The quoted number of a R/0, if correct is alarming.

The photos taken yesterday at Bangkok's CW - Immigration Division 1 are hallucinant.

An enormous mass of people jam-packed in a big hall waiting for their permission to stay to be processed.  Pure madness!

 

One of the reasons the Soviet Union collapsed in more or less slow motion over about 20 years is that all statistics were faked so none of the SU's 'leaders' could possibly have an accurate view of the state of the nation, in any area - economic, social, educational, health ...

 

See any parallels?

For reference viruses can't be sustained in sunlight and city dwellers rarely spend much time in sunlight. In addition the population density of BKK is approx 5600 people per km2 (wikepedia)  in the Metro area. We stay in Hua Hin where the density is approx 50 people per km2 . Time for some fresh air sunshine and a cold one..

13 hours ago, MobileContent said:

In Scotland the infection rate is between 4-6% as I have seen on Sky News. 

Not surprised. It's so <deleted> cold up there, they poor wee Scots have to cuddle each other to warm.

On 3/24/2020 at 12:52 PM, saengd said:

High heat and high humidity slows the spread, it doesn't kill off the virus.

Live in hope. It certainly spreads quickly despite the heat. Keep an eye on nos. and watch it doubling.

On 3/24/2020 at 6:52 PM, saengd said:

High heat and high humidity slows the spread, it doesn't kill off the virus.

Body temperature being 36-37 celcius appears to be the favourite temperature... the only time hIgh heat and humidity will help is if the virus lands outside in the sun.

 

Once you step into buildings, all bets are off.

 

Another problem is with cars - my wife, for example, is trying to manage distancing and avoiding the restaurant at her office, but she has 3 passengers to drop off after work every day... she can't isolate in her car after work because it's just socially not feasible. I told her to keep the windows rolled down and set 'fresh air' (lol) instead of circulate on the blower.

Edited March 26, 20206 yr by ben2talk

1 hour ago, ben2talk said:

Body temperature being 36-37 celcius appears to be the favourite temperature... the only time hIgh heat and humidity will help is if the virus lands outside in the sun.

 

Once you step into buildings, all bets are off.

 

Another problem is with cars - my wife, for example, is trying to manage distancing and avoiding the restaurant at her office, but she has 3 passengers to drop off after work every day... she can't isolate in her car after work because it's just socially not feasible. I told her to keep the windows rolled down and set 'fresh air' (lol) instead of circulate on the blower.

Not to mention the motorcycles with anywhere from 1 to 5 passengers!  Social distancing seems to be impossible!

On 3/24/2020 at 7:17 PM, CNXexpat said:

Not for a long time. The spread in the provinces where the many workers went will soon be much larger. Some people were tested positive.

Exactly....the most stupid thing this gov did was to tell people in BKK to "go home" - what were they thinking? as thousands of people crowded the bus and train stations to head up country.

Now the 'damage-control' begins.

Two people in my wife's neighboring village,100km south of CM, came back 'positive' from Malaysia but arrived in the same stampede out of BKK. This morning she got a call from the relatives telling her their village has been in "lock-down" since mid-night.

If the gov. is REALLY lucky, the exodus they spurred out of BKK won't prove to become an up-country epidemic. I guess we'll find out in about 14-days.

 

9 minutes ago, HaleySabai said:

Exactly....the most stupid thing this gov did was to tell people in BKK to "go home" - what were they thinking? as thousands of people crowded the bus and train stations to head up country.

Now the 'damage-control' begins.

Inability to support the people who live hand to mouth in a cash society, or those who live paycheck to paycheck and ran the risk of homelessness, and failed to estimate the impact or programs in place to protect those in the villages.

I find the offical numbers difficult to believe. I feel they are low due to the poor reporting mechanisms and severe, negletful lack of testing, and the inabilty to have many understand hand hygiene let alone social distancing

On 3/24/2020 at 6:57 PM, billd766 said:

quote from the OP.

 

The situation in Bangkok is worrisome as the spread is wider and more intense than in other provinces, he said , citing the three southern border provinces where the infection rate is one to two other persons.

 

Perhaps that could be put down to more people per square metre, very little chance of 2 metre separation and not enough testing facilities.

 

Common sense #101 could tell you that. Just look at the Skytrain and its platforms and the public buses for crowding.

15,000 Chinese from Wuhan came to BKK before China locked it down-the highest of any city in the world.  NYC had 8,000.  The virus spread throughout China quite rapidly, and they were in and out of BKK.  It’s actually surprising it’s not worse, but the virus is often 2 weeks behind.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/dyson-designs-ventilator-covent-10-072058414.html

 

News

Dyson designs new ventilator 'CoVent' in 10 days after Government orders 10,000 to help tackle coronavirus pandemic

Luke O'Reilly

Evening Standard6 hours ago

On 3/24/2020 at 6:45 PM, snoop1130 said:

The spread of Covid-19 infection in Bangkok and its vicinity has exceeded the average rate globally with one infected individual passing on the virus to three and a half persons, said Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Public Health Ministry.

I have a great idea.  Let's have fun and make foreign tourist run back and forth between their hotels and their embassies, and the our Immigration offices in order to beg the immigration officers for a 30 day extension because they are stuck here.  What fun, we can make them travel during lockdowns, pack them together in long lines, and generally infect each other if they have Covid.  Good plan huh?

On 3/24/2020 at 8:17 PM, CNXexpat said:

Not for a long time. The spread in the provinces where the many workers went will soon be much larger. Some people were tested positive.

Good point, that's a major problem and out in those small villages are mainly old people.

For what it's worth (there's a man with a gun over there...) so if you can trust people who study this for a living to way "We don't know...".  Seems like there is still a lot to be learned about the virus.

 

But, at this point, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control isn’t sure the sun or heat will affect COVID-19 the same way. CDC physician and researcher Nancy Messionnier said on Feb. 12 that "it’s premature to assume" the heat and sunlight will temper the virus. "We haven’t been through even a single year with this pathogen," she told NPR.