Thailand reports first local cases of virus variant first found in India

[dinsdale]

10 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Sorry, but I call you a "doomsday sayer".  I'm not a Covid-denier, but vaccinations are the solution not locking-down which causes more long-term damage.

Vaccinations take time and are no guarantee. How much damage could have been avoided with a hard lockdown of 7-10 days after the Thong Lor spread which was exacerbated by the complete opposite of a lockdown with Songkran. They want tourism to open up but do stupid things like this. Vaccines are part but not the whole answer here.  

[dinsdale]

6 minutes ago, grain said:

It came in a Bombay Oyster.

Maybe the rumours of rich Indians buying their way out of india to here were not just rumours.

[FarFlungFalang]

17 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Must have been lunchtime or raining at the checkpoints.

Must have been raining brown envelopes at the checkpoints.Is that what you're trying to say?

[DavisH]

5 hours ago, redwood1 said:

Just a regular Indian covid variant is BORING....

For some real sitting on the edge of your seat action, cant we have some thing like the Covid Triple mutant Variant...

 

 

• One SARS-CoV-2 variant (B.1.617) found in India has been dubbed the "triple mutant variant."

Thre are three 1.617.1  1.617.2  1.617.3.  The variant of concern is 1.617.2. 

[snoop1130]

Thailand sees first local cases of Indian COVID-19 variant

 

Government officials in face masks attend a preparation of the Central Vaccination Center as the country deals with a fresh wave of the infections after tackling earlier outbreaks of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Bangkok, Thailand, May 21, 2021. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand has detected its first 36 domestically transmitted cases of the highly infectious COVID-19 variant first found in India, authorities said on Friday, a discovery that could complicate efforts to address its most deadly outbreak so far.

 

All 36 cases with the B.1.617.2 variant were found among people staying in construction workers' accommodation in the capital Bangkok and included 15 migrant workers, the health ministry said.

 

The B.1.617.2 variant, which ravaged India, is believed by some experts to be even more transmissible than the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in Britain, which Thailand's health ministry on Friday said was found in the majority of recent cases in the country.

 

Thailand is fighting its most severe outbreak yet, with cases quadrupling and deaths increasing seven-fold since the start of April.

 

Authorities said clusters have been detected in several of the 409 workers camps around the Bangkok, where city authorities say 62,169 workers live, about half of those are migrant workers.

 

In one camp in northern Bangkok about 1,100 of the 1,667 workers there were infected. Thailand has also found big clusters in several of its prisons.

 

The government has ordered checks on living conditions of workers in dormitories and has restricted movement between different camps, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government's COVID-19 taskforce said.

 

The detection of the B.1.617.2 variant in Thailand comes at a time when only 1.72 million people have received first doses of a coronavirus vaccine, most of those frontline workers or members of high-risk groups.

 

The country is set to start is mass-vaccination campaign next month.

 

The taskforce reported 3,481 new cases and 32 deaths on Friday, bringing the total to 123,066 cases and 735 fatalities overall.

 

Thailand contained its earlier outbreaks quickly and was preparing a phased reopening of its crucial tourism sector when the latest wave struck. Officials say it is still on course to welcome vaccinated vacationers starting in July.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-05-21

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[Sheryl]

Posts with unsubstantiated conspiracy theories have been removed along with replies to them

[Sheryl]

32 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Precisely, with closed borders/14 day quarantine in place, how did this variant get in? Must have been lunchtime or raining at the checkpoints.

from India to Myanmar (land border)

 

From Myanmar to Thailand (land border)

 

there is no preventing a virus from crossing long land borders that are imposisbel to patrol every inch of

 

 

[brewsterbudgen]

48 minutes ago, Caldera said:

 

Just where will the vaccine come from in a hurry, pray tell? Short of having enough vaccine, a lockdown will be inevitable. And very damaging, yes.

 

It's coming, but yes too slowly.  I definitely don't see any further lockdowns though.  If anything the current restrictions are (thankfully) already starting to be relaxed.

[Blumpie]

Was that mass immunization centre the airport? 

It was only a matter of time until it showed up.  

 

[brewsterbudgen]

38 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Vaccinations take time and are no guarantee. How much damage could have been avoided with a hard lockdown of 7-10 days after the Thong Lor spread which was exacerbated by the complete opposite of a lockdown with Songkran. They want tourism to open up but do stupid things like this. Vaccines are part but not the whole answer here.  

Too late now.  And I doubt it would have made much difference, as it wouldn't have been effective.  Thailand is not China.

[gearbox]

5 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

 

‘B.1.617.2 May Be 50% More Contagious Than Variant First Seen in UK’

 

https://science.thewire.in/health/b-1-617-2-may-be-50-more-contagious-than-variant-first-seen-in-uk/

 From FT (behind a paywall):

 

At one care home in Delhi, 33 staff members who had been fully vaccinated with the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab tested positive for the B. 1.617.2 strain, he said, though none became seriously ill. “We thought everyone would be protected [but] the virus was able to get around the vaccine,” Gupta said.

The FT has not corroborated individual press reports but the Indian Medical Association said that at least nine of 194 doctors that had died of Covid-19 during the recent outbreak were believed to have been fully vaccinated. The organisation was in the process of verifying more details, including how long after their second shot the doctors had died and which vaccine they had received, Dr Johnrose Austin Jayalal, IMA national president, told the FT.

The question scientists must now answer is whether the so-called “vaccine breakthrough” cases can be explained by the sheer number of people contracting Covid-19 in India and the efficacy of the shots — none of the jabs are 100 per cent effective. Or whether the new strains, as with the variant first identified in South Africa, have evolved to become more resistant to the vaccines.

[ukrules]

37 minutes ago, gearbox said:

at least nine of 194 doctors that had died of Covid-19 during the recent outbreak were believed to have been fully vaccinated

 

A world first or an error, I'm going with error for now.

 

 

[Danderman123]

4 hours ago, vivananahuahin said:

i know  i have good listen to the video conference ,they are also from France Prof Montagnier very interesting interview if you understand french i give you the link (351) Pr Montagnier : "C'est très simple Les variants viennent des vaccinations " - YouTube

Well, that is false, all currently known variants emerged before vaccination started.

[ExpatOilWorker]

Did they find 15 cases?

Let's make that 36.

What is the definition of exponential growth again?

 

[ThailandRyan]

The breakdown of the 36: 

21 Thais, 10 Myanmar nationals and 5 Cambodians 

[lks7689]

8 hours ago, jacko45k said:

It is deadly.....puts people in a Korma and did my nan.

The Indian variant is really a different beast. Infected the vaccinated airport staff and created the largest cluster in Singapore now. 

Edited May 21, 2021 by lks7689

[lks7689]

6 hours ago, cclub75 said:

No problem.

 

WHO just said that all vaccines are efficient against all variants... !

 

"All COVID-19 virus variants that have emerged so far do respond to the available, approved vaccines," Kluge said Hans Kluge (WHO Europe chief)

 

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/covid-19-vaccine-effective-variants-overseas-travel-not-safe-who-14849520

 

So we are saved !

 

Ah wait... we do not have vaccine yet....

I think WHO's statement is vague and misleading. When they say efficient it doesn't mean it 100% prevents infection. It has been proven they reduce severity of infection but people can still get infected. 

[ukrules]

5 minutes ago, lks7689 said:

I think WHO's statement is vague and misleading. When they say efficient it doesn't mean it 100% prevents infection. It has been proven they reduce severity of infection but people can still get infected. 

 

Yes, that's what I read too, if you breathe it in then you will become infected but that's not really the issue here.

 

Being vaccinated reduces it to either an asymptomatic case or a 'mild cold like' illness.

 

But you will still test positive on a PCR test regardless of how mild it is.

[KhaoYai]

4 hours ago, Sheryl said:

from India to Myanmar (land border)

 

From Myanmar to Thailand (land border)

 

there is no preventing a virus from crossing long land borders that are imposisbel to patrol every inch of

 

 

I understand that Sheryl but its widely known amongst Thai communities along the borders that 'certain people' know very well that people cross illegally and where they cross. Up in the North there was even a minivan service operating on the Thai side.

 

My comment on checkpoints is drawn from the situation around Surin in 'normal times' - I doubt its much different now.  Between Surin and Nang Rong on highway 24 there are regular checkpoints - supposedly looking for illegals.  Anyone who lives around that area and indeed, the illegals will know that your vehicle is unlikely to be checked if you arrive at the checkpoints around lunchtime or when its raining.  Apparently splitting lunch into 2 shifts is a no no.

Edited May 21, 2021 by KhaoYai

[djayz]

Great! Here we go again! 

Is this round 3? 4? 5? I've honestly lost count. 

[Albert Zweistein]

10 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Now that we have found the needle in the haystack,  we can conclude that the authorities are good at finding needles or there are a lot of needle in the haystack. 

My bet is on the latter.

You mean the needles needed for jabbing ?

[KhaoYai]

3 hours ago, gearbox said:

 From FT (behind a paywall):

 

At one care home in Delhi, 33 staff members who had been fully vaccinated with the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab tested positive for the B. 1.617.2 strain, he said, though none became seriously ill. “We thought everyone would be protected [but] the virus was able to get around the vaccine,” Gupta said.

The FT has not corroborated individual press reports but the Indian Medical Association said that at least nine of 194 doctors that had died of Covid-19 during the recent outbreak were believed to have been fully vaccinated. The organisation was in the process of verifying more details, including how long after their second shot the doctors had died and which vaccine they had received, Dr Johnrose Austin Jayalal, IMA national president, told the FT.

The question scientists must now answer is whether the so-called “vaccine breakthrough” cases can be explained by the sheer number of people contracting Covid-19 in India and the efficacy of the shots — none of the jabs are 100 per cent effective. Or whether the new strains, as with the variant first identified in South Africa, have evolved to become more resistant to the vaccines.

I heard a report on BBC radio last night that stated a study of 3000 vaccinated health care workers in India, had found that only 3 contracted the virus, none died and none got seriously ill. I don't think any reports can be trusted yet.

 

I wonder if though, given the viral load that healthcare workers in India are exposed to, its fair consider them when considering the efficacy of vaccines?  To the best of my knowledge, none of the trials carried out by the vaccine manufacturers exposed participants to a very high viral load on a daily basis.

 

I've watched several TV reports showing staff working in the intensive care departments of Indian hospitals - the masks and general personal protective equipment those staff were wearing looked very sub standard. The masks in particular looked much the same as people wear on the street.

 

A reliable study of the efficacy of vaccines and other factors relating to the 'Indian Variant' is expected to be available shortly in the UK. Meanwhile, the UK's health minister Matt Hancock stated that over 90% of those infected with the 'Indian Variant' were un-vaccinated and many of them had actually refused the vaccine.

 

Personally, I won't be paying too much attention to any studies or reports coming out of India. Not only is the situation there very different to other countries, as stated in your post, there are several unknown factors that need clarification. As I suggested earlier, the PPE used by healthcare staff in India does not appear to be adequate but also, the way of life there is different and population densities are very high. I'm no scientist but I wonder, should we be looking at studies or attribututing much significance to reports from any country, that only look at healthcare workers who by definition, have very high exposure to the virus?

 

Of course, all variants of Covid 19 raise concerns and must be thoroughly checked out but for the moment, I have absolute confidence in the vaccines used in my home country (UK).  The daily figures here prove that the vaccines are working.  In January we had daily infections running at over 50,000 with deaths approaching 2000. Today we have 2829 new infections and 9 deaths - a significant number of those new infections are down to cases of the Indian variant imported by people returning from India and mixing with unvaccinated people.  For some reason the Asian population in the UK has a much higher percentage of people refusing vaccines than other groups.  Since that variant arrived in the UK they now seem to be more willing to be vaccinated.

[irishman25]

11 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Wow. It has arrived.  Let's be safe and ensure we isolate those locations where it was found.  Take care folks and be safe.  Looks like the ride has hit turbulence 

i am right when I posted 2.weeks ago about the new India variant been in Thailand my main reasons was the death rate. It is now in most western country's, 3500. in UK. 57. in Ireland. it will spread worse then Wildfire, Just take any vaccine that you can get.don't take chances.     

[Petey11]

10 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

The Construction Worker Camps certainly seem to be the center of the new outbreaks, which is certainly bad news for all.

I wonder how long all these clusters have been kept quiet from the Media.

With the numbers of people involved in these Builders Camps ( approx 450,000 in Bangkok alone ), this could get as bad, if not worse than the Prisons.

However, this also raises the question " what about all the overcrowded Factories, and other sweat shops ".

Are there cover ups happening here also ?

Are the high Infection rates of all these places only being slowly drip fed out into the Public domain to ease panic and the pressure on the Hospitals.

We  can only guess, and try to protect our Families as best we are able.

Cluster in Chonburi, factory has been closed.

https://thepattayanews.com/2021/05/21/chonburi-governor-orders-temporary-closure-of-okamura-metal-factory-after-cluster-of-98-covid-19-cases-found/

[irishman25]

2 hours ago, ukrules said:

 

Yes, that's what I read too, if you breathe it in then you will become infected but that's not really the issue here.

 

Being vaccinated reduces it to either an asymptomatic case or a 'mild cold like' illness.

 

But you will still test positive on a PCR test regardless of how mild it is.

Thank you for posting this CORRECT information

[bobandyson]

11 hours ago, Kasset Tak said:

Construction workers... read Burmese and Cambodian workers! I mean, the new variant didn't get to Thailand on 2 legs and these workers are most likely not subjected to 14 days quarantine when they cross the border... In the end it all comes down to the greed of the construction companies!

 Or maybe it's the Thai governments half-hearted attempts at protecting everyone here. Foreigners have to be tested and have certificates before boarding a Thai-bound plane, but an infected Thai national can board and get tested on arrival? It only takes one 'Thai hi-so aerosol' who is above being tested and quarantined to start the spread of any new strain.

[bermondburi]

Gonna tikka lot to stop this now 

[starky]

13 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

maybe TAT will promote another Songkran in June just to get this one stirred up a bit. You know, get it out in the country side. 

 

"Fifty Indian doctors die from Covid in a day and the country's daily fatality toll hits 4,329 as rural leaders say official count ignores 'entire families wiped out'"

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9590759/Fifty-Indian-doctors-die-Covid-day-countrys-daily-fatality-toll-hits-4-329.html

 

 

Now where is the ...

But covid isn't bad

But covid is just like the flu

But covid hardly kills anyone

But covid only has a mortality rate of 0.0004%

But covid only kills the elderly 

Don't get vaccinated

Covid is a conspiracy 

But the flu has almost disappeared,

 Gang.

[webfact]

21 more Indian variant cases found among construction workers, bringing total to 36

 

 

Twenty-one more cases of the Indian variant of COVID-19 have been found among construction workers staying at a Laksi worker housing facility, raising the Indian variant cases to 36 so far.

 

Director-General of the Department of Medical Sciences Dr. Supakit Sirilak said today (Friday), that the department has decoded the genetic makeup of 80 viral specimens, taken from workers at the housing camp and its neighborhood, and found 36 of them to be the B.1.617.2 COVID-19 Indian variant.

 

The 36 cases include the 15 cases disclosed earlier today by CCSA Spokesman Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin. 21 are Thais, 10 are Myanmar migrant workers and 5 are migrant workers from Cambodia.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/21-more-indian-variant-cases-found-among-construction-workers-bringing-total-to-36/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-05-22

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[RichardColeman]

It's quite possible that my own UK will explode with the Indian variant BUT there is also every chance the vaccine program will have been rolled out enough to stave off any real damage.

 

If Thailand gets hit with an Indian variant with only 1-2% vaccinated then there could very well be problems.