Put safety before money - academic warns about opening country too quickly to "infected" foreigners

[Brunolem]

12 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Learn something new every day Thailand has an academic ????

Coming straight out of academia...not to be confused with macadamia...

[RayD]

What is remarkable to me is the number of people living here who seem to be unaware of basic facts about this country. Our stubby little peninsula, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are are resistant to these respiratory viruses. Maybe someone up there likes us, who knows? SARS, MERS, bird flu, pig flu, H5N1 all passed us by and so would COVID-19, it had nothing to do with government action. It is pointless comparing Thailand to Europe, you should be comparing it to its neighbours.

[Don Mega]

3 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

There's a typo...it's more like .62%

5.8 million infected, 360,000 dead.

I reckon thats closer to 6.2% than .62%.

[vermin on arrival]

35 minutes ago, bluweyze said:

360,000 Dead worlwide and it is not finished. 6.2 % of people getting the virus die. In the elderly (and the obese) the percentage is higher. It's just Chinese flu!

This is just not true. Many epidemiologists are now saying that the overall IFR is from .1-1% with some saying that it is in the .26-.4% area. In the elderly and unhealthy it is very high.

[Krataiboy]

3 hours ago, DirtyHarry55 said:

Someone please tell the Academic Sars-Covid-2 is here to stay better learn to live with it than close down the country.

Bet his salary is guaranteed wonder what his stance would be if they took away his chance to earn a living?

Absolutely. We have learned to live with regular invasions of flu and other epidemics which take a toll during the winter season, and we will probably have to do the same with COVID 19 and its mutant offspring.

 

The so-called coronas novel virus, now clearly running out steam almost everywhere, has proved to be far less deadly than politicians and their "expert" advisers predicted, except among the vulnerable frail and elderly who must be better protected next time around.

 

Deaths in medically ill-equipped residential and nursing homes account for around half of all COVID fatalities across Europe and a well over a third in the UK. Such an appalling and avoidable cull is at best gross official negligence, if not genocide, and those responsible must be called to account.

Edited May 29, 2020 by Krataiboy

[vermin on arrival]

2 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

5.8 million infected, 360,000 dead.

I reckon thats closer to 6.2% than .62%.

That is from confirmed cases, but many many more are infected and don't seek treatment because the illness is mild, asymptomatic or are not tested because the symptoms don't warrant it. There is a great deal of evidence for this.

[Anton9]

40 minutes ago, bluweyze said:

360,000 Dead worlwide and it is not finished. 6.2 % of people getting the virus die. In the elderly (and the obese) the percentage is higher. It's just Chinese flu!

This is false, the actual death rate is less than 1%, basically zero for young and healthy individuals.

The 6% is calculated on confirmed cases which are a huge underestimation of total infections.

[Rancid]

Could one hazard a guess that the good doctor is on full salary? I've noticed overseas most screaming for lock down were public servants, politicians and news anchors, all of whom have seen no cut to their wages, in fact all their jobs will still be there regardless of how long this insanity lasts. When you have no job, and no money for food or a mortgage or rent to pay, it puts a different light on things.

[Berti]

3 hours ago, DirtyHarry55 said:

Someone please tell the Academic Sars-Covid-2 is here to stay better learn to live with it than close down the country.

Bet his salary is guaranteed wonder what his stance would be if they took away his chance to earn a living?

Soooo true.

 

[wensiensheng]

4 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Really? What are those signs exactly? The numbers outside immigration quarantine are holding steady at zero.

While I agree that opening the floodgates without any checks is likely to bring imported cases, it would be nice to see such comments supported by fact, rather than unsubstantiated rubbish.

Perhaps he was referring to other countries that have seen a rise in cases as restrictions ease? S Korea and Germany spring to mind.

[vermin on arrival]

1 minute ago, wensiensheng said:

Perhaps he was referring to other countries that have seen a rise in cases as restrictions ease? S Korea and Germany spring to mind.

Yeah but those numbers were small and to be expected.

[Berti]

44 minutes ago, bluweyze said:

360,000 Dead worlwide and it is not finished. 6.2 % of people getting the virus die. In the elderly (and the obese) the percentage is higher. It's just Chinese flu!

I agree this virus is dangerous, but it can be contained after the first wave without closing everything.

 

The numbers are not correct: 6,2% of the people who were discovered having the virus die. For months they tested almost only people with strong symptoms.

[Anton9]

1 minute ago, vermin on arrival said:

Yeah but those numbers were small and to be expected.

People are getting scared of a rise in 100 cases which will likely cause zero deaths.

[Pattaya46]

1 hour ago, uhuh said:

"foreigners were infected everywhere"

Not true. 

The list of virus-free countries is growing,  but most are small. 

Biggest is Taiwan. //

They said "were infected" , not "virus-free now"

Taiwan had 441 cases reported.,

and lists on Internet show zero country with zero cases.

Example: bottom of page :

 https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/geographical-distribution-2019-ncov-cases

[wensiensheng]

1 hour ago, amdy2206 said:

At least we are now 'foreigners' and not 'aliens - from outer space -'.

The headline was deliberately sensationally worded to provoke a stereotypical response from foreign TV members of indignation at foreigners being branded as being infected. 
 

I take some satisfaction in seeing that so far no one has taken the far to obvious bait.

 

shame on the headline writers, do they really think people are that dumb?

[flyfrog]

People travel overseas will be scanned anyway before entering an airplane so nothing to be scared of when entering Thailand no?

[Berti]

6 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

Perhaps he was referring to other countries that have seen a rise in cases as restrictions ease? S Korea and Germany spring to mind.

 

What?? Maybe the headlines of the free newspapers are wrong. Better read some statistics by yourself.

[Brunolem]

15 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

5.8 million infected, 360,000 dead.

I reckon thats closer to 6.2% than .62%.

Even the officialdom admits that the number of infected is far far higher than the published number...

[British Bulldog]

3 hours ago, totally thaied up said:

Yet the million dollar question is why Thailand did not suffer like others. We had the Chinese in here by the bucket load, yet it seems it did take off. What stopped it? That's my question.

Yes, up here in  Laos, we only had 19 cases no deaths and currently all but 3 have recovered and gone home, the final 3 are expected to leave Hospital next week .... OK, we only have just over 7 Million people however, proportionally and by %, we did much better than most Countries and we 'had' a huge influx of Chinese coming and going due the huge amount of Chinese projects going in here (The railway line for one and more than several Hydro Power Projects). One can only assume that the action taken by our Government to close the borders quickly and prevent inter provincial travel, must have worked ! We are now free to travel anywhere except Internationally. We are all asking the same question up here ... why ? ... How come ? ... perhaps the reason lies in those Countries that didn't fully lock down e.g. USA, UK, and 'other' European Countries and alike ? It would be great to know the 'real' answer from 'real' experts !

[scorecard]

4 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Really? What are those signs exactly? The numbers outside immigration quarantine are holding steady at zero.

While I agree that opening the floodgates without any checks is likely to bring imported cases, it would be nice to see such comments supported by fact, rather than unsubstantiated rubbish.

Agree.

 

I also understand the need to get the economy back in operation with not too much delay to get wages etc., back into the pockets of workers and get businesses working and using raw materials etc. All helps the economy.

 

There is now a lot more learning about the virus and about finding it and preventing the spread, globally and locally, IMHO what would also be helpful is that Thai authorities (in fact all countries) study all of this newer learning properly and quickly and adjust their approach, in this case in term of people arriving into the country.

 

Here's one example. My family/home is in Thailand and I have PR. I'm 76 years old coming soon, but in perfect health. Right now I'm caught in Australia. I've spoken to my doctor here who has kept himself well informed about the virus, the spread and more.

 

He knows I want to go home to my family, Just a few days ago he suggested:

 

- He conduct the best available and well accepted virus test at 14 days before my projected travel date. The test is processed on the spot, takes 15 minutes, and hopefully get a negative result. Then do the test again 3 days before the airline check-in date, again hoping for a negative result.

 

Also a few days before check-in do a comprehensive set of blood tests and again he can process the tests in his office using equipment authorised and accepted by the OZ health authorities. And his equipment prints a lab style report of various blood analysis items.

 

He would write a medical report the days before I depart detailing the Covid 19 tests and results, and on a second page add a report about the blood tests, plus a bullet point list saying: 

 

Mr. xxxxx shows:

 

- no signs of heart ailments

- no signs of blood pressure

- no signs of diabetes

- no signs of cholesterol

etc.

 

The doctor asked me "Would the Thai immigration/health people accept all of the above on arrival".

 

I responded "I don't now" which is an honest answer, because:

 

- it seems doubtful the folks at the arriving airport in Thailand would be doctors, therefore I doubt their capability to gauge whether the various medical comments/assessments have any weight in allowing/not allowing entry.

 

- the officers at the airport are unlikely to think outside of the specific orders they are working to.

 

Also in the whole picture is getting a flight booking.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Put safety before money

 

Since when has that ever happened here???

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

People should not let down their guard and letting in foreigners may be detrimental as nowhere is safe from the virus and foreigners were infected everywhere.

 

People should not let down their guard and letting in [Thais and] foreigners [from abroad] may be detrimental as nowhere is safe from the virus and [Thais and] foreigners were infected everywhere.

[Berti]

7 minutes ago, British Bulldog said:

Yes, up here in  Laos, we only had 19 cases no deaths and currently all but 3 have recovered and gone home, the final 3 are expected to leave Hospital next week .... OK, we only have just over 7 Million people however, proportionally and by %, we did much better than most Countries and we 'had' a huge influx of Chinese coming and going due the huge amount of Chinese projects going in here (The railway line for one and more than several Hydro Power Projects). One can only assume that the action taken by our Government to close the borders quickly and prevent inter provincial travel, must have worked ! We are now free to travel anywhere except Internationally. We are all asking the same question up here ... why ? ... How come ? ... perhaps the reason lies in those Countries that didn't fully lock down e.g. USA, UK, and 'other' European Countries and alike ? It would be great to know the 'real' answer from 'real' experts !

Could be because of different culture.

Scientists are quite sure that super-spreaders or super-spreading events are the reason for strong spreading in Europe.

This can be one person who interacts with a lot of people, in a short time and comes always near to people when speaking, and has a very high virus load.

[tribalfusion001]

Nearly every country in the world has had the virus and it hasn't wiped out their populations. It seems the fear in Thailand in making things worse economically. Just don't let in older obese people with multiple health conditions and people from certain ethnic backgrounds from certain western countries.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

18 minutes ago, flyfrog said:

People travel overseas will be scanned anyway before entering an airplane so nothing to be scared of when entering Thailand no?

 

Scanned how and for what?

 

If you mean checked for fever/temperature, that just tells if the person has a fever. Having no fever doesn't in any way translate into any kind of proof that the person is free from the virus and not contagious.

 

And, if you look at the recent repatriation flights of Thai citizens that have been allowed to arrive here lately, many of those returnees are landing with high fevers... And somehow, that's not stopping them from being allowed to board the returning flights from the various foreign countries where they've been.

 

[Denim]

The original article in Siam Rat was headlined :

 

เตือนผ่อนปรนเฟส 3 หายนะจะมาเยือน!! หากเปิดรับนักท่องเที่ยวต่างชาติ

 

Whoever did the translation into English was more concerned about a sensationalist headline than an accurate translation.

 

The phrase ...' put safety before money '  is not in the original at all and  the original says ' foreign tourists ' but this has been written as ' foreigners ' in the English translation. Very poor indeed.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

58 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

The so-called coronas novel virus, now clearly running out steam almost everywhere,

 

The world map showing week over week increases in confirmed CV cases by country paints a different picture -- the surge of new infections at present is occurring in South America and Africa, as highlighted by the red-type shadings on the map.

 

 

From Johns Hopkins:
 

Quote

 

The WHO COVID-19 Situation Report for May 26 reports 5.40 million confirmed cases (99,780 new) and 343,514 deaths (1,486 new). In terms of relative contribution to the global COVID-19 incidence , South America has surpassed all other continents, currently representing nearly 30% of the global daily incidence. North America represents 26% of the daily incidence (and steadily decreasing), and Asia represents 22%. Europe has dropped to approximately 18%, and Africa’s relative contribution continues to grow steadily, now more than 4%.

 

 

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/COVID-19-Updates---May-27.html?soid=1107826135286&aid=1q5A9yFTkaA

 

[Percy P]

4 hours ago, totally thaied up said:

I see now they have released figures on how many returnees are coming back sick. Seems it is .47% yet every day they yammer on how many are coming back with the virus. Seems at this rate, it could be controlled, yet then, it may not. Hard decision. Crash the economy more or open up on small numbers that could possibly start infection if left unchecked.

Aren't these returnees checked for CV at the airport before they board the plane to Thailand .

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, brucegoniners said:

I can't agree more. Do it very slowly. And limit what countries you allow people from. Also require a 14 day quarantine, either in their home country (verifiable) or in Thailand. You've gotta do that.

 

I'm not sure how much good a pre-flight 14-day quarantine in people's home country is going to do, only to then have them have to go thru various airports en route and spend 12-18 hours on crowded jet airplanes with people from who knows where en route to Thailand.

 

[newnative]

The new cases are all Thais, you dingbat.