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

[elliss]

27 minutes ago, DavisH said:

You do know that alien is a legal term? 

    

 In what Country , would that be ? .. 

    Legal term, that hopefully includes legal rights .

    Don't hold your breath on this ,  in Land of Smiles ..

 

[GAZZPA]

3 minutes ago, Silent Number said:

 

5,800,000 confirmed cases 360,000 deaths do the maths.

Thats not what I was saying though, of course "doing the maths" on 2 numbers is hardly difficult.

 

The challenge is we don't know how many people have not had a test but have contracted the virus. Therefore the rate is not possible to reach. Th real estimation is around 1%. Lets hope that is correct..

[uhuh]

36 minutes ago, elliss said:

 

 In what Country , would that be ..

US

Ever heard of that country?  Kind of near Honduras

[Cranky]

12 hours ago, ezzra said:

I wonder if foreigners money also "infected"? without tourism money this country will go back to be what it used to be 100 years ago, poor and backward country, it is a shame that in thees days and age we still have to listen to this kind of racist garbage...

The paradise it once was. 

[JackThompson]

12 hours ago, darksidedog said:

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

And the ones in quarantine who tested positive - are they actually "sick" - or like most, just have a virus with no symptoms?

 

12 hours ago, darksidedog said:

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.

It would be nice to see a large test-sampling of a wide cross-section of Thai population for the virus and antibodies, so we actually know how many had it and never knew - or "got a cold" and never reported themselves by seeking medical assistance.  This may have been with us from as early as November, according to some reports - with the severe cases simply being treated as "flu."

[Ireland32]

12 hours ago, Cali farong said:

Yeah keep it locked down until it’s total economic free fall.

Then guess who will be there to help,  the ones who started 

this pandemic.

Let the Chinese run rampant , Clueless and Selfish 

[JackThompson]

11 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.

Levels of diabetes and obesity, percentage of the population very elderly (80+, like Italy), lack of elderly packed into "care homes" to cross-contaminate, warm weather, etc.  Lots of factors. 

 

There is not a clear line between "locking down" and better outcomes - though there are many factors that would go into a useful analysis. 

 

Then figure in if Thailand got it early, the percentage who just stayed-home and toughed-it-out because there was no such thing as "covid" in their vocabulary.  Any who died would have been called "pneumonia deaths" - likely into March.

[DrTuner]

12 minutes ago, Cranky said:

The paradise it once was. 

Well not really, 100y ago it was still Siam, a rather undeveloped wilderness. Unless that's your paradise. In that case there's still plenty of it left in the Amazon, internet connectivity might be a tad spotty though.

[Traubert]

22 minutes ago, Ireland32 said:

Let the Chinese run rampant , Clueless and Selfish 

Sensible and profitable.

[SiSePuede419]

I'd be very happy if they turn back any Americans arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport without a mask.

 

Obviously, they're low IQ Trump Superspreaders. ????

[Sumarianson]

13 hours ago, totally thaied up said:

If they are getting a few cases each plane load they are bringing returning Thai Nationals back in, I would hate to see if they opened up borders to the US, UK etc, etc as the virus certainly is not under control in many places yet. Cases will slip through the cracks for certain and we will be back at step one all over again. I agree, slowly you need to do it.

Mr. Fear.

[Sumarianson]

Open up and end this illogical fear of a weak virus that more than likely has not killed a single person, but has been a contributing factor but not the cause. Knowledge dispels fear from the fearmongers.

[JackThompson]

6 hours ago, swerve said:

Thailand will lose all it gains if it let's the foreign covid mob in.

They did that in February, with the point of origin of the virus as a direct-vector.

[paulikens]

5 hours ago, Patts said:

What, you can't be serious. Most popular countries have 10 to 12% of GDP from Tourism and even that's hugely important to those countries so for Thailand to lose 20%+ in a country where so many more jobs are related to tourism is massive. Think about all the businesses that are linked to tourism in Thailand that most other countries don't have in such high demand.

maths aint my strong point but 80% isnt a lot no???

[JackThompson]

5 hours ago, Don Mega said:

How can one consider people not tested into an official figure ?

Tests to date done on larger sample-sets using antibody tests.  Los Angeles county's result matched the mortality-rate for seasonal-flu.  Smaller groups showed less - prisons, homeless-shelters, etc - tested everyone and few if any even had symptoms. 

[JackThompson]

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Now that it is under control they are going to have to be super careful when it comes to international tourism. Especially from super Covid nations (highest number of infections) like the US, Brazil, Russia, Italy, Spain, Germany and the UK. My guess is nobody is coming in from any of those nations without a covid free letter (since you cannot get one in the US, may be a year or longer until another American is admitted into the Thailand) and possibly health insurance with a pandemic exception. Right now, the US is the most radioactive nation on earth, and it will be very difficult for Americans to travel just about anywhere overseas, for the next year or so. They will be treated as Zombies.

The airlines want to sell air-tickets.  They will install testing-machines in airports, and get govt subsidies/money to do it and/or will get the govt to do it through airport-administration.  Nations such as the USA are not going to let that economic-sector die.  The airline companies have lobbyists, for one thing, and it's good economic sense anyway - like building roads. 

 

Thailand has a similar incentive to put testing in their airports, as well.  Even if tourism were just 1% of the economy, they would need to do it. 

 

It's just a matter of when supply reaches demand.  The only question is when.  Agree with the rest, though.

[paulikens]

6 hours ago, GAZZPA said:

You really don't have any grasp at all of economics.. 1 quarterley contraction of 1% would be  a very serious economic crisis,,,,, 20% is beyond catastrophic. And what makes you think other sectors of the economy are not affected by the collapse of tourism? So the disposable income created in the tourist trade that allows people to buy say,,, mobile phones... what do you think will happen to those markets? Get it? The economy is 1 complete harmonious thing,, the tourist industry is not in a bubble,, if it collapses everybody feels it..

so why has thailand in the last 5 years made it so hard foreigners to stay longer than a couple of weeks if tourism is so important? why is it they have totally shut down their country when they have hardly any cases of the virus and are still not opening their country for tourists and yet again are gonna make it near on impossible to get in?yet europe is starting to open up again. why is the thai baht staying strong and will remain strong even tho they have no tourists?   but according to you is beyond catastrophic?  i genuinely wanna know as i admit im no expert on economics and would like it explained to me. apart from the man in charge is anti foreigner surely the 20%  is more important than his non love for us?

[Jingthing]

51 minutes ago, Sumarianson said:

Open up and end this illogical fear of a weak virus that more than likely has not killed a single person, but has been a contributing factor but not the cause. Knowledge dispels fear from the fearmongers.

Knowledge is good. Disinformation as above is very bad. 

[GAZZPA]

29 minutes ago, paulikens said:

so why has thailand in the last 5 years made it so hard foreigners to stay longer than a couple of weeks if tourism is so important? why is it they have totally shut down their country when they have hardly any cases of the virus and are still not opening their country for tourists and yet again are gonna make it near on impossible to get in?yet europe is starting to open up again. why is the thai baht staying strong and will remain strong even tho they have no tourists?   but according to you is beyond catastrophic?  i genuinely wanna know as i admit im no expert on economics and would like it explained to me. apart from the man in charge is anti foreigner surely the 20%  is more important than his non love for us?

You're going way off topic now. My point was much more simple in that the tourist industry in Thailand being 20% estimated GDP is a huge part of the economy. The reason for all the other points you raise are a different thing entirely and I will never understand why the powers that be in Thailand behave the way they do towards foreigners. My suspicion (and it is just that) is that military are a function that is purely to defend the country. They have a very strong view on that almost boarding on racism, they are not and will never be professional politicians with a balanced view of the outside world, resident expats and the economy. For me that seems to be what we see with the very anti foreign attitude running from the top down through Thai society. I remember the big sign behind the (self appointed) prime minister on his daily speech, it simply stated "Thailand is for Thais",, that says it all. 

[tomauasia]

14 hours ago, totally thaied up said:

If they are getting a few cases each plane load they are bringing returning Thai Nationals back in, I would hate to see if they opened up borders to the US, UK etc, etc as the virus certainly is not under control in many places yet. Cases will slip through the cracks for certain and we will be back at step one all over again. I agree, slowly you need to do it.

LOL these posts are hilarious. People with brains don't go out sick. These Thais don't care. They came home sick. 

The academic is a banana. Just stop the <deleted> and put a sign up. ARMY don't like educated westerners. Where jealous and we want our people to starve. There is no domestic tourism either. Who employs these dreamers. Vietnam better. Who wants to see these Thais again. Let the army have there new normal = nothing 

[tomauasia]

14 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Really? What are those signs exact7ly? 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.

Yes his just a paid army parrot. Vietnam.has it clocked. Keep starving the bars out. Just dictators at work. Lazy immigration and a love for bullying people into poverty 

[PatOngo]

Xenophobic moron! Bite the hand that feeds fed ! ???? ????

  

[White Christmas13]

3 hours ago, elliss said:

    

 In what Country , would that be ? .. 

    Legal term, that hopefully includes legal rights .

    Don't hold your breath on this ,  in Land of Smiles ..

 

 

[Monomial]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

Knowledge is good. Disinformation as above is very bad. 

 

It is neither knowledge nor disinformation at this stage. To call an opinion disinformation is, as I have stated before, singularly unhelpful. His statement is mere opinion, just like almost everything posted about this virus. It would be wonderful to see actual, falsifiable hypothesis and genuine science being done, but sadly there is very little of that available. All we have are experts (and non experts) of one form or another voicing their opinions, using suspect data that may contain selection bias based on the particular values of the person voicing the opinion.

 

Nobody knows the truth yet. It is time we stopped pretending that anyone does. We likely won't even begin to get a handle on it for several years. We need to stop pretending we can control this, and let everyone face it according to their own morals and personal beliefs.

 

The only objective truth at the moment is that we can't allow the hospital resources to become overwhelmed. That genuinely infringes on the rights of others. As long as that isn't happening, everyone needs to be granted the dignity and respect to make their own choices. Nobody's values deserve to be considered superior to anyone else.

 

Open the borders and let those who want to come, come. Let those who want to shelter in place, shelter. That is what being human is all about.

 

[daveAustin]

Lol. It won't make a difference, numbnut, as the Thais are already immune since they had their dose months ago. It was you and the Chinese that gave it to everyone else in the first place.

 

Predicable strategy, though. Bury and deny majority of numbers in the country, then when second wave hits, blame foreigners.  

[Skeptic7]

2nd "wave"?!? Must've missed the first "wave". 

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, Monomial said:

 

It is neither knowledge nor disinformation at this stage. To call an opinion disinformation is, as I have stated before, singularly unhelpful. His statement is mere opinion, just like almost everything posted about this virus. It would be wonderful to see actual, falsifiable hypothesis and genuine science being done, but sadly there is very little of that available. All we have are experts (and non experts) of one form or another voicing their opinions, using suspect data that may contain selection bias based on the particular values of the person voicing the opinion.

 

Nobody knows the truth yet. It is time we stopped pretending that anyone does. We likely won't even begin to get a handle on it for several years. We need to stop pretending we can control this, and let everyone face it according to their own morals and personal beliefs.

 

The only objective truth at the moment is that we can't allow the hospital resources to become overwhelmed. That genuinely infringes on the rights of others. As long as that isn't happening, everyone needs to be granted the dignity and respect to make their own choices. Nobody's values deserve to be considered superior to anyone else.

 

Open the borders and let those who want to come, come. Let those who want to shelter in place, shelter. That is what being human is all about.

 

No! You're wrong. I was replying to an extremist denialist post that asserted that not one single person has died of this virus. That is obviously outrageous disinformation. It reflects a propaganda movement in the world to intentionally mislead people We don't know everything at this point, that's for sure. But we know some things.

[Caine]

15 hours ago, Chivas said:

Its a tough choice. Make no mistake Thailand has done superbly over containing Covid unlike my own hapless government in the UK which have acted with catastrophic results.

I suspect the borders will open later this year but with really onerous restrictions in place first that will put off 95% of regular visitors.

 

I cant praise Thailand enough personally for the superb job they have done in controlling Covid overall

And you believe the figures they are putting out. 555????????????

[Scott]

Troll posts reported and removed.  

 

[Pattaya46]

5 hours ago, paulikens said:

So why has thailand in the last 5 years made it so hard foreigners to stay longer than a couple of weeks if tourism is so important? //

Uh? What are you talking about ?? Seems to me that a huge number of tourists can easily stay 60 days in Thailand without even needing a visa. And seems it's even easier (before Covid) than 5 years ago.