Migrant workers pose biggest danger: Public Health Ministry

By The Nation

 

 

The Public Health Ministry has warned that bringing migrant workers into the Kingdom may lead to a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

 

Tanarak Plipat, deputy director general of the Disease Control Department, warned that though the situation in Thailand was a lot better than other countries, the risk is not entirely over.

 

“Several countries are facing a second-wave of infections, and we may face the same. The government is working on curbing the spread of the virus by setting up relevant agencies in every province,” he said.

 

He also listed three factors that could cause another outbreak – remaining local patients, returnees from other countries who pose a low risk, and illegal migrants, who pose a very high risk.

 

Tanarak said businesses wanting to bring in migrant workers need to first quarantine them for 14 days, adding that he believes everyone will agree to this measure because nobody wants to be blamed for causing another outbreak.

 

“We have strict measures in place, and they should be followed as we don’t want businesses to be closed again. The goal at the moment is to control the disease until there are no more infections,” he said.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30392117

 

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1 hour ago, webfact said:

he believes everyone will agree to this measure because nobody wants to be blamed for causing another outbreak.

 

like  the  army and  govt  then

1 hour ago, webfact said:

“We have strict measures in place

yeah  am  sure  those jungle  and  river  crossings are  now impenetrable

1 hour ago, webfact said:

until there are no more infections,”

60  days  now  is  it

2 hours ago, webfact said:

We have strict measures in place, and they should be followed as we don’t want businesses to be closed again.

'they should be followed' That doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

 

There again, if you enter as a diplomat or as military personnel, then the rules don't need to be followed at all until it's too late.

businesses have already closed its way to late for that.its blatently obvious that this will lead to many infections burma where most workers come from cannot possibly guarantee returning workers are clear.why are they coming?millions are out of work use some of them.gotta pay them a wage?that seems to be the sticking point.so factories save a few baht and then later it cost billions of baht to clear up the mess and the resulting xenophobia, running away from responsibility ,the usual immaturity and ohh it was him not me will set back the economy many more mnths .thank god russias got a vaccine or will they wait till the china one comes,good luck trusting those scum bags theyre sleazier than tonglor cop st.

So it's not the filthy foreigners at the top of the list anymore?

Why does Thailand need to bring in migrant workers ?   

 

There must be enough Thais, currently with no income, to staff the food processing plants and the building sites.

 

What about all the (ex-)hotel staff ?   Not to mention the bar staff.

 

Yes, the lasses can work on building sites.   Only half of the crew that built our two story, western-style house were male !   (And probably, most of them still are.)

It is good this likely very highly paid public health minister gave a warning that migrant workers could bring a second wave. It must take a higher degree of education and specialization to come up with that projection.
 

Are the companies that are offering low salaries for my migrant workers be made responsible for the two week quarantine? Are the companies that are using my migrant workers paying the cost for two week quarantine?
Make the companies liable for all medical costs for any migrant worker that tests positive test for coronavirus and all connected cases. 

what would a second wave be and can you help me understand what the first wave was in quantitative terms?

As far as I know Thailand is and has not been testing for the virus a friend of mine asked o be tested at the 

Bangkok hospital in Chiang Mai they told him not to bother as the tests are not accurate!

Thailand's Government have used this virus to control people to believe they have done such a great job

and blame other country's for the virus, not a good thing to do as its been a world problem that needs unity. Thailand is shooting itself in the foot and will cause its own problems and of course blame someone else.    

22 minutes ago, brianp0803 said:

It is good this likely very highly paid public health minister gave a warning that migrant workers could bring a second wave. It must take a higher degree of education and specialization to come up with that projection.
 

Are the companies that are offering low salaries for my migrant workers be made responsible for the two week quarantine? Are the companies that are using my migrant workers paying the cost for two week quarantine?
Make the companies liable for all medical costs for any migrant worker that tests positive test for coronavirus and all connected cases. 

Surely the $100k Covid insurance would cover this ? Or it does not apply in special circumstances.lol

That explains why the one of the first groups being allowed in are 100,000 from Myanmar.
Thailand needs foreign construction workers right now like a hole in the head. How many more condos do they need to add to the list of 00's of 000's of unsold ones already standing there ?

There never is a second wave in a pandemic ... say experts ! [The ones that are not allowed in the media these days !]

44 minutes ago, alant said:

what would a second wave be and can you help me understand what the first wave was in quantitative terms?

The first wave is code for the excuse to use the “emergency decree”

the threat of a second wave is the excuse to keep extending it.

1 hour ago, Mak25 said:

So it's not the filthy foreigners at the top of the list anymore?

They are foreigners as well. THe guy is a 100 racist he should be blocked to enter any foreign country,

 

1 hour ago, MrMo said:

Why does Thailand need to bring in migrant workers ?   

 

There must be enough Thais, currently with no income, to staff the food processing plants and the building sites.

 

What about all the (ex-)hotel staff ?   Not to mention the bar staff.

 

Yes, the lasses can work on building sites.   Only half of the crew that built our two story, western-style house were male !   (And probably, most of them still are.)

Having done construction myself for several years, I always wonder at the (almost surely non-Thai) workers I see on building sites here, especially the really large ones. It's hard dirty work, and it's not true that the skill level is low; the skill involved is being able to follow instructions and exert oneself all day in a dangerous demanding environment. Out of work Bangkok Thais are probably too soft for this, certainly at those wages. And you notice how few seem to be over 30; the body just can't take it beyond a certain age in most cases. 

But why the developers keep adding units is the mystery. My son did a study of this, and found that everyone from the architects and engineers and project managers on down the food chain eventually get paid, so they have no reason to question the wisdom of adding units no one will live in. The risks are all taken by the financiers at the very top, and they have their systems and motives which are opaque, at least to me. Will projects that are only in the planning stage get cancelled, and what we see are just the finishing of things started that have to be finished? I guess time will tell.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The Public Health Ministry has warned that bringing migrant workers into the Kingdom may lead to a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

So don't invite them in... reduce your own domestic unemployment numbers by saying work or receive no benefits !

1 hour ago, MrMo said:

Why does Thailand need to bring in migrant workers ?   

 

There must be enough Thais, currently with no income, to staff the food processing plants and the building sites.

 

What about all the (ex-)hotel staff ?   Not to mention the bar staff.

 

Yes, the lasses can work on building sites.   Only half of the crew that built our two story, western-style house were male !   (And probably, most of them still are.)

Because a lot of Thai blue collar/unskilled workers are:

1) Lazy

2) Have difficulty following basic instructions properly

3) Like the money, but hate earning it 

 

More importantly, they regard a lot of jobs as demeaning / below them.

Thus, they will flat out refuse to do such kind of jobs, due to their Thai pride/arrogance.

Migrant workers are not so picky, and fill these market gaps, for much less money.

This opens another can of worms i.e. Thai greed.

 

Opportunistic Thai companies often take advantage of these migrant workers,

via poor working conditions, exorbitant recruitment fees, unpaid overtime and other underhanded tactics.

 

1 hour ago, MrMo said:

Why does Thailand need to bring in migrant workers ?   

 

There must be enough Thais, currently with no income, to staff the food processing plants and the building sites.

 

What about all the (ex-)hotel staff ?   Not to mention the bar staff.

 

Yes, the lasses can work on building sites.   Only half of the crew that built our two story, western-style house were male !   (And probably, most of them still are.)

Do you mean they're pre-op?

 

Ho hum, looks like it's time to lay minefields along the borders again, lol.

 

 

You don't need to be an expert, especially after what happened in Singapore, to realise that tens of thousands of migrant workers returning to Thailand at the government's behest would pose a huge C19 problem, so why did the idiots invite them in?

Are Thais immune from Covid-19 

1 hour ago, dcsw53 said:

That explains why the one of the first groups being allowed in are 100,000 from Myanmar.
Thailand needs foreign construction workers right now like a hole in the head. How many more condos do they need to add to the list of 00's of 000's of unsold ones already standing there ?

Thought there were thousands of thais out of work.

Don't allow migrant workers in to Thailand for the next two years. Thailand never had the first wave comparing to other countries. 

We were lucky considering the number of Chinese that visited Thailand back in Jan & Feb and March.

Here in Koh Samui the situation is extremely bad. Large areas of central Samui Businesses are shout down. The unemployment staggering and it is getting worst by day. 

It is time to open the borders to foreign tourists. 

You can start by allowing people to which have a resident here in Thailand to come in. 

Finally the health minister perhaps need to clear his head by taking a good and long shower. It is not and it never was the DIRTY FARANGS which caused the pandemic. So we are no longer on top of the list!!!!! 

2 hours ago, MrMo said:

Why does Thailand need to bring in migrant workers ?   

 

There must be enough Thais, currently with no income, to staff the food processing plants and the building sites.

Many Thais don't work well vertically. 

millions of thais out of work, but cannot go without the much cheaper slave labour to fill the elite's pockets

2 minutes ago, Sean60 said:

Don't allow migrant workers in to Thailand for the next two years. Thailand never had the first wave comparing to other countries. 

We were lucky considering the number of Chinese that visited Thailand back in Jan & Feb and March.

Here in Koh Samui the situation is extremely bad. Large areas of central Samui Businesses are shout down. The unemployment staggering and it is getting worst by day. 

It is time to open the borders to foreign tourists. 

You can start by allowing people to which have a resident here in Thailand to come in. 

Finally the health minister perhaps need to clear his head by taking a good and long shower. It is not and it never was the DIRTY FARANGS which caused the pandemic. So we are no longer on top of the list!!!!! 

 

 

Migrant Asian workers are a much safer option than opening borders to Western tourists.

 

 

Health over economy. Samui needs to do what the rest of Thailand is doing and promote domestic tourism in the short-term. 

 

For international tourism we have to need to remove the requirement for quarantine; that will only be possible when a vaccine is available - certificate for CV19 free + vaccine for all arrivals.

Isn't the official minimum wage equal for all workers, independently ftom their Nationality ( Myanmar, Laos, CambodiaN ) ? If so, there's no reason to import labor ( and potential carriers of the Chinese Virus ).

2 hours ago, alant said:

what would a second wave be and can you help me understand what the first wave was in quantitative terms?

First wave there was a spike in the average Thailand death rate of 2500 . The official figure shows a total of 58 deaths . 

If you stack 90 of them on top of each other in a truck, I see what you mean....