COVID outbreak in densely populated communities could spell disaster for Bangkok

[webfact]

COViD-19 mass screening in Bon Kai area of Bangkok.

 

Whether Bangkok can avoid its worst nightmare in the ongoing COVID-19 crisis depends largely on how well authorities control the outbreak raging through its overcrowded Klong Toei communities.

 

More than 300 infections were discovered in the communities last month. Meanwhile, tests conducted on 1,336 Klong Toei residents from April 27-30 showed 1 in every 14 people (7.41 per cent) were positive. The findings set alarm bells ringing, with the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration admitting this week that the situation was “most worrying”.

 

What happened in Klong Toei?

One of the capital’s poorest neighbourhoods, Klong Toei is the location of 41 overcrowded communities. Often referred to as slums, the communities are home to about 100,000 mainly low-income residents who work across various sectors in the capital.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/covid-outbreak-in-densely-populated-communities-could-spell-disaster-for-bangkok/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-05-06

 

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[RichardColeman]

14 minutes ago, webfact said:

residents from April 27-30 showed 1 in every 14 people (7.41 per cent) were positive.

Almost as many as Hi-so General nightclubs then

[Don Chance]

Open sewers and poor plumbing practices (no venting) maybe causing outbreaks. Also explains transmission in quarantine.

 

https://www.ndtv.com/video/news/fyi-an-in-depth-look-at-the-issues-that-affect-us/can-covid-spread-through-defective-bathroom-sewage-pipes-584922

Edited May 5, 2021 by Don Chance

[ukrules]

Perhaps they should 'lock 'em in and let it rip' - the same approach they took with the seafood workers in the December 2020 outbreak in Samut Somewhere or other....

 

I'm again reminded of the Singapore migrant workers in cramped dorms.

Edited May 5, 2021 by ukrules

[ourmanflint]

No point in putting all your resources putting out a fire in a single area, if sparks are flaring up everywhere else. 
 

[Excel]

Let's hope that covid19 does not last as long there as that other endemic issue that thrives in Bangkok, corruption.

[inThailand]

Yes, close everything, but let the masses into the malls. That's much safer?

[lks7689]

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

Perhaps they should 'lock 'em in and let it rip' - the same approach they took with the seafood workers in the December 2020 outbreak in Samut Somewhere or other....

 

I'm again reminded of the Singapore migrant workers in cramped dorms.

The new variants are a different beast. No matter how tight the measures it still found a way through. The recent clusters in Singapore are quite worrisome.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Whether Bangkok can avoid its worst nightmare in the ongoing COVID-19 crisis depends largely on how well authorities control the outbreak raging through its overcrowded Klong Toei communities.

It depends on the vaccine programme to halt Covid... and so far Prayut & Co have seriously screwed up! They will be fighting outbreaks forever until people have been inoculated.

[Mywayboy]

Sanitation is not one of Thailands stronger points.

Phuket effluent system is inadequate. 

[jaiyen]

The slum areas are the worst for spreading any disease. Just look at Mumbai and Rio for example. They have had massive Covid spread and very quickly. Not much hope for poor people who have to work today to eat tonight, They can't afford a lockdown. But the authorities have no plans or answers to help them.

[Eric Loh]

Past and present governments are to be blame for allowing the slum of Klong Toei to exist for ages right in the city center and among the skyscrapers and expensive buildings of Rama 1V and Sathorn. The outbreak is unavoidable and expected. 

[pixelaoffy]

Should have been torn down and replaced with decent housing ! Sums up Thailand with its divided broken society . No hope at all for it 

[unblocktheplanet]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

It depends on the vaccine programme to halt Covid... and so far Prayut & Co have seriously screwed up! They will be fighting outbreaks forever until people have been inoculated.

And long, long after. Welcome to the brave new world of four boosters a year. As the articles states, people who live in Klong Toey work everywhere in Bangkok.

[Surelynot]

Might have been a better idea to vaccinate these poor souls rather than footballers.

[Bkk Brian]

14 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Past and present governments are to be blame for allowing the slum of Klong Toei to exist for ages right in the city center and among the skyscrapers and expensive buildings of Rama 1V and Sathorn. The outbreak is unavoidable and expected. 

One would have thought they would have learnt their lesson from the outbreaks in migrant camps but no.

[hotchilli]

4 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

And long, long after. Welcome to the brave new world of four boosters a year. As the articles states, people who live in Klong Toey work everywhere in Bangkok.

It will become another one like having the flu jab, live with it forever.... it's here to stay.

Except this is a bit more virilant than flu and if you have underlying symptoms it could put you in the ground.

Problem is not much in the way of vaccines yet.

[MrJ2U]

Its not only the poor crowded slumbs.  The Thai mentality of family first, while nice in concept is going to be a problem with the spread of covid-19 or any other virus.  Yesterday I walked into our community room and my wifes mothers sister was sprawled out on the couch coughing.  I politely told her to visit when she wasn't sick.  You would think that would be obvious.  They didn't want to lose face or something. 

[MrJ2U]

3 hours ago, inThailand said:

Yes, close everything, but let the masses into the malls. That's much safer?

The bigger problem is many people from there work menial jobs including ones in the malls, food stalls, and others scattered out through Bangkok.

[Aomelia]

4 hours ago, inThailand said:

Yes, close everything, but let the masses into the malls. That's much safer?

I went to term21 in Pattaya not one person in Starbucks people aren’t being stupid malls are DEAD 

[rupert the bear]

we see this in the philippines and india.slums overcrowding and poverty,it cant be stopped unless innoculating the place is done,indians -its the fat middle class that are hot now and nothings said about the slums where it brews.manila same but they know where it is and have locked down hard to keep a lid on it until jabs come.so jab em or lock coz mai pen rai dont work and the unwashed masses will infect the hiso scum so........i guess thai logic means that the jabs go to the rich and it goes on........same logic that says covid knows the difference between a japanese american and a thai and of course thats why we shouldnt be vaccinated.duuuur of course every other country where thais live and vaccs are available they get it,thats intelligence or plain common sense.that doesnt exist  here,embassies sort it out.call em out and pc land too IE CNN and BBC media ohhh its waycism

[Tich]

And yet last week we where by the powers that be everything was under control !.. Yeah right, this government could not run a bath !

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Past and present governments are to be blame for allowing the slum of Klong Toei to exist for ages right in the city center and among the skyscrapers and expensive buildings of Rama 1V and Sathorn. The outbreak is unavoidable and expected. 

Many cities in Asia are the same. A taxi driver driver in Jakarta took me through some back areas to help me get to the airport in rush hour, and it wasn't pretty. I imagine that most big cities have their 'areas' that tourists never see. Which makes it something of a miracle that there haven't been massive outbreaks involving tens of thousands already.

[Eric Loh]

17 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Many cities in Asia are the same. A taxi driver driver in Jakarta took me through some back areas to help me get to the airport in rush hour, and it wasn't pretty. I imagine that most big cities have their 'areas' that tourists never see. Which makes it something of a miracle that there haven't been massive outbreaks involving tens of thousands already.

It is those big slums in major cities that are of concerns of spreading to the larger communities. Like the Tondo slums in Manila that has almost 4 million inhabitants or the Cilincing slum of Jarkata that has similar population. Ditto the big slums of Delhi and Mumbai that are high risks of infection and trasmission. Klong Toei too has a large population formal and informal that posed a high risk to Bangkok. Other slums like in KL, Hong Kong, Hanoi are much smaller and will be easier to mitigate when infections are detected. 

[Deli]

1 hour ago, Aomelia said:

I went to term21 in Pattaya not one person in Starbucks people aren’t being stupid malls are DEAD 

 

Not really, Tesco Lotus in Phuket pretty busy the other day.

[pi2005ni]

1 hour ago, Aomelia said:

I went to term21 in Pattaya not one person in Starbucks people aren’t being stupid malls are DEAD 

Maybe that’s because currently you are not allowed to sit in Starbucks, it’s take away only . You can’t fix stupid .

[Cake Monster]

The Authorities are now Bricking it because this outbreak in Klong Toey could upset the way of things in the Capital.

From the remedial actions they have taken so far, they seem to have little will in actually trying to contain this outbreak.

Or, >>>> Is it that because the outbreak is within a slum area, where the people are not really thought a lot of by the Government, that little Money has to be spent on these dregs of Society ( Salt of Earth people to me ) when they are deemed to offer very little back to Society.

If it were not for these people from these areas, Bangkok would fall into disrepair and ruin in short order.

Think about that CCSA

 

[Surelynot]

2 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

The Authorities are now Bricking it because this outbreak in Klong Toey could upset the way of things in the Capital.

From the remedial actions they have taken so far, they seem to have little will in actually trying to contain this outbreak.

Or, >>>> Is it that because the outbreak is within a slum area, where the people are not really thought a lot of by the Government, that little Money has to be spent on these dregs of Society ( Salt of Earth people to me ) when they are deemed to offer very little back to Society.

If it were not for these people from these areas, Bangkok would fall into disrepair and ruin in short order.

Think about that CCSA

 

Many from here are cleaners, maids, gardeners, drivers for hi-sos..........that is why it is so important now to get Khlong Toei under control

[richard_smith237]

It is more important that these slum areas receive the vaccine as early as possible.

 

The slum areas need the vaccine well before the high-so’s in their moo-bans and large spacious houses. 

The slum areas need the vaccines more than people like my Wife and I in our roomy house where we can easily get food and groceries delivered. 

 

It would be easy for the government to set up ‘community’ vaccination centres at ALL of the area’s of high population density / poor development. 

 

 

 

 

[Toby1947]

2 hours ago, Tich said:

And yet last week we where by the powers that be everything was under control !.. Yeah right, this government could not run a bath !

From the nasty niffs I’ve experienced in Thailand not many run baths. (From a 3 shower a day dirty farang) 555.