CoVir-19 and Immigration

[SamMunich]

In these times of a looming viral pandemic, is it suitable for Immigration at all points of entry to let everybody put his fingers on a piece of glass for fingerprint-ID, when the person before might already have the dreaded disease? Shouldn't that glas be cleaned each time to avoid a mass infection? Or if this is not possible to at least for some time stop this fingerprinting in the name of health. And also to avoid Thailand being blamed for allowing the spread of CoVir-19?
Just thinking aloud...

[ukrules]

They don't give a fqck if you get infected or not.

[Laza 45]

How Long Can Coronavirus Live On Surfaces, And Does Disinfecting Work?

 

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/how-long-coronavirus-disinfecting-surfaces_l_5e580e7fc5b6450a30bbd12a?ncid=fcbklnkcahpmg00000005&fbclid=IwAR1El2E1tT8N85-XjE8LVunCuEJGiFFTeXXZn7J2TLs8a288VqaF6ESpa1M

[Mak25]

The point is, you don't get infected by just having the virus on your fingers. But then not washing/disinfecting your hands and touching your eyes/nose/mouth, this is the possible entry point. So it's up to you in the end.

[Tayaout]

The logic is that if you can't see it then it doesn't exist. 

 

I had to cross the border not long ago and gloves and mask are not usefull. It's pretty difficult to properly remove/store/put a new mask while keeping your hands desinfected/not contaminating everything. That's unfortunate since it's one the only place where it was really needed in my case. If you want to do it by the book you need at least 2 masks, 2 pair of gloves, desinfecting gel and a garbage bag each time you cross the border. 

 

 

[fred110]

Clean it yourself, wash your hands after.

[mfd101]

(1) Insist they provide disinfectant for hands immediately afterwards (2) Alternatively, put on gloves before placing fingers on machine.

[boonchu]

Left Thailand on Sunday 1st March, did the finger print scan but no alcohol gel to clean your hands after the scan. Thought I read that all Imm stations had to have gel at them.

[Guderian]

1 hour ago, Mak25 said:

The point is, you don't get infected by just having the virus on your fingers. But then not washing/disinfecting your hands and touching your eyes/nose/mouth, this is the possible entry point. So it's up to you in the end.

Well if everybody going through Immigration is then immediately going to head for the nearest toilet to wash their hands, the authorities had better get busy constructing one heck of a lot more toilets.

[Orac]

6 minutes ago, Guderian said:

Well if everybody going through Immigration is then immediately going to head for the nearest toilet to wash their hands, the authorities had better get busy constructing one heck of a lot more toilets.

Even if they do go straight to a toilet I bet they check their phone. I have yet to see anyone cleaning their phone at the same time they wash their hands.

[SiSePuede419]

19 minutes ago, Orac said:

I have yet to see anyone cleaning their phone at the same time they wash their hands.

Good point.

 

Note to self: Buy cleaning wipes for my phone.

 

That "glass" film you put on your phone must be the #1 best place in the world for bacteria and viruses to live.  The heat from the phone's electronics and battery keeps it nice and warm, no doubt.

 

A laptop keyboard is probably #2.  Had a Siamese cat that loved to lay on my keyboard because warm.

[buffallobill]

When I flew into suvarnabhumi a couple of weeks ago, the glass on the fingerprint scanner was filthy, I had my own hand cleanser, and used it straight away. I think I would have washed my hands even if there was no virus

[fred110]

1 hour ago, mfd101 said:

(1) Insist they provide disinfectant for hands immediately afterwards (2) Alternatively, put on gloves before placing fingers on machine.

You're kidding about the gloves right? You can't get fingerprints thru gloves.

[Kurtf]

Stop panicking about the Corona virus. The Flu virus is 10 to 20 times more prevalent and much more deadly. when it comes to the Corona virus you have nothing to fear except FEAR itself. Speaking of that did you know that FEAR stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. Once any of the evidence is proved false the fear goes away.

[ChipButty]

20 minutes ago, fred110 said:

You're kidding about the gloves right? You can't get fingerprints thru gloves.

You're quick today

[wwest5829]

My thought about the fingerprinting was that each person has to use the sanitizer before approaching, this would also address removing your mask before having your photo checked. Might be overkill but having additional hand sanitizers after the immigration checkpoint can't hurt ...

[lopburi3]

48 minutes ago, Kurtf said:

Stop panicking about the Corona virus. The Flu virus is 10 to 20 times more prevalent and much more deadly. when it comes to the Corona virus you have nothing to fear except FEAR itself. Speaking of that did you know that FEAR stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. Once any of the evidence is proved false the fear goes away.

Current estimate is 40-70% of the worlds population getting within the next two years with about 1% death rate - so millions dead.  As about 1/2 million die due to flu each year it seems this will exceed that level so indeed it is a concern for everyone - just as avoiding flu is.

 

[mfd101]

1 hour ago, fred110 said:

You're kidding about the gloves right? You can't get fingerprints thru gloves.

Ever heard of irony?

[Cake Monster]

There are many more likely places, and events in Thailand, to not just catch the Covid19 Virus but all sorts of other horrible things.

Breathalizer mouth tube used, used and never wiped or changed or cleaned between customers.

Streetside BBQ ladies Dog sitting on the side where food is prepared.

The list just goes on and on. Hygiene not being one of the better attributes for many Thais.

[SunsetT]

35 minutes ago, wwest5829 said:

My thought about the fingerprinting was that each person has to use the sanitizer before approaching, this would also address removing your mask before having your photo checked. Might be overkill but having additional hand sanitizers after the immigration checkpoint can't hurt ...

U r right but that is far too sensible for Thailand! All that would be required would be a small table with sanitizer to one side in front of the IO's booth or simply place it on the counter. Then IO's instruction 1) Passport please. 2) Clean your hands please, before using the scanner.

[SunsetT]

1 minute ago, Cake Monster said:

There are many more likely places, and events in Thailand, to not just catch the Covid19 Virus but all sorts of other horrible things.

Breathalizer mouth tube used, used and never wiped or changed or cleaned between customers.

Streetside BBQ ladies Dog sitting on the side where food is prepared.

The list just goes on and on. Hygiene not being one of the better attributes for many Thais.

But this risk applies to just a few people. These finger scanners are custom designed for cross infection and are being touched by every person entering and leaving Thailand!

 

[ThaiBunny]

Just now, SunsetT said:

are being touched by every person entering and leaving Thailand!

Including the Thais?

[SunsetT]

4 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

Including the Thais?

Im not sure about that. Someone entering or leaving with a Thai needs to answer this.

[Russell17au]

Instead if expecting everyone to do everything for you why don't you look after yourself and buy a small spray bottle and have it filled with over 70% alcohol and carry that with you and after you touch something them spray your hands with the alcohol spray. It is not up to immigration or anyone else to look after you, it is your responsibility to take care of yourself. I bought 2 100ml spray bottles of 99.9% alcohol spray plus 6 450ml bottles of 70% alcohol spray on Lazada. The 2 spray bottles are carried everywhere we go and the other bottles are used for cleaning at our shop. Take your own precautions and don't rely on others

[SunsetT]

I totally agree that action needs to be taken on this. These scanners are custom designed for cross infection even at the best of times! It needs to be brought to the attention of the Thai and international press.

[rickudon]

Maybe cough on your passport before passing to the IO. That might make them think!

[ThaiBunny]

Just now, rickudon said:

Maybe cough on your passport before passing to the IO. That might make them think!

Probably make them think of marching you straight off to the isolation ward

[emptypockets]

2 hours ago, fred110 said:

You're kidding about the gloves right? You can't get fingerprints thru gloves.

I think he is kidding about insisting about anything too.

Not hard to take a small bottle of hand cleaner with you. I do. But there was sanitiser available at Swampy two weeks ago sitting on the IO's shelf available for use.

[Stevemercer]

I flew into Bangkok from Melbourne, Australia, yesterday.

 

Melbourne airport was crowded with no one (except Asian people) wearing masks. The current perception in Australia is that anyone wearing a mask has a cold/flu/virus of some sort and should be avoided. The flight was pretty full. 

 

In Bangkok there was thermal scanning. No queues at immigration. The digital scanning was quick and there was hand sanitiser available.

[emptypockets]

6 minutes ago, Stevemercer said:

I flew into Bangkok from Melbourne, Australia, yesterday.

 

Melbourne airport was crowded with no one (except Asian people) wearing masks. The current perception in Australia is that anyone wearing a mask has a cold/flu/virus of some sort and should be avoided. The flight was pretty full. 

 

In Bangkok there was thermal scanning. No queues at immigration. The digital scanning was quick and there was hand sanitiser available.

Thanks for that.  My experience as well. I think most comments on this subject are from people who don't actually use airports in Thailand but feel the need to throw in their fearmongering two bobs worth for some reason.