As the Covid situation worsens in Bangkok and other areas, many people are returning home to the countryside to potentially spread the virus among family and village populations.

 

My own village has been on the loudspeaker system for most of the morning (from 5am until 9.30 and counting) announcing measures to control the situation. A school has been commandeered to serve as an isolation zone where returnees must stay, and they are asking for donations of money, food, water and other items such as straw mats, pillows and those commonly-seen wooden platforms for people to sleep on. We have spare mats and blankets to offer.

I asked my wife how these returnees are getting back home when travel is all but closed down, and she said that many areas have vans that are going, in our case from Kalasin Province, to Bangkok to collect those who have contacted them via social media as they have lost their job and can no longer pay rent and have nowhere to live. None have received any help at all from the government.

 

The local village hospitals no longer have room for cases, and a larger hospital around 20 kms from us in what is still little more than a village has 92 cases, according to a nurse my wife knows working there.

 

This country is about to go into total virus and economic meltdown.

Two cases here in Samui, taken off the ferry directly to hospital yesterday. Came from Nakhon si Ayuthaya which I believe is a dark red zone. 

As long, they do not speed up the vaxs, it will only become more and more bad all over the country.

 

The Delta variant seems to take over every where, very dangerous situation.

 

They could have vaccinated the returning people before they come home, to control the situation, but........

 

Now the Covid situation is becomming more and more chaotic and out of control.

 

Now it is up to often un educated village volunteers, to take care of the covid in the villages and they have not much to work with, no wax, bad eqiupment if they have anything at all, no money, bad informations..........

And i thought there is a travelling ban out of BKK ? And now they seem to organizing it.....or is it just "anticipating on the inevitable "...

9 minutes ago, david555 said:

And i thought there is a travelling ban out of BKK ? And now they seem to organizing it.....or is it just "anticipating on the inevitable "...

I guess their reasoning is that the people are isolated in the van while being taken to isolation near their home. Makes sense. At least it's containing the 'refugees'.

13 minutes ago, david555 said:

And i thought there is a travelling ban out of BKK ? And now they seem to organizing it.....or is it just "anticipating on the inevitable "...

Yup, move them all out into the countryside, then they can declare how well they've performed in defeating the virus and BKK will be COVID free in time for the return of tourism in October.

12 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I guess their reasoning is that the people are isolated in the van while being taken to isolation near their home. Makes sense. At least it's containing the 'refugees'.

"I guess their reasoning is that the people are isolated in the van while being taken to isolation"

 

By x number of persons  in the Van on the initial trip...(???? ).

afterwards ...the unknown quarantine factor 

 

....., sanitary stops underway needed probably anyway

3 minutes ago, david555 said:

At least it's containing the 'refugees'. while at least in " joint isolation " ( ???? ) by x persons  in the Van on the initial trip....afterwards ...the unknown quarantine factor 

 

....., sanitary stops underway needed probably anyway

What alternative would you suggest for those with no income and nowhere to live except back home? I guess it's called making the best of a bad job.

Well, you can't blame these folks, really. If you were in their shoes, what would you do? Out of work and no money in Bkk, stuck in some flop of a room that you can no longer afford? I would go back to my hometown to be with family and have a roof over my head/food to eat. Who wouldn't? It's a very difficult situation with no easy answers. The thing to do is yes, isolate once home. Since the virus can't be seen, it's easy to think you aren't spreading it or catching it. Easy to be nonchalant and assume you aren't a risk. That's human nature. There is no easy answer to this situation except the vaccine but that has been screwed up here, somehow. I don't quite understand that. Perhaps the low numbers before Delta gave everyone a sense that there was plenty of time and that Thailand was pretty safe. That changed quickly.

5 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

What alternative would you suggest for those with no income and nowhere to live except back home? I guess it's called making the best of a bad job.

That is why i called it "anticipating on the inevitable to happen "

 

But why o why they restricted than all the traveling ?

 

For the alternative it seems already much too late .....as the "allowed Songkran big travelling "is past , and vaccines buying / ordering is just now serious considered (i hope so )

Wish my village was as strict.

 

The village chief lays it on thick but he seems to be ignored by half of the locals.

 

'Covid won't come here' attitude, even though the nearest towns are severly locked down.

 

Returners often just jump on their motos and go catch up with neghbours and friends. No one seems capable of self isolating for more than a day.

 

Poo yai seems to have no real authority to enforce anything.

 

 

58 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I guess their reasoning is that the people are isolated in the van while being taken to isolation near their home. Makes sense. At least it's containing the 'refugees'.

Until they stop at a 7/11 every 200 Km, fill with Diesel, Comfort Breaks Etc

Then, maybe they are not isolated anymore.

@Bangkok Barry You must be in a rather large village?  Or is your village relatively close to Bangkok?  I'm surprised you have such a large influx of returning unemployed sick people or potentially sick people.

In our village in rural Lamphun province, the entire village has been "on-watch" for any outsiders entering since Songkran considering the national and provincial governments were doing nothing to stop the virus spread, in fact it looked as though they were facilitating the spread. The message during Songkran from Bangkok was "Go Forth And Infect Nationally." And pretty much the same message a couple of weeks ago.
The village leaders within our tambon and the villagers themselves have been taking this very seriously since April.  As soon as someone shows up the local government is notified by villagers, the person(s) required to stay home, and are routinely visited, monitored, tested, and checked by people on the village and tambon payrolls.  But with that said, it's not like a ton of people are rolling in from Bangkok and southern Hot-Red Covid sites.  Most people here work locally.  I only know of a handful of people who have returned and are currently under quarantine and at the moment there are no cases anywhere in our area.  That active diligence and staying on guard hopefully will protect the village and our local area.
On a side note.  Here in red-shirt land, the majority of the locals are quietly fuming.  Nothing you'll see on social media.  Just in personal conversations.  People are seriously unhappy and rightfully so.  Just saying.  Keep closing mom and pop small business and putting more and more people not only out of work, but unable to provide even the basic necessities?  Keep adding restrictions specifically aimed at the commoners. 
Out where we live no running water, no electricity, and a barter economy are still well within the generational memories of people my wife's age which is a significant portion of the village. We can isolate. Personally we're prepped.  But in places like Bangkok Barry's village?  If there is nowhere to put people, and food, water, and basic necessities are difficult to come by and unemployment and poverty is becoming endemic?  Then what?
I'm sure the wealthy elites will continue to keep adding dry powder to the keg as they continue to purposefully wipe out the lower classes with impunity while protecting wealthy interests and corporate entities. "Rules for thee but not for we - the elite!" 
I'm sure they believe that the villagers I live with are stupid ox and buffalo, as well as most villagers throughout Thailand in rural areas. 
Don't worry if the villagers can't work or eat.  Just round them up regularly and give them shots like live-stock from here until eternity and make sure the "emergency" never goes away.  Strip away as much of the wealth of the population as possible and transferred it to pharmaceutical and corporate entities. Limit travel, limit gatherings including religious events, limit entertainment, make alcohol consumption outside the home all but illegal, masks forever - make Normal illegal for good.  Except for the elites.  For them the rules are a facade and will never actually apply. Once they think the cameras are turned off the facade is dropped.  And they are caught again and again.  "Rules are for commoners.  The commoners break the rules.  The "emergency" is 100% the fault of the commoners." 
Keep blaming the commoners.  Keep destroying their jobs and places of work.  Send the infected back to their villages to languish and infect the uninfected. 
What possibly can go wrong?

24 minutes ago, connda said:

You must be in a rather large village?  Or is your village relatively close to Bangkok?  I'm surprised you have such a large influx of returning unemployed sick people or potentially sick people.

As my OP stated, we are in Kalasin Province. I don't know how many are returning, but it must be quite a few judging by the appeal, and there are the usual photos of local officials posing with large piles of donated water etc.

 

The precautions might have been prompted by a returnee about a month so. He had mates around, one of whom is a school van driver who then tested positive. A school van driver! That caught everyone's attention.