Prominent doctor calls for one-month delay to Thailand’s border reopening

[snoop1130]

 

Dr. Prasit Watanapa, dean of the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital of Mahidol University, is suggesting that the government take the “Phuket Sandbox” scheme into account before reopening borders on October 1st, cautioning that the country is not yet ready, due to low rates of vaccination. The reopening date should be pushed back a 1 month to ensure that Thailand is ready.

 

His remark on Thursday comes as four more provinces – Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Prachuap Khriri Khan, and Phetchaburi are set to welcome fully vaccinated COVID-negative international arrivals from Oct 1st and Bangkok to follow from October 15th.

 

Dr. Prasit cautioned the government over their plan to reopen borders in a fortnight. Officials should draw lessons from the “Phuket Sandbox”, he said, as although most of the population of the island have been fully vaccinated, there are still chances of being infected and spreading the virus, as evidenced in more than 200 cases reported on the island each day in recent weeks.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/prominent-doctor-calls-for-one-month-delay-to-thailands-border-reopening/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-09-16

 

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[DrJack54]

There's always one

[cclub75]

One month ? Too short. Too risky. We are all going to die.

 

Let's call for "one year" more.

 

yeah. One year is better than one month, obviously.

 

I did 10 years of medical studies to say that.

[zzaa09]

17 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

There's always one

Troublemakers.

[LoliLoso]

3 minutes ago, zzaa09 said:

Troublemakers.

Yes. Another unelected spokesperson talk rubbish. 

[DrJack54]

8 minutes ago, zzaa09 said:

Troublemakers.

Lyrics from his favourite song....(Peter Allen)

 

And soon they'll all know his name

He'll have fortune and fame

When he gets his name in lights

That'll be his name spelt right

Edited September 16, 2021 by DrJack54

[alyx]

I don’t understand: is this person worried about letting full vaccinated so-called tourists  in Thailand, tested at their own expense thrice and putting them at risk of getting  infected as there are two hundred. contaminations a day ? 
That is altruism !!! ???? 

[djayz]

49 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

due to low rates of vaccination

Whose fault is that, doctor? The millions of people out of work? The small business owners who have had to close their businesses? Families struggling to make ends meet? 

[RichardColeman]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

cautioning that the country is not yet ready, due to low rates of vaccination.

I'm currently outside Thailand - BUT,I agree with him.

 

Shut everything now for 2 months more and vaccinate like hell, the next month get the school back and then re-open fully and no restraints in January.

 

Besides, the tourists are not coming with everything closed and schools I would say are more important than bars at the moment. And they are not due to open until November earliest

[alyx]

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

I'm currently outside Thailand - BUT,I agree with him.

 

Shut everything now for 2 months more and vaccinate like hell, the next month get the school back and then re-open fully and no restraints in January.

 

Besides, the tourists are not coming with everything closed and schools I would say are more important than bars at the moment. And they are not due to open until November earliest

What do schools have to do with tourism? Even though closing schools is not good for education, there is still the possibility for the students to learn online whereas bar staff, club staff, every staff linked to tourism are dying if have not died already.

What everyone seems to forget it is about letting the people who are vaccinated in. Yeah Yeah ...this is not 100% safe but what is ?

Open and open without the administration hurdles 

[trainman34014]

I happen to think he's probably right.  There has been too much rubbish talk from Government Ministers and the likes of Dumb and Dumber at the TAT; all setting 'targets' for this reopening and that reopening and all the Bull about how many hundreds of thousands of Tourists are coming from here, there and everywhere when what's been needed all along is a vibrant and dedicted Vaccine Drive to get the highest possible numbers of the Polpulation Vaccinated before letting in anyone from Abroad, either Vaccinated or not.   If they open up with still low numbers here Vacccinated there could be an explosion of cases within a few weeks.

 

If it were up to me everything would remain off limits for Tourists from Abroad until January 1st but quite frankly whenever they open i hope Westerners have more brains than to come here and take the risks; as after all, there are plenty of safer places to go much closer to home.   Can't understand why so many Ex Pat's are so keen to open the doors and let thousands of Chinese in !

[ukrules]

I'm coming to the conslusion that it doesn't matter.

 

When they open up there will be more cases of COVID, many more.

 

Having vaccinated tourists here won't make any difference.

 

If 10% of people get infected, those tourists will be a part of the 10%.

 

It will eventually make its way through the population, they can choose to drag it out for many years to come like Australia and New Zealand are doing or get it over with.

 

Going the Australia / New Zealand way would of course be more costly but in the end it doesn't matter.

[lujanit]

The covid czar has deemed large parts of Thailand will be open October 1.  No considerations of the health consequences whatsoever.

[zzaa09]

8 hours ago, djayz said:

Whose fault is that, doctor? The millions of people out of work? The small business owners who have had to close their businesses? Families struggling to make ends meet? 

It's possible that we might be in a different scenario picture if the vaccine programs and mitigation measures, from the outset - were designed, managed, organised, advising and shots called by the scientific/medical community instead of bumbling military guys-cum-politicians.....

[bristolgeoff]

They will be lots of people who think Oct is too soon.The jabs are being given out now to everyone,but always supply and demand will have a affect.If Oct is the time or not I think Nov or Dec is more realistic.Oct would be nice if things are right,good for thailand and tourist.I will wait and see when Oct comes like many.

[JonnyF]

I agree. It's not fair on the tourists to expose them to a highly infected and largely unvaccinated Thai population.

 

Let them go to a safe country that's open for business and doesn't have silly hoops to jump through.

[jacko45k]

10 hours ago, LoliLoso said:

Yes. Another unelected spokesperson talk rubbish. 

We don't do elected here, and being elected does not confer medical knowledge. 

[Dialemco]

There is never going to be a right time to reopen for Tourism but it is clear so many are suffering lack of employment hunger and lack of basic necessities especially many children so we must realise we are going to have to live with Covid for a long time and must get on with our lives

[hotchilli]

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Dr. Prasit Watanapa, dean of the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital of Mahidol University, is suggesting that the government take the “Phuket Sandbox” scheme into account before reopening borders on October 1st, cautioning that the country is not yet ready, due to low rates of vaccination. The reopening date should be pushed back a 1 month to ensure that Thailand is ready.

Some sense at last.

TAT wanting to go full steam ahead [didn't work-out too well in Phuket]

doctors and some businessmen saying we're not ready to open

and the CCSA/government in  the middle without a clue.

[hotchilli]

11 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

There's always one

One with some brains, yes I agree.

[khunjeff]

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Dr. Prasit cautioned the government over their plan to reopen borders in a fortnight. Officials should draw lessons from the “Phuket Sandbox”, he said, as although most of the population of the island have been fully vaccinated, there are still chances of being infected and spreading the virus, as evidenced in more than 200 cases reported on the island each day in recent weeks.

All of these recent pieces talk ominously about heeding the lessons of the Phuket Sandbox, without ever really explaining exactly what those lessons are. The implication seems to be that the Sandbox was some kind of superspreader event in which foreigners brought illness and death to a vulnerable Thai population, even though the statistics tend to indicate that foreigners were more likely to be infected by Thais than the other way around. 

[smedly]

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Dr. Prasit Watanapa, dean of the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital of Mahidol University, is suggesting that the government take the “Phuket Sandbox” scheme into account before reopening borders on October 1st, cautioning that the country is not yet ready, due to low rates of vaccination. The reopening date should be pushed back a 1 month to ensure that Thailand is ready.

another doc for attitude adjustment

[smedly]

2 hours ago, zzaa09 said:

advising and shots called by the scientific/medical community instead of bumbling military guys-cum-politicians.....

the latter think a shot has a loud bang

[nobodysfriend]

It is the vaccinated tourists who take the risk , not the thais .

Vaccinated tourists will not infect thai people more than thai people do .

But if they decide to further delay the opening , more thai people will suffer economically . That will not help the government .

They will open just as planned .

[JayBird]

The purpose of closing the border is to prevent introduction of the virus.

 

That has already happened.

 

The purpose of lockdown is to slow the rate of transmission.

 

Widespread transmission has already happened.

 

Since the measures in place do not accomplish the goals, there is no need for those measures.

 

Doing lockdown and border controls correctly is, evidently, not possible.

 

Therefore open everything.  Transmission will remain close to where it is now, but at least the economy will recover.

 

 

[mtraveler]

13 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

It is the vaccinated tourists who take the risk , not the thais .

Vaccinated tourists will not infect thai people more than thai people do .

But if they decide to further delay the opening , more thai people will suffer economically . That will not help the government .

They will open just as planned .

If you open, and create an environment for tourism, you necessarily bring more Thais into contact with each other.  So, it's not JUST the tourists that are at risk by opening up.  You'll also be accelerating the spread by having more contact between the locals.  

 

I just don't understand why they can't just wait till the middle of December.  Then, ostensibly, there will be 70% of the population double vaccinated.  Not that 70% is ideal, especially since part of that 70% is double Sinovac, but it's a heck of a lot better than opening when only 20% of the population is double vaccinated, and some again only with Sinovac.  

 

I understand the economic peril for the Thai people, and I know it's awful, but I think opening too early will cause Thailand to get a black eye, remain on Red lists, discourage the return of tourists, and will ultimately delay the return the tourism sector back to helping those Thai who depend on it.  

[ChipButty]

I say open it all up bars restaurant nightlife <deleted> or bust let people have a beer or a glass of wine, places are serving it anyway 

[DrJack54]

50 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

One with some brains, yes I agree.

The term "open up" is being applied to open up to tourists and also open up Thailand in general.

Schools, bars, etc etc.

It's 2 completely separate things.

Fully vaccinated people coming to Thailand do not need quarantine.

True need some monitoring. Vaccinated tourists in itself is not the issue.

 

You mentioned Phuket....the biggest flaw was to have them in any type of quarantine. Simple rule stay on island for 14 days. Again with testing schedule. 

 

If someone wants to visit Thailand with all the bars shut etc and curfew then fine. Let them come without quarantine fully vaccinated of course.

The numbers imo won't be that significant.

Edited September 17, 2021 by DrJack54

[realfunster]

9 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

  Can't understand why so many Ex Pat's are so keen to open the doors

my reason - i would like to visit home but I can’t reasonably do that until the 2 week Thai quarantine upon my return is removed. 

 

ask yourselves this, does letting in fully vaccinated and negative tested people (whether ‘foreigners’ or returning Thai citizens/residents) really raise the risk or make things any worse in Thailand ? In fact, if we are aiming for herd immunity approach, “importing” fully vaccinated people would be a tremendous idea would it not !!

 

 

[hotchilli]

9 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

You mentioned Phuket....the biggest flaw was to have them in any type of quarantine. Simple rule stay on island for 14 days. Again with testing schedule. 

The biggest flaw was unvaccinated locals...