Phuket ‘Third Wave’ COVID infections breach 1,000

[webfact]

Image: PPHO

 

By The Phuket News

 

PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) daily COVID-19 situation report for yesterday (July 28) has marked 24 new infections, bringing the total number of people recognised as infected with COVID-19 in Phuket since Apr 3 to over 1,000.

 

The 24 new local infections did not include one Phuket Sandbox arrival testing positive for COVID-19 and three more Phuket residents infected with COVID-19 in other provinces brought back to the island for treatment under the “Bring Phuket people home” policy.

 

As such, the 24 new cases bring the total number of new local infections on the island in the past seven days to 160, as follows:

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-third-wave-covid-infections-breach-1-000-80849.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2021-07-29

 

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[grandpa]

And yet, the sandbox goes on!  Not much of a sandbox really when there are cases albeit few arriving to play in the sand!

 

[smedly]

the writing is on the wall - they just don't see it or are refusing to believe it

[oldcpu]

As I suspect most know, the term 'sandbox' is also used to describe " a testing environment in a computer system in which new or untested software can be run securely" and also   " isolate (a piece of software) so that it can access only certain resources, programs, and files within a computer system."

 

Given Phuket is an Island, and given its borders can be monitored/controlled easier than most other provinces in Thailand, maybe the plan is to continue and watch how the situation evolves in Phuket, despite the increasing numbers of local cases.  ie Phuket is in essence a "test environment"

 

I think it clear the # of cases in Phuket mostly (all) came from residents to Thailand (who were already in Thailand) re-introducing the pandemic to Phuket, and not so much (probably not at all) from international travelers under the sandbox scheme.

 

I have not read ANY statistics yet on how serious the symptoms are of these new cases ... possibly a significant % have no symptoms or only very mild?   What percent with the virus were vaccinated? 

 

The statistics are at least 88% in Phuket have been vaccinated with one-jab (and 69% with 2 jabs).

 

My speculating:  If 88% of those recently with the virus (in Phuket) are also vaccinated, that would suggest to me that the vaccines are not working so well.  But, if any number less than 88% of those with the virus were vaccinated, then very useful information on the degree of efficacy of the vaccines (Sinovac and AstraZeneca) could be obtained.   However such numbers/statistics have not been released to the best of my knowledge.

 

Again, a 'sandbox' is a 'test environment' - so I guess it begs the question, when should the 'test' be stopped? 

 

If very few to none are seriously ill in the cases of those who were vaccinated (but have the virus),  and if the tourists are not bringing the pandemic, what good would stopping the 'sandbox' do ?  What good ?

 

IMHO if things get much worse (which I believe will be the case) if the new cases are mostly not from the international travelers coming to Phuket, leave the Sandbox open and lock down Phuket internally if and as when more restrictions are needed.  There is no need to stop international travelers under the 'Sandbox'.  The International travelers will simply stop coming on their own volition.  Why enforce the Sandbox closure if the international travelers are not bringing the virus?  Such a closure makes no sense to me.

 

Edited July 29, 2021 by oldcpu

[Kopitiam]

59 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

As I suspect most know, the term 'sandbox' is also used to describe " a testing environment in a computer system in which new or untested software can be run securely" and also   " isolate (a piece of software) so that it can access only certain resources, programs, and files within a computer system."

 

Given Phuket is an Island, and given its borders can be monitored/controlled easier than most other provinces in Thailand, maybe the plan is to continue and watch how the situation evolves in Phuket, despite the increasing numbers of local cases.  ie Phuket is in essence a "test environment"

 

I think it clear the # of cases in Phuket mostly (all) came from residents to Thailand (who were already in Thailand) re-introducing the pandemic to Phuket, and not so much (probably not at all) from international travelers under the sandbox scheme.

 

I have not read ANY statistics yet on how serious the symptoms are of these new cases ... possibly a significant % have no symptoms or only very mild?   What percent with the virus were vaccinated? 

 

The statistics are at least 88% in Phuket have been vaccinated with one-jab (and 69% with 2 jabs).

 

My speculating:  If 88% of those recently with the virus (in Phuket) are also vaccinated, that would suggest to me that the vaccines are not working so well.  But, if any number less than 88% of those with the virus were vaccinated, then very useful information on the degree of efficacy of the vaccines (Sinovac and AstraZeneca) could be obtained.   However such numbers/statistics have not been released to the best of my knowledge.

 

Again, a 'sandbox' is a 'test environment' - so I guess it begs the question, when should the 'test' be stopped? 

 

If very few to none are seriously ill in the cases of those who were vaccinated (but have the virus),  and if the tourists are not bringing the pandemic, what good would stopping the 'sandbox' do ?  What good ?

 

IMHO if things get much worse (which I believe will be the case) if the new cases are mostly not from the international travelers coming to Phuket, leave the Sandbox open and lock down Phuket internally if and as when more restrictions are needed.  There is no need to stop international travelers under the 'Sandbox'.  The International travelers will simply stop coming on their own volition.  Why enforce the Sandbox closure if the international travelers are not bringing the virus?  Such a closure makes no sense to me.

 

How can you say "the international travellers are not bringing the virus" ? when this is reported:

 

"According to the Phuket Sandbox Daily Report for yesterday, issued by the Tourism Authority of THailand (TAT), of the 29 Sandbox arrivals who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Phuket, 13 tested positive on landing at Phuket airport, ...."

 

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

As such, the 24 new cases bring the total number of new local infections on the island in the past seven days to 160, as follows:

Ohh what a mess... 

[ukrules]

The only people inside the sandbox who are likely to not have been exposed to COVID as those in quarantine.

 

The day they get out they're just as likely to become infected as anyone else.

 

The whole thing is a giant farce and should be scrapped immediately.

[oldcpu]

46 minutes ago, Kopitiam said:

How can you say "the international travellers are not bringing the virus" ? when this is reported:

 

"According to the Phuket Sandbox Daily Report for yesterday, issued by the Tourism Authority of THailand (TAT), of the 29 Sandbox arrivals who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Phuket, 13 tested positive on landing at Phuket airport, ...."

 

Have you looked at the # of local cases NOT brought by international travelers?

 

Have you looked at the # of tests done on local residents compared to the # of tests on international travelers.

 

For anyone who looks at this - it should be clear - the current pandemic wave in Phuket is brought about by local Thai residents visiting Phuket - not from international travelers.

[oldcpu]

1 minute ago, ukrules said:

The whole thing is a giant farce and should be scrapped immediately.

Why close the Sandbox when the International travelers are not mostly the one's bringing the virus?  Rather its local residents in Thailand outside of Phuket who brought the virus to Phuket.

[ukrules]

1 minute ago, oldcpu said:

Why close the Sandbox when the International travelers are not mostly the one's bringing the virus?  Rather its local residents in Thailand outside of Phuket who brought the virus to Phuket.

The sandbox is being advertised as a safe place to go on holiday....it's not. It was a good idea before the delta outbreak but now that's arrived things have changed, a lot.

 

If you breathe the virus in regardless of you being double vaccinated or not - you will test positive on a PCR test - there is no doubt about that. It takes a few days for the 'inoculated' or even the 'primed' immune system to begin destroying the virus.

 

It will likely be dead virus that's being found due to the immune response but that doesn't matter (the test can't tell the difference) - it's off to the mandatory prison camp for you anyway. So people will be taken from an isolated sterile environment and dumped into a place with a massive concentration of COVID in the air.

 

It's far from safe, there is a high likelihood that anyone going to Thailand on holiday and who's out and about mixing with other people will be exposed to COVID and test positive resulting in their imprisonment, and that is the exact and very specific reason why this scheme should be shut down immediately.

 

[swbaggies]

8 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

Why close the Sandbox when the International travelers are not mostly the one's bringing the virus?  Rather its local residents in Thailand outside of Phuket who brought the virus to Phuket.

Those arriving in the Sandbox scheme are vaccinated yes, but this simply means you are less likely to become positive not certain. So whilst they make up the fewer of the cases, it is possible for an international tourist to catch it.

The international travellers are simply more people on the island that can catch it and then pass it on regardless of whether they had it on upon embarking.

[oldcpu]

2 minutes ago, ukrules said:

The sandbox is being advertised as a safe place to go on holiday....it's not. It was a good idea before the delta outbreak but now that's arrived things have changed, a lot.

 

Sadly in life - many things are advertised that do not turn out to be what was hoped for.  There is a global pandemic raging - every international traveler should be aware of the risks.

 

The international travelers can decide on their volition as to how safe Phuket may be. If they decide not to come - so be it.  They can decide.  There is no need for the Thai government to decide for them.

 

Again - why close the Sandbox if in the most part the virus has returned not from the International travelers, but from locals residents in Thailand who brought the pandemic back to Phuket ??

[ukrules]

2 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

Again - why close the Sandbox if in the most part the virus has returned not from the International travelers, but from locals residents in Thailand who brought the pandemic back to Phuket ??

They're putting people in COVID prisons. This alone should be enough for other countries to ban the airlines from going to Phuket.

 

 

 

 

 

[oldcpu]

8 minutes ago, swbaggies said:

Those arriving in the Sandbox scheme are vaccinated yes, but this simply means you are less likely to become positive not certain. So whilst they make up the fewer of the cases, it is possible for an international tourist to catch it.

The international travellers are simply more people on the island that can catch it and then pass it on regardless of whether they had it on upon embarking.

Agreed.

 

Still I do not see that as a reason for closing the Sandbox. ALL of the International travelers have been vaccinated, so I think it fair to say that they probably are less likely to spread the virus than those already in Phuket. 

 

Each and every International traveler to Phuket gets how many tests? Four ? Five?

 

Each and every person in Phuket gets how many tests?  ..... hmmm ... in July on average 200 tests per day for ALL of Phuket (minus tests done on International Travelers). Lets assume 460,000 people in Phuket (likely more).  Clearly that is so small a number that one could almost say NO tests done on Phuket residents except some relatively trivial number.

 

Each and every International Traveler is FULLY vaccinated.   Only 69% of Phuket is fully vaccinated.

 

Ergo - its easy to conclude there is little to no risk to Phuket, and less to Thailand, of International travelers arriving in the Phuket sandbox.  Plus as a Sandbox, it is deliberately setup to reduce the risk to Thailand.

 

Once again - given it is mostly NOT the International travelers bringing the virus to Phuket, it makes no sense to close the Sandbox.  The International travelers can decide not to come on their own volition - and if so, so be it.

 

Edited July 29, 2021 by oldcpu

[oldcpu]

2 minutes ago, ukrules said:

They're putting people in COVID prisons. This alone should be enough for other countries to ban the airlines from going to Phuket.

Who is putting whom in what prison?

[Deli]

Bloody hell, live with it. The death rate is close to 0 and even if it increases...

Life must go on but not like this.

[ifmu]

33 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

snip

Again - why close the Sandbox if in the most part the virus has returned not from the International travelers, but from locals residents in Thailand who brought the pandemic back to Phuket ??

because this is a pandemic dammit    shut it all down till its gone     ... all of it !!!!           this on off <deleted> does not work   

[zzzzz]

couple of points;

So 29 out of more than 14,000 ( international arrival's since July 1st) have tested positive.

not bad

 

Having both shots does NOT prevent you or make you less likely, from catching covid 

Just means ur MUCH less likely, if you do catch it,  that you will not require hospitalization or get seriously ill or die from Covid.
so now its seems the Sandbox "guinea pigs" can travel to phuket and test negative 2-3 times an pick it up here to take home  LOL

 

 

• July 22 - 18 new cases
• July 23 - 18 new cases
• July 24 - 11 new cases
• July 25 - 28 new cases
• July 26 - 23 new cases
• July 27 - 38 new cases
• July 28 - 24 new cases

The current total of 1,023 infected in Phuket since Apr 3 does not include seven people infected with COVID-19 in other provinces and four returning from other countries and testing positive.

https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-third-wave-covid-infections-breach-1-000-80849.php

 

Edited July 29, 2021 by zzzzz

[CALSinCM]

It could go to 1000 a day and they'd think of an excuse to keep it going.

[Kopitiam]

1 hour ago, oldcpu said:

Why close the Sandbox when the International travelers are not mostly the one's bringing the virus?  Rather its local residents in Thailand outside of Phuket who brought the virus to Phuket.

Now you are changing your tune.  From not bringing the virus to not mostly the one's bringing the virus.  Which is more factual.

[bermondburi]

I'd still go. 

[bermondburi]

It's still better than ASQ.

[RocketDog]

4 hours ago, smedly said:

the writing is on the wall - they just don't see it or are refusing to believe it

Writing was there a month ago. Now it's a laser light show.

[impulse]

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

The whole thing is a giant farce and should be scrapped immediately.

Pretty sure you'd feel differently if your livelihood depended on opening up Thailand to tourists.  If your income and future came to a dead stop until tourism returns.  Because that's the situation that millions of Thai people find themselves in.

 

Meanwhile, the fully vaccinated, tested before they embark, tested again on arrival, and again after a week, and one more time before they're allowed to leave the Sandbox, are the safest customers in the country.  Not 100% safe, but nobody will ever be.  Never.  That's a long time to shut down and go broke.

 

The farce was shutting down cashed up (did I mention vaccinated and tested?) tourism while allowing migrant workers to cross the borders and travel freely.  Because that couldn't possibly bite them in the butt.

 

[ukrules]

4 minutes ago, impulse said:

Pretty sure you'd feel differently if your livelihood depended on opening up Thailand to tourists.  If your income and future came to a dead stop until tourism returns.  Because that's the situation that millions of Thai people find themselves in.

Yes, you are correct, in that situation my personal greed would likely come first.

 

It's not the sandbox tourists that I have a problem with, it's the governments approach to dealing with the 'infected', especially those who are vaccinated.

 

A positive PCR swab in someone who's been double vaccinated will almost certainly contain very little but dead virus that's been destroyed by the vaccine produced immune reaction. Of course the only way to know if it's dead virus or viable virus is to run a series of lengthy and expensive supervised lab experiments so that's never done. Covid camp is where these people are headed, vaccine or not.

 

[FalangJaiDee]

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

The sandbox is being advertised as a safe place to go on holiday....it's not. It was a good idea before the delta outbreak but now that's arrived things have changed, a lot.

 

If you breathe the virus in regardless of you being double vaccinated or not - you will test positive on a PCR test - there is no doubt about that. It takes a few days for the 'inoculated' or even the 'primed' immune system to begin destroying the virus.

 

It will likely be dead virus that's being found due to the immune response but that doesn't matter (the test can't tell the difference) - it's off to the mandatory prison camp for you anyway. So people will be taken from an isolated sterile environment and dumped into a place with a massive concentration of COVID in the air.

 

It's far from safe, there is a high likelihood that anyone going to Thailand on holiday and who's out and about mixing with other people will be exposed to COVID and test positive resulting in their imprisonment, and that is the exact and very specific reason why this scheme should be shut down immediately.

 

Or actually why it should continue. It’s all about money, whether it’s earned wholesomely or unscrupulously the moral leaning doesn’t matter. 

[oldcpu]

2 hours ago, Kopitiam said:

Now you are changing your tune.  From not bringing the virus to not mostly the one's bringing the virus.  Which is more factual.

No tune change. I have always maintained the International travelers were NOT the ones mostly likely to bring the virus.

 

Did I mistype something somewhere?  I don't think so.

[david555]

4 hours ago, oldcpu said:

Why close the Sandbox when the International travelers are not mostly the one's bringing the virus?  Rather its local residents in Thailand outside of Phuket who brought the virus to Phuket.

I would expect many from local Thailand would try to come work to Phuket , just as many came working for high season in pre covid times , money high needed....

[sammieuk1]

The sand boxers are the cleanest farangs/people in town fully tested fully vaccinated fully insured and Thailand's one post pandemic good idea although steeped in over complicated expensive hoop jumping ????

[Deli]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

Pretty sure you'd feel differently if your livelihood depended on opening up Thailand to tourists.  If your income and future came to a dead stop until tourism returns.  Because that's the situation that millions of Thai people find themselves in.

 

Meanwhile, the fully vaccinated, tested before they embark, tested again on arrival, and again after a week, and one more time before they're allowed to leave the Sandbox, are the safest customers in the country.  Not 100% safe, but nobody will ever be.  Never.  That's a long time to shut down and go broke.

 

The farce was shutting down cashed up (did I mention vaccinated and tested?) tourism while allowing migrant workers to cross the borders and travel freely.  Because that couldn't possibly bite them in the butt.

 

Could not have said it any better.