Furious placard wielding traders descend on MoPH - stop the Omicron panic NOW! Stop a few doctors telling us what to do!

[webfact]

Thai caption: Opposed to Lockdown

Picture: Daily News

 

Daily News reported that a group of around 30 furious traders with placards descended on the Ministry of Public Health telling the authorities not to lockdown Thailand and shut the country to tourism in the wake of the emergence of the Omicron variant.

 

Leading the group with a letter was Arisa Yeunyao who said the MoPH and the CCSA should stop Omicron panic.

 

A deputy received her letter - health minister Anutin Charnvirakul was nowhere to be seen. 

 

The placards said it all in both Thai and English.

 

In Thai:

 

"We're scared of having nothing - not Omicron"

 

"Stop just a few doctors deciding our fate - Omicron is not serious we have to live with it"

 

In English: 

 

"Unlock our economy - stop lockdown"

 

""We need tourists to survive - (not quarantine)"

 

"Doctors are hurting (the) tourism economy - STOP!!!"

 

Others spoke of the economy just starting to get going again and to stop the madness. 

 

Long Stay Visa Health Insurance Plans

 

 

-- © Copyright  ASEAN NOW 2021-12-22

 

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

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

 

Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

[ThailandRyan]

5 minutes ago, webfact said:

A deputy received her letter - health minister Anutin Charnvirakul was nowhere to be seen. 

That's because he was out campaigning for the Premiership position and spreading worry that the Omicron variant needed to be stopped even though he said a few days ago that Thailand could handle it as they had enough vaccines......oh for fs.

[tomacht8]

That is the dilemma. If doctors rule in their limited world of thought, then one should completely isolate the population and lock everyone up. Then you would actually have fewer infections. And the fear argument works pretty well at the beginning: "If you don't do what we say, you will die".

 

And on the other hand there is the population, many of whom are not in a position to survive existentially long isolation measures economically.

 

An intelligent balance of interests must be found so that the doctors' measures can be accepted. This is where the task of politics and the national leadership begins. And so far that has not worked well here if one works primarily with army-like orders and punishments instead of compromises.

 

And when the promised light fails to come at the end of the tunnel, resistance and anger arise. Many have so far made economic and social sacrifices in the hope of getting their normal life back. But after 21 months full of restrictions, the point has been reached for many where many see that their previous sacrifices have been in vain and realize that medicine and politics are actually powerless against the virus.

 

The population is not as stupid as the government believes with its kindergarten mentality.

[ikke1959]

OK everybody has an opinion, but what will happen if the Omicron will make a lot of people ill, serious or not, but still ill. What will happen with the economy than? Is it not better to prevent than to cure? Nobody has any experience in this matter but everyone think they know the best. Indeed Thailand need tourism, but it is not only killed by lockdowns and the Covid. But western tourists will not come, because there are restrictions in their country already and  how aboutthe risk of being here on holiday and getting sick because Thailand  did not do enough to prevent mass infections?? Let it be known that only 45 million people are fully vaccinated out of 70 million. That is 2/3 of the population. And who knows what the working of all the mixing vaccines is against this new strain?? If 2 doses Moderna or Pfizer are not enough, how good are you protected if you had 1 Sinovac and 1 Astra, or 1 Astra and 1 Pfizer and so on??? Without being afraid, it is something to think about and yes probably end of next year the virus is maybe muteated to a flu or so, but there are also scientists who think if it mixes with Delta there could be a more dangerous strain being formed. Nobody can forsee what is coming.

Edited December 22, 2021 by ikke1959

[RichardColeman]

2 hours ago, tomacht8 said:

The population is not as stupid as the government believes with its kindergarten mentality.

Think that applies to every government enforcing ridiculous lockdowns and laws on the planet, not just Thailand.

 

 

[baboon]

11 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

OK everybody has an opinion, but what will happen if the Omicron will make a lot of people ill, serious or not, but still ill. What will happen with the economy than? Is it not better to prevent than to cure? Nobody has any experience in this matter but everyone think they know the best. Indeed Thailand need tourism, but it is not only killed by lockdowns and the Covid. But western tourists will not come, because there are restrictions in their country already and  how aboutthe risk of being here on holiday and getting sick because Thailand  did not do enough to prevent mass infections?? Let it be known that only 45 million people are fully vaccinated out of 70 million. That is 2/3 of the population. And who knows what the working of all the mixing vaccines is against this new strain?? If 2 doses Moderna or Pfizer are not enough, how good are you protected if you had 1 Sinovac and 1 Astra, or 1 Astra and 1 Pfizer and so on??? Without being afraid, it is something to think about and yes probably end of next year the virus is maybe muteated to a flu or so, but there are also scientists who think if it mixes with Delta there could be a more dangerous strain being formed. Nobody can forsee what is coming.

One can 'What if' into infinity. What if Thailand opens up but your plane crashes? What if in two month's time there is an outbreak of bubonic plague in Pattaya or Phuket? In my opinion, you simply cannot run a society like this, based on the fears of the 'We're all going to die' brigade.

Here's the thing - We ARE all going to die even if Covid is eradicated tomorrow. 

 

Here is what my GP said to me once: 'Baboon, it is important to enjoy life as best as you can, because one day something is coming along that will kill you, and there will be nothing I or any other doctor will be able to do about it.' Wise words.

 

So yes, I support these protesters. If Covid doesn't finish off the masses, poverty and the associated problems that go with it, surely will.

[The Hammer2021]

3 hours ago, Gsxrnz said:

The "thinking" of the governments of non-socialist countries is confusing with regard to use of the weapon of mass social destruction we have come to know as the boogeyman called Covid.

 

The general plan of the western socialist countries is to have the majority of the population either working for government or be totally reliant on government for their survival in the form of benefits and freebies, paid for by the hard working and oppressed 10% who are net taxpayers. This will go on until other peoples money runs out.

 

Thailand doesn't have the same socialist monetary system and can't afford to employ and feed the masses after slicing off 20% of their GDP called tourism   They may wind up in the same position as pre-revolutionary France. 

 

We've already had the "let them eat cake" comment. And there is an argument that every society is only three square meals away from revolution.

There are no socialist countries in the west..None!

[tomacht8]

37 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

OK everybody has an opinion, but what will happen if the Omicron will make a lot of people ill, serious or not, but still ill. What will happen with the economy than? Is it not better to prevent than to cure? Nobody has any experience in this matter but everyone think they know the best. Indeed Thailand need tourism, but it is not only killed by lockdowns and the Covid. But western tourists will not come, because there are restrictions in their country already and  how aboutthe risk of being here on holiday and getting sick because Thailand  did not do enough to prevent mass infections?? Let it be known that only 45 million people are fully vaccinated out of 70 million. That is 2/3 of the population. And who knows what the working of all the mixing vaccines is against this new strain?? If 2 doses Moderna or Pfizer are not enough, how good are you protected if you had 1 Sinovac and 1 Astra, or 1 Astra and 1 Pfizer and so on??? Without being afraid, it is something to think about and yes probably end of next year the virus is maybe muteated to a flu or so, but there are also scientists who think if it mixes with Delta there could be a more dangerous strain being formed. Nobody can forsee what is coming.

Well this mindset has been practiced since 21 months.

Result: It didn't work and now we're back to the beginning.

 

What bothers me are these short-term, panic, sometimes idiotic reactions without a long-term alternative plan and without thinking about the consequences. It is not even attempted to think in terms of alternatives, but now the old, failed recipes are repeated again. 

[zoltannyc]

43 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

There are no socialist countries in the west..None!

You are right. Some people simply don't understand the difference between social and socialist. Social policies are concerned with the ways countries around the world meet human needs for security, education, work, health and wellbeing. Some countries arguably have better social policies liked Scandinavian countries and some have weaker social policies like the US or SEA countries. Socialist countries are characterized by social ownership and with no or limited private ownership. Western (capitalist) countries can't be socialist at the same time because capitalism is based on private ownership, however capitalist countries can have wide ranging social institutions and policies in place.

[ikke1959]

39 minutes ago, tomacht8 said:

Well this mindset has been practiced since 21 months.

Result: It didn't work and now we're back to the beginning.

 

What bothers me are these short-term, panic, sometimes idiotic reactions without a long-term alternative plan and without thinking about the consequences. It is not even attempted to think in terms of alternatives, but now the old, failed recipes are repeated again. 

Sometimes you have to be realistic.. You can enjoy freedom and don't care about thing than yourself, because probably you feel blocked in your life, but if you better idea's i would like to hear them. It is easier to comment without solutions, because nobody knows what will happen if you act now as in normal life, no vaccine, no mask, go to mass events as you did in 2017 and see what will happen. My alternatives are not so many, but I have lost 2 familymembers of Covid. At that time they just started to vaccinate and I can tell you it was not nice to see that someone is suffocating.  I was against vaccination too, but when that happened I changed my mind. It is not panicking it is preventing for worse.... 

[ikke1959]

1 hour ago, baboon said:

One can 'What if' into infinity. What if Thailand opens up but your plane crashes? What if in two month's time there is an outbreak of bubonic plague in Pattaya or Phuket? In my opinion, you simply cannot run a society like this, based on the fears of the 'We're all going to die' brigade.

Here's the thing - We ARE all going to die even if Covid is eradicated tomorrow. 

 

Here is what my GP said to me once: 'Baboon, it is important to enjoy life as best as you can, because one day something is coming along that will kill you, and there will be nothing I or any other doctor will be able to do about it.' Wise words.

 

So yes, I support these protesters. If Covid doesn't finish off the masses, poverty and the associated problems that go with it, surely will.

Nobody can foresee the future and life is very fragile... Surely when are getting over 60.  Driving on the road is more dangerous. But I am not talking about myself I am talking for sake of the country. Not much is known yet about Omicron and with boosters you can be better protected, but that will take time and maybe if I read your comment you fear death every minute.  

[drenddy]

Wish, I could be there.

Demanding shutting down Dr Yong's Facebook page.

 

[smedly]

30 minutes ago, zoltannyc said:

You are right. Some people simply don't understand the difference between social and socialist. Social policies are concerned with the ways countries around the world meet human needs for security, education, work, health and wellbeing. Some countries arguably have better social policies liked Scandinavian countries and some have weaker social policies like the US or SEA countries. Socialist countries are characterized by social ownership and with no or limited private ownership. Western (capitalist) countries can't be socialist at the same time because capitalism is based on private ownership, however capitalist countries can have wide ranging social institutions and policies in place.

simply put Thailand does not have a welfare system - if you don't work you don't eat, Thailand could not afford a welfare system - they might have a chance if they cut out corruption and the huge ammount of money going into the pockets of those in high places 

[baboon]

8 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Nobody can foresee the future and life is very fragile... Surely when are getting over 60.  Driving on the road is more dangerous. But I am not talking about myself I am talking for sake of the country. Not much is known yet about Omicron and with boosters you can be better protected, but that will take time and maybe if I read your comment you fear death every minute.  

Me? Not really. When your number is up, it's up. Hopefully not for a while yet, mind you. 

 

And it doesn't take Nostradamus to foretell increasing worldwide poverty, hunger, crime and unrest, the longer this Covid hyper-hysteria continues...

[smedly]

1 hour ago, baboon said:

One can 'What if' into infinity. What if Thailand opens up but your plane crashes? What if in two month's time there is an outbreak of bubonic plague in Pattaya or Phuket? In my opinion, you simply cannot run a society like this, based on the fears of the 'We're all going to die' brigade.

Here's the thing - We ARE all going to die even if Covid is eradicated tomorrow. 

 

Here is what my GP said to me once: 'Baboon, it is important to enjoy life as best as you can, because one day something is coming along that will kill you, and there will be nothing I or any other doctor will be able to do about it.' Wise words.

 

So yes, I support these protesters. If Covid doesn't finish off the masses, poverty and the associated problems that go with it, surely will.

so your solution is ##### it and too bad if you die - you might just change your perspective if you were actually responsible for anything other than yourself and more importantly held to account for the deaths you failed to avoid while in charge of a country - your attitude sounds more like anarchy - disband all police, laws and governments and every man for himself 

[smedly]

6 minutes ago, baboon said:

And it doesn't take Nostradamus to foretell increasing worldwide poverty, hunger, crime and unrest, the longer this Covid hyper-hysteria continues...

you are contradicting yourself - you cannpt have it both ways, we either have people running things making decisions for you and enforcing laws etc or we don't - which is it, would you rather it was every man for himself or do you chose to be governed and comply with law and those that enforce it 

[baboon]

11 minutes ago, smedly said:

you are contradicting yourself - you cannpt have it both ways, we either have people running things making decisions for you and enforcing laws etc or we don't - which is it, would you rather it was every man for himself or do you chose to be governed and comply with law and those that enforce it 

No I am not contradicting myself. Of course governance is needed. However in my opinion, many are doing a bit of a <deleted> job when it comes to Covid.

[Sydebolle]

The biggest virus threat is the present government house full of those almighty ignorants. But they are in good company; many other countries are run by complete idiots and given the army background, you see similar patterns. 

Bottomline is that those countries are all going down the toilet. For those MoPH and other Ministries of Incompetence - make sure you're not c-r-apping on the plate you're eating from. Once the dam breaks - good luck to all of us! 

[ifmu]

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

OK everybody has an opinion, but what will happen if the Omicron will make a lot of people ill, serious or not, but still ill. What will happen with the economy than? Is it not better to prevent than to cure? Nobody has any experience in this matter but everyone think they know the best. Indeed Thailand need tourism, but it is not only killed by lockdowns and the Covid. But western tourists will not come, because there are restrictions in their country already and  how about the risk of being here on holiday and getting sick because Thailand  did not do enough to prevent mass infections?? Let it be known that only 45 million people are fully vaccinated out of 70 million. That is 2/3 of the population. And who knows what the working of all the mixing vaccines is against this new strain?? If 2 doses Moderna or Pfizer are not enough, how good are you protected if you had 1 Sinovac and 1 Astra, or 1 Astra and 1 Pfizer and so on??? Without being afraid, it is something to think about and yes probably end of next year the virus is maybe mutated to a flu or so, but there are also scientists who think if it mixes with Delta there could be a more dangerous strain being formed. Nobody can foresee what is coming.

finally a voice of common sense ...  thank you

there have been numerous mistakes at the beginning of the CV   just look at Trump's part in usa CV   then look at your own countries and see what went wrong .. .. the problems started with the governments  (usa uk fr )then went to the people  (anti vax mask science)

i left thailand out of this . they have their own problems

from my viewpoint  

[ikke1959]

Surely agree there can be other things be done but home quarantine is not working in THailand, and for the healthy people of course they can work, but who will be healthy? The Corona virus can give people no symptons but they can spread it... and of course the weakest will die first, it is nature. But the Government take stupid preventions as a alcohol ban in restaurants, Is there a difference between drinking soft drinks or coffee/tea instead of a beer or wine? That will do a lot of harm.. But there are more things a total lockdown is not neccessary but I agree that the Thai Government is too lazy and don't have the skills to rule, but that we know already for years... but we can not change that yet...and I wrote a long time ago already let the Thai people dig to put the cables under the ground, and clean the riverbanks etc so they can earn money and the country will be better, and the vaccinations we all know what they did, too slow, and bad quality with result that people need already a third or 4th dose whil other people not even got their first jab

 

Edited December 23, 2021 by onthedarkside
quote of hidden post removed

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

""We need tourists to survive - (not quarantine)"

As they descended on the ministry of health one would assume they are traders in Bangkok... a population of over 7 million.

If they are reliant on tourists to survive I would suggest they are in the wrong business and need to re-think their model.

[Rimmer]

A troll post has been removed FYI the story you claim is not posted is in the news letter  HERE

 

And also posted HERE

 

 

[zzaa09]

4 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Think that applies to every government enforcing ridiculous lockdowns and laws on the planet, not just Thailand.

 

 

Most particularly applies to the uncivilised West and their fanciful manner.

[herfiehandbag]

2 hours ago, smedly said:

simply put Thailand does not have a welfare system - if you don't work you don't eat, Thailand could not afford a welfare system - they might have a chance if they cut out corruption and the huge ammount of money going into the pockets of those in high places 

I very much agree, in fact I think that Thailand could afford a (basic) welfare system were it's leaders to have the political will. Perhaps it was starting to lean in that direction under the popularly elected governments at the start of this century - shall I pause here to allow boos, hisses and dark references to Thaksin? If it was it was because the then incumbent (more boos and hisses) saw distinct political advantages in creating one. The present bunch having seized power without troubling with an election, and then having fixed (sorry I meant reformed) the electoral system to ensure (they hope) they continue in power indefinitely have no such interest.

 

I look at the area in which I have some professional knowledge and interest, defence and defence equipment procurement, and see a bewildering array of purchases of equipments, often in small quantities insufficient to equip any complete formation, and much of it not capable of being integrated with other equipments. I reckon, off the top of my head, that you could probably cut that budget by 30% without any effect upon the potential performance of the military. Apply that across all areas of government activity and a welfare system becomes affordable.

 

The stumbling block of course is that the present bunch rely upon a complex web of vested interests to prop up the system they have created, instead of electoral support. You only have to look at their responses to the challenges posed by Covid to see that!

Edited December 22, 2021 by herfiehandbag

[kimamey]

6 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

OK everybody has an opinion, but what will happen if the Omicron will make a lot of people ill, serious or not, but still ill. What will happen with the economy than? Is it not better to prevent than to cure? Nobody has any experience in this matter but everyone think they know the best. Indeed Thailand need tourism, but it is not only killed by lockdowns and the Covid. But western tourists will not come, because there are restrictions in their country already and  how aboutthe risk of being here on holiday and getting sick because Thailand  did not do enough to prevent mass infections?? Let it be known that only 45 million people are fully vaccinated out of 70 million. That is 2/3 of the population. And who knows what the working of all the mixing vaccines is against this new strain?? If 2 doses Moderna or Pfizer are not enough, how good are you protected if you had 1 Sinovac and 1 Astra, or 1 Astra and 1 Pfizer and so on??? Without being afraid, it is something to think about and yes probably end of next year the virus is maybe muteated to a flu or so, but there are also scientists who think if it mixes with Delta there could be a more dangerous strain being formed. Nobody can forsee what is coming.

I'm not sure if what the  Thai government is doing will help. In the UK when this new variant became known in South Africa they shut down arrivals immediately. For once they weren't too slow. Once it became obvious that Omicron was already in the UK they opened up as infection was most likely to come from domestic sources and they just rely on existing measures. It may be that the Thai government wants to slow the spread to give time for greater numbers of vaccines but I don't know. 

 

What it should be doing is providing more financial support for those affected such as these traders.

[Kenneth White]

Thailand has a total of 21,440 from COVID deaths this year, and an estimated 20,000 motor cycle accident deaths for this year. They close down the country to stop the spread of the virus, businesses close, some for good, masks are required and I am okay with that, social distancing which some don't follow especially at the hospitals, but motorcycle deaths are ignore. There is so much to talk about when it comes to motor cycle riders but, all I can say about motor cycle deaths is you can't fix stupid. I compared these two because the death tolls were so close and neither one can be cured. 

Edited December 22, 2021 by Kenneth White

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies discussing socialism in the UK and other European countries have been removed.

[kcpattaya]

Uncle loves "CONTROL".
Omicron is a pefect excuse to "keep it"...
Although it doesn't kill anyone, except the economy.
But hey!? Who cares?

[SmartyMarty]

On 12/22/2021 at 11:03 AM, tomacht8 said:

That is the dilemma. If doctors rule in their limited world of thought, then one should completely isolate the population and lock everyone up. Then you would actually have fewer infections. And the fear argument works pretty well at the beginning: "If you don't do what we say, you will die".

 

And on the other hand there is the population, many of whom are not in a position to survive existentially long isolation measures economically.

 

An intelligent balance of interests must be found so that the doctors' measures can be accepted. This is where the task of politics and the national leadership begins. And so far that has not worked well here if one works primarily with army-like orders and punishments instead of compromises.

 

And when the promised light fails to come at the end of the tunnel, resistance and anger arise. Many have so far made economic and social sacrifices in the hope of getting their normal life back. But after 21 months full of restrictions, the point has been reached for many where many see that their previous sacrifices have been in vain and realize that medicine and politics are actually powerless against the virus.

 

The population is not as stupid as the government believes with its kindergarten mentality.

One need not look any further than those at the top of govt for reasons why the plans have all failed.

[Jack100]

21 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

The biggest virus threat is the present government house full of those almighty ignorants. But they are in good company; many other countries are run by complete idiots and given the army background, you see similar patterns. 

Bottomline is that those countries are all going down the toilet. For those MoPH and other Ministries of Incompetence - make sure you're not c-r-apping on the plate you're eating from. Once the dam breaks - good luck to all of us! 

Syd  pity your not running anything , I am sure it would all be perfect !