FYI- Full flight and huge immigration que in Phuket

[ChasingTheSun]

Flew into Phuket a couple of days ago from Zurich.

 

The flight was full, all Europeans. Nobody wearing masks.

 

Phuket airport immigration was also completely packed with western tourists. Nobody wearing masks except for airport staff.

 

Kamala seems as busy as normal for this time of year. Far less Chinese, but more Russians and Europeans and other westerners. Nobody wearing masks.

Edited March 11, 2020 by ChasingTheSun

[leeneeds]

Masks will do nothing the virus is in the air,  the masks allow air in, 

maybe they are not fooled by the hype and miss information by not wearing masks I will fly home next week Norway - Dubai, Bangkok , no mask.

[ChasingTheSun]

17 minutes ago, leeneeds said:

Masks will do nothing the virus is in the air,  the masks allow air in, 

maybe they are not fooled by the hype and miss information by not wearing masks I will fly home next week Norway - Dubai, Bangkok , no mask.

Masks worn PROPERLY can actually be very helpful in two significant ways:

 

1) sick people wearing a mask will not spread as much virus as they would do without a mask

 

2) a healthy person wearing a mask cannot touch their own nose or mouth with their hands as normally as they would often do. Therefore providing some protection in that regard.

Edited March 11, 2020 by ChasingTheSun

[timendres]

I wonder how many of those Europeans are heading to Thailand because it seems like the safer place at this moment?

[schlog]

4 hours ago, timendres said:

I wonder how many of those Europeans are heading to Thailand because it seems like the safer place at this moment?

At HKT i would guess 99.9%. HKT is no transit airport like BKK.

[madmitch]

5 hours ago, timendres said:

I wonder how many of those Europeans are heading to Thailand because it seems like the safer place at this moment?

It's because flights are very cheap! Nothing else!

[leeneeds]

6 hours ago, ChasingTheSun said:

Masks worn PROPERLY can actually be very helpful in two significant ways:

 

1) sick people wearing a mask will not spread as much virus as they would do without a mask

 

2) a healthy person wearing a mask cannot touch their own nose or mouth with their hands as normally as they would often do. Therefore providing some protection in that regard.

The idea that wearing a mask is some protection is fallacy, the virus is air Bourne the mask still allows you inhale air, the mask will not protect you period, if you are in the vicinity of a carrier and breathe that air he or  she expels you will catch the virus, read what is out there,  not un-informed hype.

[ThePearl]

Check your return ticket as Qatar has placed a ban on Thailand among other countries of entering....do not know how transit works at present. Would not think the UAE would be far behind in denial of entry.

[liddelljohn]

many airlines are reducing flight frequency now so they can fill one plane full and not 3 planes almost empty ,,

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

13 hours ago, leeneeds said:

The idea that wearing a mask is some protection is fallacy, the virus is air Bourne the mask still allows you inhale air, the mask will not protect you period, if you are in the vicinity of a carrier and breathe that air he or  she expels you will catch the virus, read what is out there,  not un-informed hype.

 

N95 respirator masks like those made by 3M -- and worn by doctors and nurses who treat coronavirus patients -- are airtight fitting on the face and are perfectly capable of preventing/filtering out the inhalation of virus particles -- if worn and used properly along with other hygiene measures.

 

If they weren't, doctors and nurses around the world would be falling sick right now with the coronavirus. But for the most part, they're not, and the N95 masks and other protective gear are the reason for that.

 

Please stop spreading ignorant nonsense.

 

Loose fitting drugstore paper masks and homemade cloth masks, on the other hand, are not airtight and are not designed to protect from virus materials in the air, though they may help some...

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[shdmn]

5 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

N95 respirator masks like those made by 3M -- and worn by doctors and nurses who treat coronavirus patients -- are airtight fitting on the face and are perfectly capable of preventing/filtering out the inhalation of virus particles.

 

If they weren't, doctors and nurses around the world would be falling sick right now with the coronavirus. But for the most part, they're not, and the N95 masks and other protective gear are the reason for that.

 

Please stop spreading ignorant nonsense.

 

But those surgical masks (the ones that do not have a hard shell and do not fit tightly around your face) you see a lot of Asians wearing are basically useless.  Somewhat useful for preventing them from spraying people and things with water vapor from their mouth but that is not why they wear them.  They wear them to prevent them from catching anything and surgical masks are not at all designed for that and are basically useless for that.

Edited March 12, 2020 by shdmn

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 minutes ago, shdmn said:

But those surgical masks you see a lot of Asians wearing are almost useless.  Somewhat useful for preventing them from spraying others with water vapor but that is not why they wear them.  They wear them to prevent them from catching anything and they are not at all designed for that and are basically useless for that.

 

Nothing I said above disputes what you are saying. But many posters here go on tirades about how useless "masks" are, without ever recognizing or distinguishing the differences between N95 masks and drugstore "surgical" masks.

 

The former are designed to prevent the wearer from breathing in bad things. The latter are designed to try to catch secretions that the wearer may cough or sneeze out.

 

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Here's some elaboration / reinforcement from an independent source on the points I made above re the differences between surgical masks and N95 respirator masks:

 

PS -- the full article is also worth reading for trying to sort through what's what with all kinds of CV info being spread over the internet.

 

https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-myths.html

 

Quote

 

Standard surgical masks cannot protect you from SARS-CoV-2, as they are not designed to block out viral particles and do not lay flush to the face, Live Science previously reported. That said, surgical masks can help prevent infected people from spreading the virus further by blocking any respiratory droplets that could be expelled from their mouths. 
 

Within health care facilities, special respirators called "N95 respirators" have been shown to greatly reduce the spread of the virus among medical staff. People require training to properly fit N95 respirators around their noses, cheeks and chins to ensure that no air can sneak around the edges of the mask; and wearers must also learn to check the equipment for damage after each use. 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[NCC1701A]

Young and Unafraid of the Coronavirus Pandemic? Good for You. Now Stop Killing People | Opinion

 

https://www.newsweek.com/young-unafraid-coronavirus-pandemic-good-you-now-stop-killing-people-opinion-1491797?fbclid=IwAR3psHxQKA1ctlDjWQjLi47KqJq1lETwdDf9EGNT_X61-NhoHqMv6tiHO58

[shdmn]

On 3/11/2020 at 1:12 PM, ChasingTheSun said:

Masks worn PROPERLY can actually be very helpful in two significant ways:

 

1) sick people wearing a mask will not spread as much virus as they would do without a mask

 

2) a healthy person wearing a mask cannot touch their own nose or mouth with their hands as normally as they would often do. Therefore providing some protection in that regard.

Point 1 yes but not point 2.  They touch their nose every time they adjust the mask or take it off to drink water or whatever which is very often.   Basically useless on point 2.

 

Neither of those is the main reason Asians wear them anyways.  They wear them because they seem to think it will help protect them from airborne viruses which it absolutely does not.  Completely useless for the reasons the vast majority of people wear them for.

 

N95 masks are much more useful.  But only if you keep them on and make a good seal with your face.  Passive observation will tell you that is rarely the case. People are constantly taking them off and adjusting them etc.  So not of much use for anything other than walking in traffic where it helps filter out PM2.5 exhaust particles.

Edited March 12, 2020 by shdmn

[ukrules]

5 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Nothing I said above disputes what you are saying. But many posters here go on tirades about how useless "masks" are, without ever recognizing or distinguishing the differences between N95 masks and drugstore "surgical" masks.

 

The former are designed to prevent the wearer from breathing in bad things. The latter are designed to try to catch secretions that the wearer may cough or sneeze out.

 

 

Lets not forget the third category of mask, the reusable face masks (both half and full face masks) with changeable filters.

 

These are the best of them all and having bought a couple of them and tested it out they're very comfortable to wear and make a very tight seal with no discomfort or skin problems like I've seen on photos of Doctors who wear the N95 masks all day long - many had open skin wounds on their noses.

 

The filters last a long time in these reusable masks, you can just keep using them until it becomes harder to breathe, then change the filters for a new set.

 

There may be on drawback, I have a feeling that people will not like to see you wearing a mask like this in public and if things get real bad you're going to be a target for theft.

[leeneeds]

9 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

N95 respirator masks like those made by 3M -- and worn by doctors and nurses who treat coronavirus patients -- are airtight fitting on the face and are perfectly capable of preventing/filtering out the inhalation of virus particles -- if worn and used properly along with other hygiene measures.

 

If they weren't, doctors and nurses around the world would be falling sick right now with the coronavirus. But for the most part, they're not, and the N95 masks and other protective gear are the reason for that.

 

Please stop spreading ignorant nonsense.

 

Loose fitting drugstore paper masks and homemade cloth masks, on the other hand, are not airtight and are not designed to protect from virus materials in the air, though they may help some...

 

If the so called air tight masks allow air in,  then if you breathe expelled air from an infected person the mask is no protection, do those masks allow you to breathe ? yes has to be your answer, so they do not offer protection, 

[leeneeds]

On 3/11/2020 at 9:12 PM, ChasingTheSun said:

Masks worn PROPERLY can actually be very helpful in two significant ways:

 

1) sick people wearing a mask will not spread as much virus as they would do without a mask

 

2) a healthy person wearing a mask cannot touch their own nose or mouth with their hands as normally as they would often do. Therefore providing some protection in that regard.

look at the Joe rogan experience 1439 on you tube talking to Michael Osterholm,

[leeneeds]

10 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

N95 respirator masks like those made by 3M -- and worn by doctors and nurses who treat coronavirus patients -- are airtight fitting on the face and are perfectly capable of preventing/filtering out the inhalation of virus particles -- if worn and used properly along with other hygiene measures.

 

If they weren't, doctors and nurses around the world would be falling sick right now with the coronavirus. But for the most part, they're not, and the N95 masks and other protective gear are the reason for that.

 

Please stop spreading ignorant nonsense.

 

Loose fitting drugstore paper masks and homemade cloth masks, on the other hand, are not airtight and are not designed to protect from virus materials in the air, though they may help some...

 

look at Joe rogan experience 1439 on you tube talking to Michael Osterholm 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, shdmn said:

N95 masks are much more useful.  But only if you keep them on and make a good seal with your face.  Passive observation will tell you that is rarely the case. People are constantly taking them off and adjusting them etc.  So not of much use for anything other than walking in traffic where it helps filter out PM2.5 exhaust particles.

 

I don't know who you're "observing". I wear an N95 mask every time I go outside where I'm going to be in contact with others. I'm not constantly taking the mask on or off when I'm outside. It pretty much stays on from the time I leave home until I am back home again. And when I put it on or take it off, I'm doing it the way it's supposed to be done, by grabbing the straps and not touching the mask itself.

 

Your final comment is nonsensical. The same functionality that enables the mask to filter out PM2.5 air pollution is what allows it to filter out virus particles in the air and prevent them from getting into your nose, mouth lungs. If the N95 mask is fitted and worn properly, it's effective for both filtering PM2.5 and viruses.  If it's not fitted properly, it's not going to block PM2.5 air pollution or viruses. However, fitting the mask properly is not such a hard thing to do.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, leeneeds said:

look at Joe rogan experience 1439 on you tube talking to Michael Osterholm 

 I've seen that entire video... If I recall, his comments were mainly about regular surgical masks, not N95 masks.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, leeneeds said:

If the so called air tight masks allow air in,  then if you breathe expelled air from an infected person the mask is no protection, do those masks allow you to breathe ? yes has to be your answer, so they do not offer protection, 

 

Please.... they allow FILTERED air in... with a filtering system/material that's capable of blocking very tiny particles that include things like PM2.5 air pollution and airborne virus containing materials...while still allowing filtered air inside for breathing.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, ukrules said:

Lets not forget the third category of mask, the reusable face masks (both half and full face masks) with changeable filters.

 

These are the best of them all and having bought a couple of them and tested it out they're very comfortable to wear and make a very tight seal with no discomfort or skin problems like I've seen on photos of Doctors who wear the N95 masks all day long - many had open skin wounds on their noses.

 

The filters last a long time in these reusable masks, you can just keep using them until it becomes harder to breathe, then change the filters for a new set.

 

There may be on drawback, I have a feeling that people will not like to see you wearing a mask like this in public and if things get real bad you're going to be a target for theft.

 

To be effective against viruses, those kinds of hardware masks (vs disposable ones) need to be using N95 or better filter inserts within the frames of the mask. And if they do that, yes, they would work just fine. They do need to be washed and disinfected periodically, and the filter inserts changed as needed.

 

Ever since this all began here, I think I've seen ONE person outdoors wearing that kind of hardware mask device.  The only drawback for me, is that wearing one makes you look like someone working in a biohazards weapons lab or someone going into a Chernobyl reactor! But admittedly, those are just issues of appearance, not functionality.

 

[Guderian]

I'm happy associating with Thais and expats living here long-term, but I'm avoiding any farang tourists like the plague now.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

25 minutes ago, Guderian said:

like the plague now.

 

Perhaps a poor choice of words for your comment.... 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

26 minutes ago, Guderian said:

I'm happy associating with Thais and expats living here long-term, but I'm avoiding any farang tourists like the plague now.

 

A recent nationality recap from the Thai DDC on their "confirmed" CV cases:

 

 

In light of the above breakdown, your comment above doesn't seem to make much sense.

 

Thais go abroad and come back to Thailand from impacted foreign countries. Thais here associate with foreign visitors from impacted foreign countries. Thais are the largest single nationality among all confirmed cases reported in Thailand.

 

 

[Chazar]

15 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

If they weren't, doctors and nurses around the world would be falling sick right now with the coronavirus. But for the most part, they're not, and the N95 masks and other protective gear are the reason for that.

yet in another thread someone at the hospital says they throw  them away after a  few  minutes

[Chazar]

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Please.... they allow FILTERED air in... with a filtering system/material that's capable of blocking very tiny particles that include things like PM2.5 air pollution and airborne virus containing materials...while still allowing filtered air inside for breathing.

 

do they protect your eyes  as  well

[KhunBENQ]

On 3/12/2020 at 3:24 AM, timendres said:

I wonder how many of those Europeans are heading to Thailand because it seems like the safer place at this moment?

Even leading virologist in Germany say that heat and sun shortens the life of the virus on objects/open space.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 minutes ago, Chazar said:

do they protect your eyes  as  well

 Of course not... which is why medical personnel also would wear goggles or face shields...

 

Although, from what I've been reading, emerging scientific opinion for CV seems to believe other routes other than airborne eye contact are the primary means of CV transmission.