COVID-19: Thailand adds UK, USA and others to list of high risk countries - new “self-monitoring” measure for travellers

[Gjk7777]

I am flying to Bangkok on the 9th of April, and then getting a bus to Issan on the 10th April, how I am I going to report my temperature 2 times per day? Will I have to buy a Thermometer?, who do I call and let them know my temperature? Has anyone really thought this through? 

[Senseo]

Why did Thailand cancel visa on arrival for countries like Mexico, Malta, Ethiopia, etc. which have very low cases? While Belgium is mentioned nowhere and has 689 cases. It's like they just randomly picked some extra countries on the map who barely visit Thailand anyway. Yeah cancel visa on entry for Bhutan to contain the virus or that one case in Bhutan will kill us all! 

[Mung]

Malaysia has 41 new cases today, and a very similar climate to Thailand. Things are escalating there as are things globally, or as others have suggested testing is being done at a higher frequency. 

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, Mung said:

Malaysia has 41 new cases today, and a very similar climate to Thailand. Things are escalating there as are things globally, or as others have suggested testing is being done at a higher frequency. 

Yes, and I just saw a report that Indonesia is starting to see a lot of cases and another situation of low testing, low showing of cases. I'm not buying the theory that heat kills it yet.

[Mung]

5 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yes, and I just saw a report that Indonesia is starting to see a lot of cases and another situation of low testing, low showing of cases. I'm not buying the theory that heat kills it yet.

I think it does have some affect, it probably isn't black and white and a 'yes or no' situation, it probably does limit cases but not by a substantial amount where a pandemic is impossible. Thailand was letting in Chinese nationals for weeks and weeks, if it was a colder climate it probably would have been decimated. They simply got lucky. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Mung

[Jingthing]

6 minutes ago, Mung said:

I think it does have some affect, it probably isn't black and white and a 'yes or no' situation, it probably does limit cases but not by a substantial amount where a pandemic is impossible. Thailand was letting in Chinese nationals for weeks and weeks, if it was a colder climate it probably would have been decimated. They simply got lucky. 

Possibly. It's all speculation at this point. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Jingthing

[TheAppletons]

11 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Possibly. It's all speculation at this point. 

  Or not:

 

"High Temperature and High Humidity Reduce the Transmission of COVID-19"

 

  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3551767

[pioter]

I'm flying to Bangkok tomorrow from high-risk country. With the situation at the moment, I doubt I'll be back sooner than 30 days. I wonder if it is possible to extend my residence permit once I'm there, in a case all air traffic to Europe comes to a halt. I know that I can go to Myanmar or other neighboring country and return right away, but I'm afraid these countries will at some point ban foreigners from entering the country.

[roaming2019]

1 hour ago, Gjk7777 said:

I am flying to Bangkok on the 9th of April, and then getting a bus to Issan on the 10th April, how I am I going to report my temperature 2 times per day? Will I have to buy a Thermometer?, who do I call and let them know my temperature? Has anyone really thought this through? 

I am fly from SFO to BKK  thru Japan on April 8  . do I need to get a health certificate from kaiser to board to the plane 

[BeltAndRoad]

29 minutes ago, TheAppletons said:

  Or not:

 

"High Temperature and High Humidity Reduce the Transmission of COVID-19"

 

  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3551767

Um.... what do the people who wrote this specialize in? 

[Salerno]

6 minutes ago, roaming2019 said:

I am fly from SFO to BKK  thru Japan on April 8  . do I need to get a health certificate from kaiser to board to the plane 

No.

[Traubert]

9 minutes ago, BeltAndRoad said:

Um.... what do the people who wrote this specialize in? 

It's an established and popular belief in the scientific community* that corona viruses have a half life of 2.5 mins outside the body in 27C+.

 

*Does not include the colonial whackos on here.

[Salerno]

5 minutes ago, Traubert said:

It's an established and popular belief in the scientific community* that corona viruses have a half life of 2.5 mins outside the body in 27C+.

Got a link to any scientific studies concluding this?

[BeltAndRoad]

28 minutes ago, Traubert said:

It's an established and popular belief in the scientific community* that corona viruses have a half life of 2.5 mins outside the body in 27C+.

 

*Does not include the colonial whackos on here.

Well hey if you and a few computer nerds say so then it's got to be true.

[KhaoYai]

2 hours ago, DannyCarlton said:

Sorry to dissappoint you.

You haven't - in my opinion you are wrong. It simply beggars belief that a country that was one of the first outside China to confirm a case of Corona Virus should, 2 months later, only have 82 cases of the disease. I don't buy the argument about the hot climate being the reason for only 82 cases. The weather may account for some reduction but shopping malls, offices, bars, some factories and restaurants etc. + the airports! are air conditioned.

 

As for the thread you mention, I took part in that thread so I am aware of its content.  But I can tell you from personal experience, having left Isaan last Tuesday that things are very quiet there.  My wife who lives in Korat commented today that the shopping areas are very quiet, the roads are much less busy and her friend who runs a restaurant in Korat says her business is down 50%.

 

I drove from Khao Yai to Suvarnabhumi on Tuesday in record time - I encountered very little traffic until I got to Rangsit. I then travelled on the Airport Link and on to the BTS around 6pm and there were lots of seats available - that's the first time I've seen seats available on the BTS at that time - ever! The Skytrain having so many empty places points to people staying off work - many live quite far out so I can't see them walking. Other forms of public transport would put them equally at risk. What would you think would lead people to stay off work? Talking to some Thai Bangkokians that evening, without exception, they believed there were far more cases than are being reported.

 

My wife says there are 2 cases within 10km of her house and 1 in Chakkarat. Local people believe there are many more - that's why things have become so quiet. She also told me that 27 local people who had just come back from working in South Korea had ignored the request that they self isolate and simply disappeared - expect a lot more cases in Thailand soon.

 

On this trip to Thailand I rented a van from Budget, the sound system was set to Chinese langauge (I had a hell of a job trying to set it to English).  That would seem to indicate that the last renters were Chinese. I began to feel ill late on Tuesday evening, just before I flew back to the UK. I have had something like a cold, slight cough, sudden fatigue and been generally unwell since then. So far my temperature has been normal so I'm hoping its just a cold but I've self isolated since.  Should it turn out to be something more, my first thoughts would turn to the previous renters of the van. Why has it taken Thailand almost 2 months to place restrictions on Chinese tourists? The same reason they are under reporting cases.

[KhaoYai]

2 hours ago, Derek B said:

The airline should know surely?

Things are changing daily, I'd like to know before I buy a ticket.

[Salerno]

2 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Things are changing daily, I'd like to know before I buy a ticket.

If things are changing daily, how does that work?

[BeltAndRoad]

10 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

The Skytrain having so many empty places points to people staying off work - many live quite far out so I can't see them walking. Other forms of public transport would put them equally at risk. What would you think would lead people to stay off work? Talking to some Thai Bangkokians that evening, without exception, they believed there were far more cases than are being reported.

 

What would lead people to stay off work? Gee i dunno have you checked out 98% of the news stories going round? apparently everyone's packing their dack's over some flu like cold.  It was just as quiet in 2014 when the coop was in progress, doesn't mean people are dropping dead everywhere and no one is telling you about it.  Go and get drunk or something you will feel better.

[BeltAndRoad]

21 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

 

 

On this trip to Thailand I rented a van from Budget, the sound system was set to Chinese langauge (I had a hell of a job trying to set it to English).  That would seem to indicate that the last renters were Chinese. I began to feel ill late on Tuesday evening, just before I flew back to the UK. I have had something like a cold, slight cough, sudden fatigue and been generally unwell since then. So far my temperature has been normal so I'm hoping its just a cold but I've self isolated since.  Should it turn out to be something more, my first thoughts would turn to the previous renters of the van. Why has it taken Thailand almost 2 months to place restrictions on Chinese tourists? The same reason they are under reporting cases.

You sound like the hypercondriac type, and are probably just talking yourself into feeling sick.  Go and take a placebo and you'll feel better.  Make sure you tell yourself that it's the vaccine to corona virus and not just a placebo. Sleep now 

[Canuck1966]

WOW!

Boris Johnson will instruct everyone over the aged of 70 to stay in strict isolation for four-months as part of new measures to curb the spread of coronavirus

[scubascuba3]

7 hours ago, DannyCarlton said:

I'm in Pattaya and even though I'm currently self isolating I spend an average of 15 hours per day outside.

I'm still cycling, playing golf, walking, motorbike, open air bars, all outside, certainly feels healthier

[Kadilo]

Happy holidays. 
As if anyone is going to come here and put themselves through that. 

[scubascuba3]

6 hours ago, bangarang said:

Any idea how this affects our regular border-runs on a non-o multi visa if we are a citizen of one of the countries on that list?

Im asking because im a US citizen and have until april 14th to do a border run for a new 90-day stamp. I would most-likely go to the andaman club by Ranong.

mini van border runs are certainly risky with all those people in one van. Probably still running, it's a problem if you need to bring in a medical certificate from the country you're only getting your passport stamped. Ask the shop organising it

[balo]

14 hours ago, Canuck1966 said:

We've got Easter soon too. A lot of travelling and family functions!

The way this is going Easter will be cancelled.  

[scorecard]

A question for the experts (only the experts):

 

We are told that the virus started many weeks ago in a market in Wuhan, China, then quickly many local people infected and deaths and at the same time it spread to many parts of China and to other countries (e.g. Sth. Korea).

 

But now we see that the new infections number in the original city and surrounding areas and all of China are decreasing every day and now down to very small single digit numbers.

 

Sure lots of people quarantined and therefore (hopefully) less spread of the virus.

 

But my question is why have the numbers decreased enormously in China down to small single digit numbers? Seems to me (my assumption) that in the early days, with little information, vast numbers of people (the original virus start point and surrounding geography is very densely populated) would have been getting on with their daily activities and to some extend not that well informed, especially in the early days, I repeat my question, why did the total number of infections fall so much and so quickly?

 

Further. does the data suggest that the same big and quick reductions in new infections will happen in Italy, Sth. Korea, and in fact every country?

 

All information very welcome.

Edited March 14, 2020 by scorecard

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Things are changing daily, I'd like to know before I buy a ticket.

Well yesterday I called the office of Thai Inter and AirAsia in Australia and asked if I need a health certificate saying I don't have the virus to board in Sydney bound for Bkk or Chiang Mai.

 

Both airlines had no answer.  

[Salerno]

20 minutes ago, scorecard said:

A question for the experts (only the experts):

 

Hmmmmm, wrong forum?

[Salerno]

15 minutes ago, scorecard said:

Both airlines had no answer.  

The answer is no ... today at least.

[saengd]

21 minutes ago, scorecard said:

But my question is why have the numbers decreased enormously in China down to small single digit numbers? Seems to me (my assumption) that in the early days, with little information, vast numbers of people (the original virus start point and surrounding geography is very densely populated) would have been getting on with their daily activities and to some extend not that well informed, especially in the early days, I repeat my question, why did the total number of infections fall so much and so quickly?

 

Further. does the data suggest that the same big and quick reductions in new infections will happen in Italy, Sth. Korea, and in fact every country?

 

All information very welcome.

Containment.

 

"China says the trend proves that its containment measures — which include a lockdown on nearly 60 million people in Hubei and strict quarantine and travel restrictions for hundreds of millions of citizens and foreigners — are working. And it has begun trying to promote its efforts as successful in propaganda at home and abroad".

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/world/asia/china-coronavirus-cost.html

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, saengd said:

Containment.

 

"China says the trend proves that its containment measures — which include a lockdown on nearly 60 million people in Hubei and strict quarantine and travel restrictions for hundreds of millions of citizens and foreigners — are working. And it has begun trying to promote its efforts as successful in propaganda at home and abroad".

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/world/asia/china-coronavirus-cost.html

For Australia (and all countries) I guess that really means, in simple terms, protecting oneself so the virus doesn't jump to you (mostly handwashing etc.), and social distancing.