7 minutes ago, Scrotobike said:

I wonder how many were "on holiday" or just using the sandbox as a jump-off for returning for family, for business etc - not tourists per-se. Guess we will never know.

But for them returnees it still beats ASQ BKK.

 

I heard its about 50/50. Not sue. Yes I understand better than ASQ but I was more thinking about the actual tourists.

17 minutes ago, Scrotobike said:

But for them returnees it still beats ASQ BKK

What was the original plan for ASQ Bangkok?

Wasn't it something like down to 7 or 10 days quarantine if you had been fully vaccinated?

I wonder if that would have been more sensible option given what we now know about sandbox issues.

Not even to mention the vaccination effort that was put into Phuket at cost of vulnerable folk.

Failure on many levels 

6 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

The Thais still don't seem to be getting the joke about COVID, at least in Chonburi. 

 

Markets still open, people mingling around each other, little or no control of movement in and out the province. 

 

Masks and gels will only go so far. They need to understand to stay away from other people. Period. 

 

I barked at a guy for breathing down my neck in the 7/11 yesterday. Why can't they STAY AWAY from other people!?! Especially strangers! 

 

Current measures do not seem to be effective so either tighten up or rethink the strategy as we are at a tipping point into total chaos at the moment. 

"...

I barked at a guy for breathing down my neck in the 7/11 yesterday. Why can't they STAY AWAY from other people!?! Especially strangers!" 

 

My Thai (well educated) son tells me that nothing has changed in terms of the vast majority of Thais don't read news sites or newspapers, never watch the main TV news programs, their employers make no attempt to keep them informed. Plus some believe ridiculous comments if they are actually listening. 'Doesn't apply to me, only applies to Pattaya, etc.

 

Worst example, my son has 23 kids going to the same quite good government bi-lingual primary/high school. Son asked the headmistress recently 'what extra precautions are you taking re the Covid 19 situation? She listened because she's a little frightened of my sons position. Her reply 'It's not a problem because the government doesn't allow Covid 19 to come into schools'.

 

My son tried to explain that it doesn't work like that.

 

Her response 'well that's the policy of the gov't and the ed. ministry.

 

Son gave up but he ensures that his kids have clean masks and puts a new box of masks in the class rooms his kids occupy plus new bottles of hand sanitizer.

 

He had one incident where he put a new full bottle of sanitizer with hand pump in one of the rooms before the kids went into the class room early morning.

 

The teacher asked him 'why'. His response 'the old bottle is empty'.

 

Teachers response 'but I think there's no need to have a new bottle, 1 bottle is enough.'

 

 

By all appearances, we are on the downward swing of things. Kind of like the breaking of a fever, no pun intended.

Suspect things to slowly look better over the next three weeks. Seems as though the government has weathered the storm.

14 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

The feedback I got from someone recently renewing their extension was it was not crowded in immigration and the Extension was done quickly.

hope so mate - thanks for the feedback

1 minute ago, rct99q said:

By all appearances, we are on the downward swing of things. Kind of like the breaking of a fever, no pun intended.

Suspect things to slowly look better over the next three weeks. Seems as though the government has weathered the storm.

Record highs today suggest the exact opposite. 

2 minutes ago, smedly said:

hope so mate - thanks for the feedback

YMMV... they make you line up outside if there is a crowd. 

5 minutes ago, scorecard said:

"...

I barked at a guy for breathing down my neck in the 7/11 yesterday. Why can't they STAY AWAY from other people!?! Especially strangers!" 

 

My Thai (well educated) son tells me that nothing has changed in terms of the vast majority of Thais don't read news sites or newspapers, never watch the main TV news programs, their employers make no attempt to keep them informed. Plus some believe ridiculous comments if they are actually listening. 'Doesn't apply to me, only applies to Pattaya, etc.

 

Worst example, my son has 23 kids going to the same quite good government bi-lingual primary/high school. Son asked the headmistress recently 'what extra precautions are you taking re the Covid 19 situation? She listened because she's a little frightened of my sons position. Her reply 'It's not a problem because the government doesn't allow Covid 19 to come into schools'.

 

My son tried to explain that it doesn't work like that.

 

Her response 'well that's the policy of the gov't and the ed. ministry.

 

Son gave up but he ensures that his kids have clean masks and puts a new box of masks in the class rooms his kids occupy plus new bottles of hand sanitizer.

 

He had one incident where he put a new full bottle of sanitizer with hand pump in one of the rooms before the kids went into the class room early morning.

 

The teacher asked him 'why'. His response 'the old bottle is empty'.

 

Teachers response 'but I think there's no need to have a new bottle, 1 bottle is enough.'

 

 

I had to take a taxi to the MRT to get to Bang Sue Sunday before last for my jab. I asked the taxi driver if he had had a vaccine. He said he didn't need one because he drinks Lao Khao and smokes. You just can't make this stuff up. 

4 minutes ago, rct99q said:

By all appearances, we are on the downward swing of things. Kind of like the breaking of a fever, no pun intended.

Suspect things to slowly look better over the next three weeks. Seems as though the government has weathered the storm.

Sarcasm surely? 

Seems so genuine. Nice work.

A post with content that was copy and pasted from Reuters has been removed as well as the replies:

 

14) You will not post any copyrighted material except as fair use laws apply (as in the case of news articles). Please only post a link, the headline and the first three sentences.

5 hours ago, scorecard said:

"...

I barked at a guy for breathing down my neck in the 7/11 yesterday. Why can't they STAY AWAY from other people!?! Especially strangers!" 

 

My Thai (well educated) son tells me that nothing has changed in terms of the vast majority of Thais don't read news sites or newspapers, never watch the main TV news programs, their employers make no attempt to keep them informed. Plus some believe ridiculous comments if they are actually listening. 'Doesn't apply to me, only applies to Pattaya, etc.

 

Worst example, my son has 23 kids going to the same quite good government bi-lingual primary/high school. Son asked the headmistress recently 'what extra precautions are you taking re the Covid 19 situation? She listened because she's a little frightened of my sons position. Her reply 'It's not a problem because the government doesn't allow Covid 19 to come into schools'.

 

My son tried to explain that it doesn't work like that.

 

Her response 'well that's the policy of the gov't and the ed. ministry.

 

Son gave up but he ensures that his kids have clean masks and puts a new box of masks in the class rooms his kids occupy plus new bottles of hand sanitizer.

 

He had one incident where he put a new full bottle of sanitizer with hand pump in one of the rooms before the kids went into the class room early morning.

 

The teacher asked him 'why'. His response 'the old bottle is empty'.

 

Teachers response 'but I think there's no need to have a new bottle, 1 bottle is enough.'

 

 

The thing is it was so much better last year, so it's not ignorance, maybe complacency?

 

It's not about education levels either, as the message is simple and rich people have been shown little respect for precautions. 

54 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Numbers high everywhere .... Italy recorded it's at highest, UK, US  and so on .....  

Absolutely devastating effects worldwide ..... 

and if it's proven that CHINA IS TO BLAME  .......   what next ?   what will be done   ?     PUNISH   ?   how   ? 

Steven, no its Thailand its fault for buying vaccines too late, was in Charge.. Prayt.

 

Thailand is in problems because of land borders that are not policed well, the army does that friends of Prayut

 

Was it not Prayut who let everyone go on Songkran ?

 

Was it not Prayut that was late with closing workers camps and when he did he gave them time to leave.

 

Is it not Prayut that keeps factories open while these are dangerous breeding grounds of covid.

 

All in all not China but your friend Prayut.

1. They need to promptly order sufficient vaccines - if they rely on local A-Z, this agony might go on for another two years.

 

2. Have to also pity medical staff - the constant stress and pressure must be getting close to unendurable.

 

3. Wish they would publish all together the daily numbers of tests, new hospital admissions, percentage asymptomatic and mild, etc. The raw numbers in the OP don't say much, and may appear more alarming than they need be.

 

4. RIP the deceased - often dying within days of testing: what a nightmare final journey.

23 minutes ago, rct99q said:

By all appearances, we are on the downward swing of things. Kind of like the breaking of a fever, no pun intended.

Suspect things to slowly look better over the next three weeks. Seems as though the government has weathered the storm.

Ok. Let's see. I suspect things aren't going to get better. Interesting news I heard this morning is that Sars-Cov-2 is starting to infect more youngsters. We know that the young are less likely to get serious illness and die but they are still very much able to transmit. The reason given is also interesting. They are postulating that with increasing vaccination in the adult population the virus is moving to the unvaccinated which is pretty much 100% of children. Another student from my school has tested positive. In Queensland out of 16 new infections announced today 9 were school students. This thing is far from finished globally and seems to be adapting and it's going to be a long time before it is anywhere near under control here. If things start to look better over the nxt 3 wks it will be for artificial reasons not the reality. Example today is disharges which increased by 100% in a wk. Up 4.5K since yesterday. Bet my bottom dollar ICU and intubated patients haven't reduced from yesterday to any meaningful extent.

Off topic posts and replies regarding WW1 have been removed.

55 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Simply not true... UK numbers are far below their highest for this wave. They were falling after schools closed, but now show a slight recent rise probably due to the end of restrictions, Italy and USA are rising  but not at any 'highest'.  

That simply is not called for - your attempt to put facts into the debate does not help at all! we are here on a fearmongering trip, hazmat suits and all - and China! China! China!

1 hour ago, Blumpie said:

19k.  

That's a lot of people sick.  

If you count the 40-50% of asymptomatic people as "sick." In my mind, normally you wouldn't. 

31 minutes ago, rct99q said:

By all appearances, we are on the downward swing of things. Kind of like the breaking of a fever, no pun intended.

Suspect things to slowly look better over the next three weeks. Seems as though the government has weathered the storm.

You should come and see Thailand. Everything is stretched beyond limits, few vaccinations, and they have no way of knowing real numbers.

 

Good luck to you wherever you are.

5 hours ago, steven100 said:

Numbers high everywhere .... Italy recorded it's at highest, UK, US  and so on .....  

Absolutely devastating effects worldwide ..... 

and if it's proven that CHINA IS TO BLAME  .......   what next ?   what will be done   ?     PUNISH   ?   how   ? 

We can always rely on you to deflect from the fact that Thailand has made a <deleted> mash of this. How many tests is the country doing compared to Italy, UK and the US and so on. You are an apologist of the worse kind.

Why does he have to accompany one of his teachers (female I believe) to the airport?

 

I have to go out during curfew tonight as one of our teachers is flying home. We are going to the airport at 9:00pm and I should be home before 11:00pm. I already spoke to a policeman at the checkpoint near my home about getting travel documents. But he said don’t worry about it!

 

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1422381897875804163

 

47 minutes ago, rct99q said:

By all appearances, we are on the downward swing of things. Kind of like the breaking of a fever, no pun intended.

Suspect things to slowly look better over the next three weeks. Seems as though the government has weathered the storm.

 

I turn on a  safe browsing filter and this is what I get

1 hour ago, rct99q said:

By all appearances, we are on the downward swing of things. Kind of like the breaking of a fever, no pun intended.

Suspect things to slowly look better over the next three weeks. Seems as though the government has weathered the storm.

Yeppers, they weathered the storm and without vaccines, Amazing Thailand but you know it's not the truth. Your sarcastic post is well worth the attempt to be a government fan of.  Had to go pay the road tax on my motorbike today. Traffic was heavy everywhere. Sidewalks were busy and then when I drove down a side soi near Rama 3 on my return I ran into a huge fresh produce Talad with hundreds milling about some unmasked. Made a u-turn and sat in the traffic. Even Rama 4 and Sathorn were busy, on top of that ambulances constantly running about.  The GF says that she heard the PCR test sites are now doing just the Rapid strip tests unless you specifically ask or need PCR testing. She needs a PCR test to go and see her specialist doctor based upon the private hospital requesting and paying for it prior to her appointment.

59 minutes ago, scorecard said:

"...

I barked at a guy for breathing down my neck in the 7/11 yesterday. Why can't they STAY AWAY from other people!?! Especially strangers!" 

 

My Thai (well educated) son tells me that nothing has changed in terms of the vast majority of Thais don't read news sites or newspapers, never watch the main TV news programs, their employers make no attempt to keep them informed. Plus some believe ridiculous comments if they are actually listening. 'Doesn't apply to me, only applies to Pattaya, etc.

 

Worst example, my son has 23 kids going to the same quite good government bi-lingual primary/high school. Son asked the headmistress recently 'what extra precautions are you taking re the Covid 19 situation? She listened because she's a little frightened of my sons position. Her reply 'It's not a problem because the government doesn't allow Covid 19 to come into schools'.

 

My son tried to explain that it doesn't work like that.

 

Her response 'well that's the policy of the gov't and the ed. ministry.

 

Son gave up but he ensures that his kids have clean masks and puts a new box of masks in the class rooms his kids occupy plus new bottles of hand sanitizer.

 

He had one incident where he put a new full bottle of sanitizer with hand pump in one of the rooms before the kids went into the class room early morning.

 

The teacher asked him 'why'. His response 'the old bottle is empty'.

 

Teachers response 'but I think there's no need to have a new bottle, 1 bottle is enough.'

 

 

 3 kids, not 23, my error.

30 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

If you count the 40-50% of asymptomatic people as "sick." In my mind, normally you wouldn't. 

From what I've seen asympotamic seem to be around the 20% mark and of course infectious. Testing only hospital presentations (if they are not turned away) and reacting to clusters only, so no real mass testing, is why we do not know the true numbers. It is also being shown that a large percentage are only getting very mild symptoms so they're out and about with the asymtomatic and possibly spreading. Then add pre-symtomatic. Like asymptomatic they are unaware they're infected. Now seeing vaccine breakthrough where vaccinated people can also spread it. The spread will continue. What a magnificant virus the delta strain is. 

9 minutes ago, anchadian said:

Why does he have to accompany one of his teachers (female I believe) to the airport?

 

I have to go out during curfew tonight as one of our teachers is flying home. We are going to the airport at 9:00pm and I should be home before 11:00pm. I already spoke to a policeman at the checkpoint near my home about getting travel documents. But he said don’t worry about it!

 

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1422381897875804163

 

I would think he's just a decent guy whose job it is to take care of the foreign teachers at his school.

Jonathan Head

@pakhead

 

Good piece, on how Sinovac went from successful vaccine diplomacy for China, to reinforcing public perceptions of inferior Chinese-made products. If Thai theory of combining SV with AZ shows promise, SV could enjoy a revival, as it is available in quantity

 

How Sinovac Became the Poster Child of Anti-China, Anti-Vaxx Skepticism

 

Experts insist China's COVID-19 vaccine is better than nothing. But fearmongering is fuelling hesitancy in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.

 

https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj8xgd/sinovac-anti-china-covid-vaccine-skepticism

14 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

From what I've seen asympotamic seem to be around the 20% mark and of course infectious.

Everything I've read puts asymptomatic infections around 40-50 percent.

 

Asymptomatic persons seem to account for approximately 40% to 45% of SARS-CoV-2 infections, and they can transmit the virus to others for an extended period, perhaps longer than 14 days.

 

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-3012

15 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Now seeing vaccine breakthrough where vaccinated people can also spread it. The spread will continue. What a magnificant virus the delta strain is. 

Vaccinated People May Spread the Virus, Though Rarely, C.D.C. Reports

 

July 30, 2021CUS)
In yet another unexpected and unwelcome twist in the pandemic, the (US) centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Friday a report strongly suggesting that fully immunized people with so-called breakthrough infections of the Delta variant can spread the virus to others just as readily as unvaccinated people.

The vaccines remain powerfully effective against severe illness and death, and the agency said infections in vaccinated people were comparatively rare. But the revelation follows a series of other recent findings about the Delta variant that have upended scientists’ understanding of the coronavirus.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/health/cdc-vaccinated-delta.html

Today's new case total of 18,901 is the second highest ever, surpassed only by the 18,912 new cases reported on July 31.

 

--The 147 new deaths marks the third highest daily death total of the pandemic for Thailand. The highest death toll days was 178 each set yesterday and also on July 31.

 

--Everything regarding hospitalizations today is again new record daily highs.

 

--new record high 209,039 total active cases / patients hospitalized (+164), although the number in traditional hospitals declined to 72,728 (from 75,705 yesterday) because of a record  high 18,590 patients released from the hospital system as recovered.

 

Even so, the share of COVID patients hospitalized in critical condition set a new record high of 4,893 (+125). It was the seventh consecutive daily record high for critical patients.

 

And, the share of COVID critical condition patients on ventilators set a new record high of 1,046 (+18). It was the seventh consecutive daily record high for patients on ventilators.

 

Critical condition patients comparison:

July 3 -- 2,045

August 3 -- 4,893

 

 

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/

 

 

 

1 hour ago, robblok said:

Steven, no its Thailand its fault for buying vaccines too late, was in Charge.. Prayt.

 

Thailand is in problems because of land borders that are not policed well, the army does that friends of Prayut

 

Was it not Prayut who let everyone go on Songkran ?

 

Was it not Prayut that was late with closing workers camps and when he did he gave them time to leave.

 

Is it not Prayut that keeps factories open while these are dangerous breeding grounds of covid.

 

All in all not China but your friend Prayut.

Aren't the building sites supposed to be closed?

Yesterday around 7pm, a truck full of workers, cramped together were driving to their rooms. No social distancing, definitely more than 5 and they came from a building site.

Probably not everyone had to stop their building project.