 Global Health Security Index? It wasn't prepared by the WHO and  Thailand ranked 6th out of 195 nations, but it is quite a fascinating read. A lot of the points Thailand got came from infrastructure, in terms of facilities, personnel, agencies with oversight on various matters, linkages and communication avenues, and legal provisions. As I read it, I was surprised to agree that, yes, Thailand does actually have these basic elements in place. Unfortunately, how well the infrastructure will be used, how accurate the information communicated would be, and how wisely our leaders would choose to act are elements that were not accounted for in the scoring. Essentially, how well everything will work in practice will likely have to await critical examination of evidence after this coronavirus outbreak has developed for a while.

 

Interestingly, under the heading of 'Dual-use research and culture of responsible science', Thailand is only one of eight countries to even register a score in that category. It is likely due to the laws regarding possession and research use of pathogens and toxins in the past few years. I will have to say though that those laws have been a bureaucratic nightmare, compliance has involved mostly 'just do the best you can' and the regulations are now currently stifling the ability of the Thai research community to work on the coronavirus.  

[joecoolfrog]

2 hours ago, Xbeemer said:

So a bit of fact for all the negative Thai bashers on here, Thailand is ranked by WHO in the top 5 best prepared countries to handle a pandemic. You're welcome.

I find that unlikely , got a link ?

[joecoolfrog]

31 minutes ago, Levanter said:

Are you referring to the 2019 Global Health Security Index? It wasn't prepared by the WHO and  Thailand ranked 6th out of 195 nations, but it is quite a fascinating read. A lot of the points Thailand got came from infrastructure, in terms of facilities, personnel, agencies with oversight on various matters, linkages and communication avenues, and legal provisions. As I read it, I was surprised to agree that, yes, Thailand does actually have these basic elements in place. Unfortunately, how well the infrastructure will be used, how accurate the information communicated would be, and how wisely our leaders would choose to act are elements that were not accounted for in the scoring. Essentially, how well everything will work in practice will likely have to await critical examination of evidence after this coronavirus outbreak has developed for a while.

 

Interestingly, under the heading of 'Dual-use research and culture of responsible science', Thailand is only one of eight countries to even register a score in that category. It is likely due to the laws regarding possession and research use of pathogens and toxins in the past few years. I will have to say though that those laws have been a bureaucratic nightmare, compliance has involved mostly 'just do the best you can' and the regulations are now currently stifling the ability of the Thai research community to work on the coronavirus.  

I think you will find that this survey was open sourced , that is to say the information was supplied by government sources and not ratified.

In essence if you believe the good general when he says everything is under control , then you will believe in the accuracy of this survey.

[patrick228]

Sorry to ask as I have not been following the Thai quarantine requirement.

 

Are these teachers/students having self (voluntary) 14 days quarantine? OR 

 

Has the Thai government already imposed mandatory quarantine requirement on local residents travelling aboard or on foreign visitors coming from some countries, such as China/Hong Kong/South Korea .... etc...? 

 

As far as I know, visitors coming from China, Hong Kong, or South Korea can still come to Thailand for short visits and move around for sightseeing freely. Appreciate anyone to confirm or correct this!

 

 

[KamnanT]

5 hours ago, Jane Dough said:

The cost per term is well over 150K.

 

Rooster

Well over.  As a Year 13 parent, I'm wondering when the school is going to start discussing compensation.  Clearly, no restrictions were placed on where academic staff travelled over the mid-term break (Feb 13-23) and now 60+ are unable to work on campus.  Poor planning for a school that charges top dollar.

 

[A Los for words]

2 hours ago, Canuck1966 said:

And the rest, it's over a million a year once you add on all the extras. 

I was looking at it a few years ago and was pretty shocked at the price

The list of high risk countries was published while the teachers and students were already abroad on their half term holidays. It doesn't matter how much the fees are, it doesn't include hindsight. That's why every international school in the country has probably enforced self quarantine.

 

You could argue that there's more chance of the virus spreading if they close schools because no one can police self quarantine, and that it was probably safer to go abroad to Singapore than to hang around in Thailand with Chinese tourists still pottering about.....but that's another debate.

[A Los for words]

2 hours ago, amdy2206 said:

I can't understand the mentality of these, so called, intelligent people!! Teachers, high risk working with vulnerable kids, travelling to these areas!!! Do they have enough brains to teach???? Exposing their students to this virus. I suggest they are quarrintined and lose their salary!! Let alone lose any respect the school and parents may have given them. SO SELFISH. 

Those selfish people who were able to go forward in time, see the list of countries, and then go abroad. How very dare they. They should make a film about such a thing, maybe call it 'Back to the Future'? I suggest you get a dictionary too.

Edited February 29, 2020 by A Los for words
typo

[KruZik]

5 hours ago, Bundooman said:

It does seem a little odd, doesn't it?

 

Quote: "He said that the quarantined teachers and students were on private half term trips not school trips. Earlier reports that emanated from the Secretary General of the Private Education Commission Attapon Truektrong erroneously suggested that they had taken part in school trips".

 

Sixty teachers all decided to 'privately' go on trips to suspected, infected countries? 

Did they go separately (as individuals or did they go as a group?

Did the school know they were going?

How exactly, was the school involved in these ventures?

Were any of the students accompanying them? This fact wasn't really clear.

Were they educational trips? If so, who paid for them?

Why were they all allowed to go - assuming that they had informed the school beforehand?

More worryingly - did the Sec.Gen. of Private Ed. Com. sanction these trips and were they really, in fact,"School trips?"

 

The school appears to be back pedalling and covering themselves somewhat selfishly in this very vague scenario style 'Kok-up!'. 

150K per term? Not cheap to have the school decide to close...…!

I work at an international school. Half term ran from 14 Feb for a week. At that stage, Japan and South Korea had some cases, but not terribly high. Same with Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong. It was therefore not that obvious that these were unwise destinations to travel to. Personally, my family and I stayed in Thailand as we have a young baby and I didn't want to fly. There is nothing sinister about the trips as you suggest - many teachers use the holidays to explore the region, as I have over the years. Likewise, there are indeed many school trips that take place over these holidays, so I don't think the scenario you're painting of some kind of secretive cock-up is accurate at all. My school has banned international school trips for some time now, but I'm sure you can appreciate it is very difficult to tell someone where to travel or not to travel. Likewise, it is very difficult for the Thai government to enforce their 'self-quarantine' directive. The only way to ensure compliance is to ban travel to these countries outright, which is just not practical. 

[Jaswinder]

I don’t believe Thailand has 42 infections till date. Thailand was first country of COVID-19 infection after China and it was just after 1st death in China. In last 2 months there are regular flights from Mainland which is affected too. Till now Thailand must have close to 10k infections and those infected people may be walking around us. COVID-19 test kid is expensive (6500 baht) and not all can afford. 

[KruZik]

2 hours ago, amdy2206 said:

I can't understand the mentality of these, so called, intelligent people!! Teachers, high risk working with vulnerable kids, travelling to these areas!!! Do they have enough brains to teach???? Exposing their students to this virus. I suggest they are quarrintined and lose their salary!! Let alone lose any respect the school and parents may have given them. SO SELFISH. 

You're getting a little overemotional here. The Thai government issued the directive that Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau were 'at risk' countries on the weekend before schools started up again. If these places were so dangerous, why didn't the government flag them as such much earlier? Then the government added Vietnam and Malaysia to the list on Monday night - equally ridiculous when you consider there are 16 cases in Vietnam compared to 42 here. I don't see you criticising the Thai grandparents who visited Hokkaido in Japan. People make decisions based on the information in front of them - and trying to get accurate information from the Thai authorities is nigh on impossible. In the absence of leadership from the authorities, people must make their own decisions - right or wrong.

[KruZik]

7 minutes ago, Jaswinder said:

I don’t believe Thailand has 42 infections till date. Thailand was first country of COVID-19 infection after China and it was just after 1st death in China. In last 2 months there are regular flights from Mainland which is affected too. Till now Thailand must have close to 10k infections and those infected people may be walking around us. COVID-19 test kid is expensive (6500 baht) and not all can afford. 

Agree it seems impossible that there are only 42 cases here. I've researched this extensively and can only offer two scenarios - 1) The virus cannot survive long enough in Thailand's weather to cause major outbreaks of infection or 2) tests are not being done.

[KruZik]

26 minutes ago, A Los for words said:

Those selfish people who were able to go forward in time, see the list of countries, and then go abroad. How very dare they. They should make a film about such a thing, maybe call it 'Back to the Future'? I suggest you get a dictionary too.

Spot on. My thoughts exactly.