The week that was in Thailand news: Waiting, waiting on virus news.....many countries including Thailand are holding their breath!

[rooster59]

The week that was in Thailand news: Waiting, waiting on virus news.....many countries including Thailand are holding their breath!

 

 

For the last four years, writing this column has been a weekly ritual invariably accomplished on a Thursday or a Friday by which time most of the news is usually in. If anything dramatic happens thereafter I might add a comment or two to update the reader.

 

Not so this week.

 

Here I sit at Rooster Central in front of a keyboard wondering where to start, wondering how to make sense of a week that has been one breaking news story after another, twists followed by turns, flips followed by flops. It is getting late on Saturday afternoon as I pen this with the desire to be as up to date as possible. Even then I expect to be wide of the mark come Sunday!

 

It has been hard to keep track of all the coronavirus/Covid-19 developments. It's been a stark reminder that Thailand, though not as central to the world dilemma as many states, is a big player and everyone here or who has a strong connection with the country is waiting for the latest developments.

 

Waiting in the manner of holding our collective breath; the metaphor is not intended to be a cheap pun on not spreading the virus though it serves as a pithy headline. It's more an expression of deep foreboding as to what may be in store for us in Thailand and around the world. For while many of us still despair at some of the panic reaction to the crisis there is now no doubt about its devastating effect on a huge percentage of the world and a great number of our daily activities.

 

Criticism of the Thai government's reaction to the crisis is now starting to peak with both the foreign community and the Thais questioning Prayut's hapless band of incompetents. Opponents across the political divide are taking aim and even friends are muttering under their masks. Uncle Too doesn't just need reinforced khaki underpants to weather this one - he's going to have to go back to the army stores for a reinforced flak jacket.

 

In many ways there are similarities with the United Kingdom. There has been a feeling in both countries that the health authorities and their overlords were somehow in control, despite the dire warnings coming from some quarters that many of us preferred to dismiss or hope would not happen. I stand by most of my comments from the past few weeks though I accept they were not always right.

 

In the UK many hundreds are now infected and the death toll is slowly starting to rise. The government is being blasted after a honeymoon period when they were praised and the "experts" were allowed full rein without question.

 

In Thailand there are about 80 cases but fears are legitimately growing that an explosion is about to begin to take the country to another level of community infection. Relying on evidence that the virus hates hot weather or the health service is in control may prove to be clutching at straws. It is difficult to predict and the huge amount of news and data prevalent in the "information age" is making it harder than ever to sift the wheat from the chaff.

 

On the face of it Britain seems to bracing for what could be 100,000 deaths. The government there is virtually encouraging the spread of the virus to induce a "herd immunity" whereby the virus can be contained after it has peaked in several months. They have predicted that 60% of the population could be infected and fear the underfunded NHS could be overwhelmed. Boris Johnson warned about fatalities but shied away from the numbers. It doesn't take a mathematician to figure out what 2% of 40 million is. Heaven forbid if the percentage of deaths experienced in Italy were to be replicated elsewhere.

 

Here in Thailand there is huge skepticism about the figures. Personally I believe there has hardly been any deaths - I can't accept that in this well connected digital age it could be covered up. But I can accept that the numbers of those infected could suddenly rise in the kingdom. Hand in morbid hand with that goes fatalities, especially those with underlying health conditions, compromised immune systems and the aged.

 

I make no apology for writing more about the world this week than just Thailand. With the official declaring of the pandemic and so many of the stories having a direct bearing on Thailand it is impossible to separate the country from the rest of the world. Thais - for so long thoroughly insular in their outlook - are learning more and more about the outside world. More about the lessons to be learned and their place on the globe.

 

For Mrs Rooster it was having a husband continually translating the latest developments from Sky News, articulating what this and that might mean for her and the children. By the end of the week she was rushing in to inform me of the latest development on her own Thai news feeds (inevitable about a Thai luuk-khreung celebrity contracting the virus!). Our strategy for protecting ourselves and our family over the coming months has been put in place. I anticipate that we shall all be virtual hermits until mid-year. No holidays to crowded areas. Few trips out. Lots of swimming at home and making things with old boxes.

 

Among the most devastating impacts this week were the following. The virtual lock down of Italy. Donald Trump's banning of flights from Europe. The decimation of sporting fixtures right around the world. Huge stock market crashes across the continents including some of the heaviest losses in three decades. Looming world recession. Infections of the rich and famous and high profile politicians. Companies teetering on collapse. Tourism and worldwide air travel coming to an end at least for the next few months. Countries imposing travel bans. The list went on and on. The virus slowing in China became almost secondary as Europe became the new epicenter.

 

In Thailand things became as shambolic as alarming with the government announcing then reversing visa requirements. Losing track of people who should be in quarantine and flip-flopping on what quarantine should mean,how it might be accomplished and even who should be in it. They banged on and on about the availability and corruption in the sale of masks when their usage has largely been declared pointless for most people worldwide.

 

The director of Thai Airways resigned. Maybe just maybe, this bloated waste of corporate space, so long the failing apple of the eye of the military that has been hemorrhaging tax-payers' money for years , could finally be brought down by the virus. The director of Suwannaphum (my spelling) resigned after complaining that he had been hung out to dry by the AOT amid their patently lacking procedures at airports. He later reversed this and will be welcomed back into the fold after he has had a lie down for a week.

 

Immigration chief Sompong "Big Oud" Chingduang appeared in face mask flanked by commandos seemingly ready to unleash their war-weapon bullets on any corona-thing that came anywhere near their leader. An airport immigration officer fell sick and we were told that he had touched his face with a gloved hand after handling tourists' passports.

 

Banks stopped doing foreign exchange at branches and booths and some were even cleaning the money. The SET plummeted as businesses of all descriptions, not just in the tourism sector, felt the pull of financial doom. This week it was potential bankruptcy and a vicious yank down (no reference to Trump intended).

 

Rumors abounded that foreigners would be tracked by apps and sim cards. The BBC's Jonathan Head said it well when he stated that Thailand was "facing a perfect storm" and that its leaders were "ill-equipped to weather" that storm. And some. This present motley group of fools, billionaires and assorted criminals who can't tell flour from heroin haven't got a clue. Ultimately, along with a growing resentment from the people about their appalling performance and illegitimacy, the virus may be the catalyst for their midyear downfall. Student protests continued almost behind the scenes.

 

Goodness knows these government jokers need to exit stage left; and none more so than the utterly disgraceful health minister and DPM Anutin Charnvirakul. Following his attack on a lone foreigner who wouldn't accept his offer of a free mask last month, this so called leader attacked Westerners for being dirty and unkempt and spreading the virus in Thailand after fleeing Europe.

 

Anutin's racist, vile and nonsensical outburst was completely unbefitting of a government minister. His posts, made after a trip to Chiang Mai, were soon removed and his Twitter account was subsequently deleted. Some said it was a fake account. I don't buy that. The lack of denial and tumbleweed when he would normally be screaming "fake news" spoke volumes.

 

Someone had told him to remove his comments. But that someone should have sacked him on the spot. Anutin had "previous" in his February outburst in Bangkok. His latest tirade took it to a whole new level and the damage he has done to his country is immense.

 

Some on Thaivisa, especially on Facebook, said they were contacting their embassies for a strongly worded response. Save your breath. It is not just the British embassy now that is a pointless waste of space. Almost all embassies in Thailand are toothless institutions of virtually no help to their citizens, existing solely as trade missions grovelling sycophantically so as not to upset their own gravy train and inter-state business interests.

 

Thais in forums throughout the world were almost as outraged as foreigners as the story became one of the most shared in recent years. I accept that any foreigner who has been in Thailand five minutes has been subject to the cajolery of Thais poking fun at our bathing habits. But this was a senior minister on a public forum for goodness sake. Even a country lass like Mrs R, who mischievously hums happy birthday when she sees me heading for the shower, could grasp that.

 

Non-virus news was hard to find as this translator worried that the keys C,O,V,I,D 1 and 9 would wear off my laptop before the weekend. Many posters said that the continuing carnage on the Thai roads put deaths from coronavirus in perspective. Daily News reported that a staggering 90 were dead at the scene on Monday contributing to 460 so far in March and 3,110 for the year to date. This national outrage continues unabated and largely unaddressed.

 

Dhanin Chearavanont, surprise surprise, won the right to buy Tesco in Thailand and Malaysia setting up potentially one of the biggest monopolies in Thailand. The $10 billion deal will be a test for the kingdom's fledgling antitrust watchdog, especially their credibility.

 

Consumers at the nation's supermarkets and convenience stores could be forgiven for thinking that the customer is always wrong. Price wars that are so good for consumers in places like England are virtually non-existent in Thailand resulting in high prices and a cavalier disdain for the public. How I wish that this scandalous situation would end.

 

In a week very short on laughs the TAT didn't disappoint. They still maintained that everything would be hunky-dory by midyear at the latest and 36 million would come to Thailand in 2020. This shower are now a national laughing stock.

 

Finally, as we embark on what may be a pivotal week in Thailand's place in the pandemic, I would like to wish all readers the best. Be careful to protect yourself and those around you and don't take unnecessary risks. Maintain a skepticism but try to be fair. Be judicious in accessing information and reasonable in your posts if going online.

 

And above all be safe.

 

Rooster

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-03-14

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

[Samui Bodoh]

An excellent column; I think you have captured some of the apprehension that we all feel.

 

However, in the last few days I have been feeling some (perhaps misplaced!) optimism. In the last few weeks, I have had a sense that folks didn't really understand what is coming, didn't really understand what the effects on our lives was going to be, and didn't really take it seriously.

 

I think that has changed now.

 

There are all sorts of expressions that I could write; 'It is always darkest before the dawn', 'You have to hit bottom before you can begin to bounce back', but I prefer to remind my fellow TVF members of the Sci-Fi book/movie 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'. It is funny, but books and movies have been remarkable predictors of future events and the lesson(s) from it was that when a society (or planet, or species, etc) was faced with an incredible challenge, it often was capable to rising to the occasion and dealing with its ordeal. 

 

I think that we in Thailand, and our friends and families in our native countries and beyond, are going to rise to the challenge. 

 

How exactly? I do not know. It will likely be the little things; a health worker who puts in an extra hour here or there, a neighbour who helps the family next door, a stranger who makes time to assist someone in need, etc. I have faith in humanity, and I think we are going to come out on the other side better than before.

 

Call it a hunch.

 

I echo the call to everyone; stay safe.

 

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Yup, unfortunately like it or not this is real and happening, the domino effect of cancellation of events with large numbers of people attending has started, imposing voluntary quarantine ( with fines for those who don’t ) has started also.

Flying bans have been initiated and others will follow suit .

 

Prepare yourselves for a tough few months, but remain calm and focus on how to keep yourself, and your loved ones, safe.

I wish each and every one good luck .

 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Andrew Dwyer

[Odysseus123]

An excellent Rooster column and two equally good replies...

 

Best of luck to all posters, their families and friends and to the world's population at large-especially Italy which is doing it very tough at the moment.

 

I especially liked a short lived thread about the Romans singing to each other-courage in adversity.

[TheFishman1]

I’m a little concerned about the air in Chiang Mai right now it’s 494 it’s unbelievable want the government do anything to help us poor people living in Chiangmai TIT

[tandor]

...no need to speculate..just present the facts and we will do the rest.

[AussieinThaiJim]

Great article! I trust we are not being mislead, however if we’re going to continue the “flip flop” and fake news perhaps some humour would be nice!

https://mobile.twitter.com/gian_tcatt/status/1237819203815702528?s=12
 

Stay well, practice safe distancing and care for others.

[lensta]

Rooster, I am sure that I read your column a couple of weeks ago where you stated that people were over reacting about this virus and it was only a flu blah blah blah. Still think that??? If I am correct about this then perhaps you should keep your opinion to yourself on matters like the virus and just deal with facts. If I was hallucinating and incorrect, then I stand corrected and apologize in advance.

[fvw53]

I guess that the Thai tradition of greeting people with a wai and not a handshake is now very helpful to stop contamination

[Mick501]

Pop quiz, Rooster:.  You're down to your last 5 tiles in scrabble.  Scores are tied, and your opponent also has 5 tiles.   Your letters are C,O,V,I,D.  What's your move?

[Orton Rd]

If the virus does not like the heat above about 37 degrees how come our bodies don't see it off as we are about that temperature?

[Gervais Bilodeau]

16 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Yup, unfortunately like it or not this is real and happening, the domino effect of cancellation of events with large numbers of people attending has started, imposing voluntary quarantine ( with fines for those who don’t ) has started also.

Flying bans have been initiated and others will follow suit .

 

Prepare yourselves for a tough few months, but remain calm and focus on how to keep yourself, and your loved ones, safe.

I wish each and every one good luck .

 

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3800632,00.html

 

This article is very interesting. On the Princess Diamond, less than 20 % got infected. In China and South Korea also.

So from where comes the potential 60 % infection in UK?

During the flu season not everybody get infected. Not 60 %. The numbers of China and south Korea infections are facts...not predictions.

 

[Brunolem]

Very good opening post.

 

The world is at war, and the main victim is going to be the global economy, and by extension...us humans!

 

My guess is that, in the end, there will be much more victims resulting from the economic collapse, than from illness due to the virus..

[ThaiBunny]

5 minutes ago, Gervais Bilodeau said:

So from where comes the potential 60 % infection in UK?

The statisticians are inferring that because many people have Covid-19 but are asymptomatic, the likely range of those infected is anywhere from 30% to 70%.  Take your pick, depending how much of a Chicken Little you are

 

https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus

[Fortean1]

Rooster and those replying: Good points re our humanity and how we will adapt and weather the storm.  My wife and I are over 70 and diabetic.  On-line info says if sick then medicate at home for 7 days.  If symptoms worsen then go to the hospital.  My son Jeremy and his family live in Milan- Italy.  He manages the F-35 assembly program for Europe.  The U.S. ambassador is leaning towards an Orderly Departure Program for most Americans.  That makes no sense as the U.S. infections are rising.  The lack of reported infections and only one death in Thailand is a mystery.

[Jane Dough]

40 minutes ago, Mick501 said:

Pop quiz, Rooster:.  You're down to your last 5 tiles in scrabble.  Scores are tied, and your opponent also has 5 tiles.   Your letters are C,O,V,I,D.  What's your move?

I will look for a free 'E' or 'R' on the board and play either VOICED or CORVID, that is a member of the crow family as appropriately enough I will be crowing my victory.

 

Rooster

[Zack61]

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca

 

[mok199]

I'm holding my breath because of the filthy air pollution , covid 19 is just another distraction from Thailands ongoing problems ...''never let a good virus go to waste''...

Edited March 15, 2020 by mok199

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, lensta said:

Rooster, I am sure that I read your column a couple of weeks ago where you stated that people were over reacting about this virus and it was only a flu blah blah blah. Still think that??? If I am correct about this then perhaps you should keep your opinion to yourself on matters like the virus and just deal with facts. If I was hallucinating and incorrect, then I stand corrected and apologize in advance.

Looking back at my column of February 1st I will concede to you that it contained several observations, and opinions that are now clearly erroneous. It was my feeling at the time and though mistaken I might point out that many people agreed with me though most didn't. In more recent columns I have satirized the panic while accepting that things were starting to look worse than expected. We arrive at a point however when even the so called experts are not sure how to proceed so what hope is there for us mortals? The UK government are reacting in stark contrast to some other nations, for example. I saw a mayoral candidate in London who has experience in fighting viruses criticizing Boris and praising the actions of China and Korea. He said that the UK govt is making a big mistake in their approaches. The WHO has also come in for criticism.

 

So while I accept that I indeed have got things wrong in the past - and will do so again in the future - I would contend that very few people have accurately foreseen all the current events and very few will be able to accurately predict how things will pan out from here. Which is why my approach is now caution albeit tinged with my usual skepticism. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and in a year like this, 20-20 vision would be great but unlikely to be something we are all blessed with. Least of all me.

 

Thanks for reading and thanks for your comments.

 

Rooster

[jimn]

I normally read your weekly post and have a little chuckle. However this week you are so wide of the mark. Your comments about the British governments handling of the situation are uncalled for. I do not know your nationality, I assume you must be a Brit, but if you are not I suggest you do not keep fueling the fire like everyone else seems to be doing on TV and on social media. It is a way over the top reaction about a virus where most people display only moderate symptoms. I wish goverments would publish more accurate figures showing also the number of people who have recovered. The way it is presented, it only shows the number of people infected. To the uneducated it appears like the whole world will become a leper colony.

[allanos]

An article "cherry-picking" some of the wild speculation that is "out there" in a vain effort to aver that the author has researched his article thoroughly.  It is an incredibly one-sided viewpoint. There are two sides to a coin; a balanced approach would add to the author's credibility, but, in fact, the "material" contained therein detracts from such.

 

Do not simply take it with a pinch of salt; a salt-mine is more apposite.

[sawadee1947]

I'll give you a good mark for this week column. ????

[Road Warrior]

a excellent evaluation of the current situation 

[alex8912]

On the surface it seems stupid that you can’t spell the name of Bangkok airport as it should be. Suvarnabhumi. Can you elaborate on this?? 

[Jane Dough]

23 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

On the surface it seems stupid that you can’t spell the name of Bangkok airport as it should be. Suvarnabhumi. Can you elaborate on this?? 

I was a teacher of Thai language for 20 years and in so doing I was always determined to use transliteration that reflected the actual sound of the word. In many of my approximately 60 translations this week I have used the official spelling you suggest. On Sunday, in my column, I spell it properly.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Rooster

[zyphodb]

alex, the official translation of Suvarnabhumi into English is generally accepted as being very bad, as however you try and pronounce that word comes out sounding nothing like the Thai pronunciation of it. So many people who know this try and write it more phonetically...

[zyphodb]

Sry, you beat me to it Rooster...

 

[Jane Dough]

2 hours ago, mok199 said:

I'm holding my breath because of the filthy air pollution , covid 19 is just another distraction from Thailands ongoing problems ...''never let a good virus go to waste''...

It was remiss of me not to mention this appalling situation this week especially for the long suffering residents of Chiang Mai. Though perhaps I did them a favor not reminding them of it!

 

Cheers and thanks for reading.

 

Rooster

[alex8912]

13 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

alex, the official translation of Suvarnabhumi into English is generally accepted as being very bad, as however you try and pronounce that word comes out sounding nothing like the Thai pronunciation of it. So many people who know this try and write it more phonetically...

Just the V has a more W sound and it’s the name of the airport anyways. A lot of airports in the world are often the name of a local famous person and many people not from that country can’t really pronounce it properly but still spell it correctly. I never have a problem when getting a taxi there and pronounce it almost the same as real spelling just a little more W sound in the V and a very light I at the end. So I guess myself ( and many others) may disagree with you. I mean let’s face it, Do a lot of non French simply spell it  “CHarles do Gaul”???

Edited March 15, 2020 by alex8912

[LittleBear57]

If you don't test you don't know. I would like to see how many tests are done in Thailand other countries are publishing the figures.