Fate of Thailand’s New Year countdown event to be decided on Monday

[webfact]

 

The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) is scheduled to meet Monday to decide whether the main New Year countdown event will be allowed and whether southern overland border access should be reopened, Government Spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said Sunday.

 

He added that the CCSA will also discuss whether the existing measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic should be adjusted to suit the current circumstances.

 

The COVID-19 situation in Thailand is showing signs of improvement, with fewer new infections and fatalities, while only three confirmed Omicron variant cases plus one potential case have been reported to date.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/fate-of-thailands-new-year-countdown-event-to-be-decided-on-monday/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-12-13

 

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

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[webfact]

CCSA Debates Further Lifting of COVID-19 Restrictions

By Suwit Rattiwan

 

    

BANGKOK (NNT) - The Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) is expected to hold discussions on Monday on further easing disease control measures, reopening border checkpoints in the south and guidelines for New Year celebrations.

 

Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha will lead the CCSA meeting in assessing the current situation, with the relaxation of curbs and reopening of southern checkpoints being high on the agenda.

 

Deputy Government Spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said the Monday meeting is among the premier’s main events for next week, in addition to visiting the southern provinces of Yala and Pattani on Wednesday and joining a meeting of the Southern Border Province Administrative Center (SPBAC).

 

Other matters to be discussed reportedly include New Year celebrations and adjustments to color-coded control zones by the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

 

Additionally, the Ministry of Public health will submit a vaccination plan for next year to the CCSA and revised prevention measures for inbound passengers.

 

According to Government Spokesperson Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, the Prime Minister is urging businesses to strictly adhere to government policies on hiring migrant workers as part of efforts to combat COVID-19. He also said the government’s decision to allow migrant workers to enter the Kingdom under memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between Thailand and its neighbors should help ease labor shortages.

 

Dr Chawetsan Namwat, Director of the Emergency Health Hazard and Disease Control Division, meanwhile said there have not yet been any local transmissions of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Thailand. He noted that the three confirmed Omicron cases so far have been an American businessman traveling from Spain and Dubai and two Thai women returning from Nigeria.

 

The director added that a fourth potential case is a Thai national returning from Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2021-12-13

 

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

- Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[RichardColeman]

 

55 minutes ago, webfact said:

He added that the CCSA will also discuss whether the existing measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic should be adjusted to suit the current circumstances.

Am I the only one that believes by the time  they get round to opening it all up after Delta, they will close it all again a week later for Omicron ? 

[ukrules]

20 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Am I the only one that believes by the time  they get round to opening it all up after Delta, they will close it all again a week later for Omicron ? 

I've been thinking about Omicron in Thailand or the lack of it.

 

There are a lot of big differences between Delta and Omicron.

 

We know that Omicron is not a mutation of Delta in any way whatsoever. It's a mutation of the summer 2020 strain which came far before Delta. The genetic lineages and common ancestry information is available which demonstrates this.

 

Now - with that in mind lets consider how successful the summer 2020 covid strain was at spreading in Thailand - it wasn't really that successful was it? The whole thing was a bit of a damp squib.

 

Only Delta managed to overcome whatever hurdle it is that prevented the summer 2020 covid from spreading wildly out of control.

 

Will Omicron be more like summer the 2020 covid strain or more like Delta? Nobody knows for now.

 

If Omicron struggles to gain a foothold and spread rapidly in Thailand then I see no reason why Delta can't continue to dominate inside Thailand continuously instead of being replaced by Omicron - this is not in any way a good thing - it's a worst case scenario.

 

I'm not seeing any reports of Omicron spreading locally - this to me is a very bad omen because if Omicron doesn't replace Delta then we're stuck with it.

 

 

Just thinking out aloud here, I know Omicron is doing really well in South Africa but there are climate differences, it's a bit cooler and the humidity is lower over there in SA and we know this combination really has a big impact on viral transmission.

 

Edited December 12, 2021 by ukrules

[Excel]

Perhaps they should just rename it as the "New Year Omicron Event".  It after all will follow similar lines to the government's travel recomendations for SongKran  last year in not preventing the spread of a new strain of virus, last years was Delta. Now this year Omicron. Perhaps there may be a further new strain for SongKran 2022 where the government can encourage mass travel and gatherings to ensure maximum spread. 

[Almer]

4 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

 

Am I the only one that believes by the time  they get round to opening it all up after Delta, they will close it all again a week later for Omicron ? 

RichardColeman you are not alone

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

 

Am I the only one that believes by the time  they get round to opening it all up after Delta, they will close it all again a week later for Omicron ? 

Omicron is not a threat like Delta... it will not shut anything down.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) is scheduled to meet Monday to decide whether the main New Year countdown event will be allowed and whether southern overland border access should be reopened, Government Spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said Sunday.

A countdown event will be allowed somewhere limited to a few thousand, but don't get caught having a beer with a friend.

[brianthainess]

They were going to have a countdown then someone realized, counting backwoods from 10 was to hard.  

[chilli42]

One would think it prudent to not hold a count down event.  There are many other more enjoyable ways to ring in the new year than crush a large group of people together …. at least under the present circumstances.  

[HappyExpat57]

I'm not a scientist, but I play one on AseanNow. It seems that all viruses eventually mutate to kinder, simpler variants. Otherwise they kill all their hosts and die themselves.

 

This is NOT based on any hard facts I am aware of, this is strictly my own conjecture.

[Xonax]

The countdown will continue as planned, as the brown envelopes have probably already been distributed.

[IamNoone88]

The UK opened up, Omicron is spreading strongly and Plan C with restrictions is now coming into play as likely Omicron becomes the dominant virus . This said, at least the UK is providing booster shots and many have already had them - fast and efficient.

 

This does not mean Delta goes away, both types will co-exist - so the chances of infection have substantially increased. Omicron was derived from a population that had little Delta. So what do we get when we have a large population of Delta together with a dominant Omicron. It does not take the brains of an Archbishop to perhaps surmise  yet another new mutation and perhaps by the end of the European winter.

 

Thailand's best path might be to urgently plan the booster shot program as efficiently as they did the first and second jab and push for a higher take up rate across the population. 

 

Pubs and clubs are super spreader events, without a doubt. I know many instances of infection from the local bars. It's tough one but I would prefer a personal choice - avoid these places if you are risk averse or have underlying conditions. The economy and unemployment with small and medium business needs to continue but I doubt the tourists will flood bad just yet. 

 

 

[Guderian]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

with the relaxation of curbs and reopening of southern checkpoints being high on the agenda.

Why pretend, they're just looking for an excuse to delay the 16th January bar opening date, and Omicron seems to be perfect for that?

[toofarnorth]

47 minutes ago, chilli42 said:

One would think it prudent to not hold a count down event.  There are many other more enjoyable ways to ring in the new year than crush a large group of people together …. at least under the present circumstances.  

Yes ! Come to my place here in the styx , not everyone on Aseanow obviously .

[Isaan sailor]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Omicron is not a threat like Delta... it will not shut anything down.

Agreed.  A greater threat: the mighty, rising Teflon Baht will crimp tourism and expat spending, as well as exports.

[The Cipher]

4 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Omicron is not a threat like Delta... it will not shut anything down.

Do we need restrictions for Omicron? No. (Honestly, it's been a couple of weeks now and this flaccid variant doesn't even have one single confirmed kill).

 

But restrictions throughout the pandemic haven't been determined based on threat level though, but rather politics and (mass market) optics.

 

So I wish I could be as sure as you that there won't be any new inconveniences imposed, but if case counts rise and therefore societal fear rises, I wouldn't be surprised to see some restrictions reflexively slapped on to placate the citizenry.

[soalbundy]

9 hours ago, ukrules said:

I've been thinking about Omicron in Thailand or the lack of it.

 

There are a lot of big differences between Delta and Omicron.

 

We know that Omicron is not a mutation of Delta in any way whatsoever. It's a mutation of the summer 2020 strain which came far before Delta. The genetic lineages and common ancestry information is available which demonstrates this.

 

Now - with that in mind lets consider how successful the summer 2020 covid strain was at spreading in Thailand - it wasn't really that successful was it? The whole thing was a bit of a damp squib.

 

Only Delta managed to overcome whatever hurdle it is that prevented the summer 2020 covid from spreading wildly out of control.

 

Will Omicron be more like summer the 2020 covid strain or more like Delta? Nobody knows for now.

 

If Omicron struggles to gain a foothold and spread rapidly in Thailand then I see no reason why Delta can't continue to dominate inside Thailand continuously instead of being replaced by Omicron - this is not in any way a good thing - it's a worst case scenario.

 

I'm not seeing any reports of Omicron spreading locally - this to me is a very bad omen because if Omicron doesn't replace Delta then we're stuck with it.

 

 

Just thinking out aloud here, I know Omicron is doing really well in South Africa but there are climate differences, it's a bit cooler and the humidity is lower over there in SA and we know this combination really has a big impact on viral transmission.

 

I was reading in Der Spiegel that it is considered a stroke of good luck in Germany to have Omicron taking over from Delta, the illness isn't as severe as Delta and since it is more easily transmissible it should take over completely. Omicron is Covid 19 that has added genetic material from the common cold which our bodies have become used to. It all depends now on climatic conditions, it was first thought that the cold winter in Europe would cause more fatalities through Covid but this now not the case (up to now) due to Omicron, how this will play out in Thailand is anybody's guess.

[Excel]

5 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Omicron is not a threat like Delta... it will not shut anything down.

Delta didn't shut anything down, it was the governments that did that.

[MrJ2U]

8 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Omicron is not a threat like Delta... it will not shut anything down.

The main problem will be overcrowded hospitals and overwhelmed medical staff.

 

Hope your right Chili.

[Maybole]

Which Monday?

[Meat Pie 47]

15 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Omicron is not a threat like Delta... it will not shut anything down.

But little P will

[Trvlr55]

On 12/12/2021 at 9:35 PM, brianthainess said:

They were going to have a countdown then someone realized, counting backwoods from 10 was to hard.  

what is really needed, is a countdown to say "goodbye and good riddance" to the last 2 years.

[Isaan sailor]

Crime is up in NYC and other cities.  Maybe going back to a strong police force would be good thing.