Phuket officials to launch islandwide door-to-door checks for COVID-19

By The Phuket News

 

Governor Phakaphong announced the news while receiving 3,000 infrared thermometers from the DDPM Region 11 office in Surat Thani. Photo: PR Dept

 

PHUKET:-- Phuket will be the first province in the country to launch door-to-door checks of residents’ body temperatures in the hope of identifying infected people early and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

 

Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatan announced the news during a ceremony held yesterday (Apr 8 ) to receive 3,000 infrared thermometers supplied by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Region 11 office based in Surat Thani.

 

In Phuket to present the devices to Governor Phakaphong was DDPM Region 11 Director Udomsak Khao Nuna.

 

Full Story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-officials-to-launch-islandwide-door-to-door-checks-for-covid-19-75653.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2020-04-09

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Oh please let them be driving around in the 'Healthy Car' that's a BMW, BUT with a thermometer in the glove compartment.

 

Oh please God, please. ????

It seems to me that this approach could add more to the spread of covid rather than helping. If they are going door to door having some type of close contact with people and their homes, doesn't that create the potential to carry the virus to the next person when they'd make contact with someone who is not showing symptoms but has the virus? If there are 3000 volunteers running around from house to house, I can see the possibility of some problems with this approach. 

9 minutes ago, Inn Between said:

It seems to me that this approach could add more to the spread of covid rather than helping. If they are going door to door having some type of close contact with people and their homes, doesn't that create the potential to carry the virus to the next person when they'd make contact with someone who is not showing symptoms but has the virus? If there are 3000 volunteers running around from house to house, I can see the possibility of some problems with this approach. 

As long as they keep social distance.

9 minutes ago, stevenl said:

As long as they keep social distance.

Not really, they will have to touch gates, doors etc. etc. where the virus lives as well so unless they have gloves and replace them after every house they go to the risk of infection spreads. Mind you they could do the Thai way and stand outside and shout !

 

50 minutes ago, thequietman said:

Oh please let them be driving around in the 'Healthy Car' that's a BMW, BUT with a thermometer in the glove compartment.

 

Oh please God, please. ????

Get over it- this is nothing to do with Immigration.

 

Comments about the cars were boring months ago- hence my signature.

This is a valiant effort, but a tad misguided.  Studies have suggested that up to half of COVID carriers are asymptomatic, i.e., no high body temp.  Yes, we need to test as many people as possible.  But just measuring body temp isn't going to do it.

22 minutes ago, stevenl said:

As long as they keep social distance.

What - you reckon there is no risk of problems with having 3,000 people moving all over a quarantined island, meeting the entire population, as long as they keep 'social distance,' whatever that has been decided to be? It is quite obviously a legitimate concern and 1m distance not possible with an infrared thermometer either.  I'd imagine to be suited and booted with full biological exclusion gear would be necessary and washing down with disinfectant several times an hour. Not that I'm any kind of expert.

Been tested for temperature 4 times today already (Supercheap twice, Villa market once, 7/11 once) . I am OK !

I won't be opening my door to them. Knock as hard and loud as you want because nobody will answer. 

Take my temperature when I enter a 7/11 or supermarket fine but don't come and invade my privacy. 

 

 

 

57 minutes ago, Inn Between said:

It seems to me that this approach could add more to the spread of covid rather than helping. If they are going door to door having some type of close contact with people and their homes, doesn't that create the potential to carry the virus to the next person when they'd make contact with someone who is not showing symptoms but has the virus? If there are 3000 volunteers running around from house to house, I can see the possibility of some problems with this approach. 

 

as health care professionals are doing in other countries it is essential they change PPE following every visit, thereby doing their upmost to protect themselves and the households they are visiting.

 

the headline is inaccurate, surprise surprise, as simply taking temperatures is not an effective way to find out if someone has the virus, they actually need to test for the virus in order to do that.

35 minutes ago, Chalong circle said:

Been tested for temperature 4 times today already (Supercheap twice, Villa market once, 7/11 once) . I am OK !

 

Me too.  But I am quite happy to know my temperature .... and for free

1 minute ago, LivinginKata said:

 

Me too.  But I am quite happy to know my temperature .... and for free

Me too. but actually a bit concerned by the variations every 5 minutes from one shop to the other...

Can’t stop themselves from spending money on depreciating assets.

Well it's confirmed, they're totally and completely delusional, always have to be the laughing stock of the planet ! Why not do something positive like pay the people who are able bodied and willing to collect the rubbish alongside the roads.

 

Too much time on their hands ! 

 

Yuk,yuk ..

11 hours ago, Berkshire said:

This is a valiant effort, but a tad misguided.  Studies have suggested that up to half of COVID carriers are asymptomatic, i.e., no high body temp.  Yes, we need to test as many people as possible.  But just measuring body temp isn't going to do it.

Well you just had to go and spoil it all. 

I wonder how many houses in Phuket? seems to me they would have to hire lots of unqualified people to go around every house and to achieve what?

They will need lots of rubber gloves and gallons of hand gel

In China were they not dragging people from their house and beating them up if they resisted to keep people healthy  and safe from Corona...

From what I can see around where I live everybody seems to behaving themselves, wearing their mask, not going on the beaches very few people around traffic a lot lighter and the curfew being observed if I wake in the night I can usually hear the main road it's silent no motorbikes using the main road as a racetrack in the night

Problems with this approach???

uumh I can think of a few 

If you are a “dirty” foreigner simply put a notice on your front door in Thai and English that nobody in this house has health insurance.

 

That should do the trick????

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There is a few big construction sites operating around Rawai lots of workers I would have thought there would be a good place to start

13 hours ago, Berkshire said:

This is a valiant effort, but a tad misguided.  Studies have suggested that up to half of COVID carriers are asymptomatic, i.e., no high body temp.  Yes, we need to test as many people as possible.  But just measuring body temp isn't going to do it.

True but someone is making money selling the thermometers. 

12 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

 

Me too.  But I am quite happy to know my temperature .... and for free

Ok, Bend over please......

i Assume a few dozen of the new toys will be distributed to each district, and each district will then co opt volunteers to go house to house. So hopefully cross district infection is not increased, but clearly using these toys cannot be used at a 2 metre distance, arms length (and in the case of thai’s, pretty short arms) is about the best that can be achieved. So intra district infection from asymptomatic carriers is possible.

 

standing at only arms length from someone who may have had contact with hundreds of people in my district just isn’t an appealing thought. I think I’ll pass on that.

 

i also read previously, although have no personal experience, that if someone with a fever goes to a hospital, unless they have travelled to a high risk country, had contact with tourists, been to a covid “cluster” area, then they are told to go home and self quarantine. So if this army of volunteers find someone with a fever, what will they do? Presumably question them on their movements, been to Bangla road recently etc, but if the answer is no, what then? Go inside and self quarantine? Which is what you were trying to do before these people came along.

 

a big part of the problem is that the Thai authorities seem to think that masks create a virus impenetrable shield. Maybe masks are a good thing, but they ain’t a silver bullet. It’s still necessary to social distance by 2 metres.

13 hours ago, hansgruber said:

I won't be opening my door to them. Knock as hard and loud as you want because nobody will answer. 

Take my temperature when I enter a 7/11 or supermarket fine but don't come and invade my privacy. 

 

 

 

I dare say many understand that but if you refuse, it will be 'dirty farangs' again

14 hours ago, Berkshire said:

This is a valiant effort, but a tad misguided.  Studies have suggested that up to half of COVID carriers are asymptomatic, i.e., no high body temp.  Yes, we need to test as many people as possible.  But just measuring body temp isn't going to do it.

But in this country they 100% believe if the temp is ok then that person does not have virus ... another organised chaos

13 hours ago, Chalong circle said:

Me too. but actually a bit concerned by the variations every 5 minutes from one shop to the other...

Same here.especially when i.ve just got out off nice cold air con in car

Those IR thermometers look familiar... Are they the ones where the sensor head is not attached? ????