Medical Sciences Department reports total of 739 Omicron cases in Thailand

[chiman]

its all about treatments now... vaccines cannot keep up with variants.  The pill, the IV drip... all need to be the focus of this government now that vaccines are readily available and not as effective as against Delta & Wuhan strains ... the next variant will be even more transmissible, its endemic 

[bradiston]

56 minutes ago, DLock said:

No, he arrived on the 22nd into Thailand and traveled to Chiang Mai by plane on the 23rd.

 

Was ATK tested negative on 24th as standard protocol.

 

On 25th, was showing symptoms of sore throat, cough and general lethargy - was put in isolation on the 25th.

 

Tested positive on morning of 26th. Had to arrange specialty transport to hospital for PCR testing (2,000 baht each way). Despite having significant symptoms, was sent back to await tests, but with 18,000 baht of medication. This was an unnecessary risk IMO. Staff also tested positive on ATK test and went for PCR test's with symptoms and tested positive. Admitted to hospital that evening - a family member of staff tested positive and now admitted to hospital.

 

PCR test was 3,800 baht for the foreigner and 800 baht for Thai.

 

PCR test came back positive for COVID at 6.30pm, and person was shipped back to hospital again.

 

Interesting that despite having good Insurance, person had to pay 150,000 baht upfront to be admitted. Hospital would not accept Insurance as a form of payment, and person will have to claim when they get home.

 

Omicron confirmation came back on 29th after being sent to BKK. - 3 days later.

 

The 2 Thai staff member are both still in hospital and they are fully paid for by the Government.

 

Now the fun begins. Because it has tested as Omicron, the CDC are demanding every staff do a PCR test and anyone that came in contact with that person isolate at home, and they are doing contact tracing.

 

Yes, it's very possible that this person was infected on the flight, as I saw how fast it spread to my staff, so do not believe they could have travelled and past BKK PCR test with Omicron.

 

...and that's where we are today.

 

Apologies for singling out a rather minor detail from a very interesting post, but I wonder what the 18,000 THB's worth of medication consisted of? 

[Sheryl]

14 hours ago, DLock said:

 

They are at least 3 or 4 days behind the true numbers.

 

My staff (2) tested positive on Sunday in Chiang Mai and put into hospital same day - they received confirmation that they have Omicron strain only this evening.

 

One is ok, the other has been on oxygen for 2 days and quite sick. They both had double jabs and boosters (not sure what booster was but 2 shots were Sinopharm).

 

They both started with a scratchy throat and a sniffle and cough and within 1 day were both feeling really bad. They had tested negative with ATK on the previous Friday morning. 

 

They know who they got infected (inbound tourist who tested negative in home country, BKK hotel and ATK) from and that person is also in hospital.

 

I have seen how fast this variant infects, and the infections were not trivial.

 

Personally, I think this is going to rip through Thailand. Maybe less sick people, but could overwhelm testing and hospital. 4th January re-opening will not happen in my opinion.

If the inboubd tourist they caught it from tested negative through day 5 after arrival it is quite podsible they were themselves infected in Thailand after arrival.

 

We are close to the point of uncontrolled community transmission (probably alteady there but not yet enough documentation).

 

At that point travel bans don't really accomplish much and are  not indicated on public health grounds. But this government is likely to keep them in place nonetheless as it is perceived by many as "doimg something". 

[Danderman123]

45 minutes ago, bradiston said:

There is. It's here (in the US at least) already:

 

https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dls/locs/2021/07-21-2021-lab-alert-Changes_CDC_RT-PCR_SARS-CoV-2_Testing_1.html

The Covid Deniers are eagerly posting this old CDC release, without context.

 

Do you really believe that CDC has terminated the EUA for all RT-PCR tests? If so, please explain why you think so, and I will correct you.

 

if not, please delete your misleading post.

 

if this is just a hit and run, and all you care about is getting lies up on the internet, you need help. Unless you are a Russian bot.

[DLock]

27 minutes ago, bradiston said:

Apologies for singling out a rather minor detail from a very interesting post, but I wonder what the 18,000 THB's worth of medication consisted of? 

No problem. 

 

I don't recall all the meds, but I know that the biggest medication cost was 12,000 baht and was Favipiravir. Some of the other costs were "medical supplies" and "diagnostic imaging" on top of the "packaged medical charge" of 3,800 which was the COVID test - and I assume that covers the BKK lab tests to determine the strain, but I am not sure. They may add that on the bill at exit.

 

I questioned that he had not tested positive yet, so why all the meds. Doctor responded that they are certain he has COVID so best to start meds. I said, then why send him back for the rest of the day to potentially infect others if you are certain....no response.

[Cake Monster]

488 cases from abroad, and only 251 from internal transmission.

If there ever was some kind of admission that the people were not being tested in Thailand, then this is it.

[DLock]

52 minutes ago, Trip Hop said:

Here lies the problem? If it was me in this situation, I would be telling the G/F to hide the credit cards, and refusing the 18000B anti-virals, as in my own country  I would be sent home and told to take some paracetamol? I paid the extra for the Thai insurance for this (despite having £15m of comprehensive farang insurance), let them sort it out? 

I can understand your thinking, but I'm just not sure what will happen where you are. We tried that logic as well...

 

It was a stressful time for this guy at the time when they refused his Insurance - the same Insurance that they insisted and accepted as part of his Thai Pass with $50,000 cover...which turned out to be just a check box and worthless in Thailand.

 

They insisted on 150,000 "deposit" for his hospital admission...meaning it may go higher.

 

It was at that point things got pretty heated and we tried to hold the line that he did not have access to 150,000, but he did have the Insurance that the Thai Pass insisted on. Use that, as that is what you insisted on. But they refused, but would not let him leave - the CDC seem quite all powerful, so there was really no options. The stand off went nowhere.

 

Not only did that large hospital refuse the insurance, but we called 5 other hospitals in Chiang Mai and they refused without really considering the actual policy. I looked at the policy and it certainly was COVID cover for $50,000 but the hospital refused to accept and refused to contact the Insurance provider.

 

His insurance company accepted that they will reimburse when he gets home. He was lucky he had access to 150,000 - many people wouldn't.

 

And that is the question that remains unanswered. No one can answer me what happens if the person, who has insurance but does not have 150,000 (or whatever amount) and no one could answer that.

 

We requested from the hospital which insurance company policy that they would accept at face value, so we could inform people considering Thailand, they said that they did not have that information. Didn't have...or didn't want to give?

 

It was pretty disappointing for the person getting the news that he tested positive, and then that his insurance was useless...

 

 

[bradiston]

1 hour ago, Danderman123 said:

The Covid Deniers are eagerly posting this old CDC release, without context.

 

Do you really believe that CDC has terminated the EUA for all RT-PCR tests? If so, please explain why you think so, and I will correct you.

 

if not, please delete your misleading post.

 

if this is just a hit and run, and all you care about is getting lies up on the internet, you need help. Unless you are a Russian bot.

It has indeed been misinterpreted by the covid deniers as signalling the falsity of the RT-PCR test. There are numerous updates to this release also, here, which exposes their misinformation. Here's one:

 

https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/eua-withdrawal-for-cdc-covid-19-pcr-test-is-due-to-the-development-of-newer-tests-that-help-save-time-and-resources-not-because-the-test-is-faulty/

 

Here's another:

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-covid19-pcr-test-idUSL1N2P42U5

 

You can Google it yourself. The CDC never stated anywhere it was a broken or inadequate test, just that there was a new test which incorporated a test for the flu virusas well. Please retract your beastly accusations.

[robin hood]

16 hours ago, ukrules said:

There's a lot more than they know about, that's for sure.

Over a 120.000 in the UK, just last Tuesday. But that’s what you get when everyone is asked to test. And even that is not the true figure. 700 hundred odd cases is just laughable, these people are deluded, if they think that’s all the covid cases they have in a day.

[Dialemco]

The truth is that Omicron is so infectous that it is almost certain that everyone will catch it. Get vaccinated if you can and hope will be mild and probably will end the pandemic as herd immunity occurs.

[Bkk Brian]

16 hours ago, DLock said:

 

They are at least 3 or 4 days behind the true numbers.

 

My staff (2) tested positive on Sunday in Chiang Mai and put into hospital same day - they received confirmation that they have Omicron strain only this evening.

 

One is ok, the other has been on oxygen for 2 days and quite sick. They both had double jabs and boosters (not sure what booster was but 2 shots were Sinopharm).

 

They both started with a scratchy throat and a sniffle and cough and within 1 day were both feeling really bad. They had tested negative with ATK on the previous Friday morning. 

 

They know who they got infected (inbound tourist who tested negative in home country, BKK hotel and ATK) from and that person is also in hospital.

 

I have seen how fast this variant infects, and the infections were not trivial.

 

Personally, I think this is going to rip through Thailand. Maybe less sick people, but could overwhelm testing and hospital. 4th January re-opening will not happen in my opinion.

Similar to the description given to it by a health writer in the US when he caught it, he just managed to stay out of hospital:

 

"Based on my virtual doctor’s description, my symptoms started mild, before the effects moved toward being moderate and then circled back to mildish. Imagine feeling teeth-chattering chills, a stifling cough and slight shortness of breath — on and off every six hours.

 

To track my situation before it could progress to a dangerous state, my private health care provider advised that I obtain a pulse oximeter

 

No one should be surprised that I was infected even while boosted. Based on the latest findings from the United Kingdom, the omicron variant is already starting to break through a booster shot’s barrier against infection, though protection against severe disease will be retained for most people."

 

https://gothamist.com/news/what-a-mild-to-moderate-omicron-case-feels-like

[jacko45k]

5 hours ago, johnarth said:

this is going to be a tricky one both Omicron and the flue have same Simpsons so they going to be mixed up

Bart and Homer?

[ourmanflint]

4 hours ago, DLock said:

I can understand your thinking, but I'm just not sure what will happen where you are. We tried that logic as well...

 

It was a stressful time for this guy at the time when they refused his Insurance - the same Insurance that they insisted and accepted as part of his Thai Pass with $50,000 cover...which turned out to be just a check box and worthless in Thailand.

 

They insisted on 150,000 "deposit" for his hospital admission...meaning it may go higher.

 

It was at that point things got pretty heated and we tried to hold the line that he did not have access to 150,000, but he did have the Insurance that the Thai Pass insisted on. Use that, as that is what you insisted on. But they refused, but would not let him leave - the CDC seem quite all powerful, so there was really no options. The stand off went nowhere.

 

Not only did that large hospital refuse the insurance, but we called 5 other hospitals in Chiang Mai and they refused without really considering the actual policy. I looked at the policy and it certainly was COVID cover for $50,000 but the hospital refused to accept and refused to contact the Insurance provider.

 

His insurance company accepted that they will reimburse when he gets home. He was lucky he had access to 150,000 - many people wouldn't.

 

And that is the question that remains unanswered. No one can answer me what happens if the person, who has insurance but does not have 150,000 (or whatever amount) and no one could answer that.

 

We requested from the hospital which insurance company policy that they would accept at face value, so we could inform people considering Thailand, they said that they did not have that information. Didn't have...or didn't want to give?

 

It was pretty disappointing for the person getting the news that he tested positive, and then that his insurance was useless...

 

 

This makes no sense at all. But neither am I totally surprised

[VBF]

6 hours ago, goldenbrwn1 said:

I landed here yesterday from the UK . Had pcr before and after landing . Stayed in a hotel for 2 days even though 24 hrs only required. Tested myself with lateral flow test I brought with me then went home to my family.  Because of work and obviously COVID this is my first time here for 2 years. 
 

The extended family were “ joking “ that I probably have omicron as I have come from  England . So I got my NHS test kits and asked if they would like to test…….oh no we don’t need to test.  So yeh I’m sure it’s rife here. They have never tested themselves. I’m pretty sure the only people here tested are the ones seriously not well and already in hospital. Where as in the UK we are test mad! Even me ! 

I agree - I'm in UK and despite not having bothered to test until now, for the past week, I've had a bad cold or 'flu. I've been feeling fairly grim so as I was meeting friends the following day, . I took  a test on Sunday night (Negative) and told my friends.

 

But the thing is, here in UK, the test is free to all (I have a box of 7 tests) and if I had been positive, I would just have had to self-isolate not be kidnapped and put in an expensive hospital. 

[DLock]

1 hour ago, ourmanflint said:

This makes no sense at all. But neither am I totally surprised

It was farcical to be honest.

 

The guy had the very insurance they forced him to get for his Thai Pass, from a reputable Insurance company and they refused to accept it as payment or deposit.

 

It made absolutely no sense. The Thai's keep complaining that foreigners don't have insurance and don't pay hospital bills, and they would not take his Insurance to pay that hospital bill.

 

It really felt like a money grab and that they just did not trust any Insurance.

[VBF]

5 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

The Covid Deniers are eagerly posting this old CDC release, without context.

 

Do you really believe that CDC has terminated the EUA for all RT-PCR tests? If so, please explain why you think so, and I will correct you.

 

if not, please delete your misleading post.

 

if this is just a hit and run, and all you care about is getting lies up on the internet, you need help. Unless you are a Russian bot.

Quite right...it often helps to actually read posts...in the link quoted, it clearly states 

 

" CDC recommends clinical laboratories and testing sites that have been using the CDC 2019-nCoV RT-PCR assay select and begin their transition to another FDA-authorized COVID-19 test. "

 

But that was the 3rd paragraph and Covid Deniers and  anti-vaxxers probably don't have quite enough of an attention span to get that far!

[DLock]

4 minutes ago, VBF said:

I agree - I'm in UK and despite not having bothered to test until now, for the past week, I've had a bad cold or 'flu. I've been feeling fairly grim so as I was meeting friends the following day, . I took  a test on Sunday night (Negative) and told my friends.

 

But the thing is, here in UK, the test is free to all (I have a box of 7 tests) and if I had been positive, I would just have had to self-isolate not be kidnapped and put in an expensive hospital. 

...and this the lesson I have learnt.

 

People who test positive with an ATK, self isolate, do not get a PCR test. 

 

Knowing what I know now, assuming my symptoms were manageable, there is no way I would put myself in the system with a PCR test.

[VBF]

2 minutes ago, DLock said:

...and this the lesson I have learnt.

 

People who test positive with an ATK, self isolate, do not get a PCR test. 

 

Knowing what I know now, assuming my symptoms were manageable, there is no way I would put myself in the system with a PCR test.

I'm assuming you mean the UK?

In which case, I quite agree - the NHS ask you to log any tests you take on their website but as far as I'm concerned, i took a test, was negative so that's that. And for completeness, I've just taken another one, also negative and ordered a new box of tests kits. 

[DLock]

1 hour ago, VBF said:

I'm assuming you mean the UK?

In which case, I quite agree - the NHS ask you to log any tests you take on their website but as far as I'm concerned, i took a test, was negative so that's that. And for completeness, I've just taken another one, also negative and ordered a new box of tests kits. 

...actually, I meant Thailand.

 

If you test positive for Omicron, it's like an inquisition of who, where, what, when...and then they do that trace as far as they can...

 

I would not volunteer my positive ATK test if my symptoms were manageable and self isolate and play video games for 14 days...

[spongeman]

Its like what my Physics teacher used to say to me...

 

"John, you are only fooling yourself".

[bradiston]

3 hours ago, VBF said:

Quite right...it often helps to actually read posts...in the link quoted, it clearly states 

 

" CDC recommends clinical laboratories and testing sites that have been using the CDC 2019-nCoV RT-PCR assay select and begin their transition to another FDA-authorized COVID-19 test. "

 

But that was the 3rd paragraph and Covid Deniers and  anti-vaxxers probably don't have quite enough of an attention span to get that far!

Not quite sure what has happened to my original post. @Danderman totally got the wrong end of the stick and I'm still waiting for his apology after his misdirected steam of invective. I've read the whole article and several of the links therein. He assumed I was somebody involved in denouncing the test on the completely false premise the CDC had announced it was flawed.

 

I seem to waste an awful lot of time and energy fighting off accusations such as this. People have become ludicrously hair triggered. A couple of key words and they're off. Try quoting "Sinovac" and witness the deluge of stupidity that avalanches your way. Post-trumpian stress disorder I guess.

[Danderman123]

1 hour ago, bradiston said:

Not quite sure what has happened to my original post. @Danderman totally got the wrong end of the stick and I'm still waiting for his apology after his misdirected steam of invective. I've read the whole article and several of the links therein. He assumed I was somebody involved in denouncing the test on the completely false premise the CDC had announced it was flawed.

 

I seem to waste an awful lot of time and energy fighting off accusations such as this. People have become ludicrously hair triggered. A couple of key words and they're off. Try quoting "Sinovac" and witness the deluge of stupidity that avalanches your way. Post-trumpian stress disorder I guess.

To be clear, your OP referred to a CDC directive related to retiring one type of RT-PCR, one that has not been in use since February 2020.

 

if you really think that the directive instead was intended to retire all current RT-PCR tests, please say so.

 

otherwise, what’s your point, unless you are just trolling.

[Danderman123]

11 hours ago, bradiston said:

There is. It's here (in the US at least) already:

 

https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dls/locs/2021/07-21-2021-lab-alert-Changes_CDC_RT-PCR_SARS-CoV-2_Testing_1.html

Rt-PCR tests accurately determine whether an individual is infected with the Covid-19 virus.

 

Do you disagree?

[bradiston]

35 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

To be clear, your OP referred to a CDC directive related to retiring one type of RT-PCR, one that has not been in use since February 2020.

 

if you really think that the directive instead was intended to retire all current RT-PCR tests, please say so.

 

otherwise, what’s your point, unless you are just trolling.

The article I quoted is dated 07/07/2021. It says the RT-PCR test in question was first introduced in February 2020, not discontinued then. I make no suggestion that this refers to all RT-PCR testing. You're just adding insult to injury.

[bradiston]

38 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Rt-PCR tests accurately determine whether an individual is infected with the Covid-19 virus.

 

Do you disagree?

The short answer is no, I don't disagree. What made you think I did? What is there in my original post to make you think I did? I was replying to somebody who was lamenting the apparent absence of a test for both the flu virus and SARS-COV-2. I said there was one, and it had been announced by the CDC, and I provided the link. It is, in part, an announcement to testing labs that

 

"After December 31, 2021, CDC will withdraw the request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel, the assay first introduced in February 2020 for detection of SARS-CoV-2 only. CDC is providing this advance notice for clinical laboratories to have adequate time to select and implement one of the many FDA-authorized alternatives."

 

OK? Nothing to do with any assertion on my part about the test itself.

 

I also provided links to 2 of many articles reporting on and exposing the misinterpretation of the CDC announcement, by covid deniers, who seem to be claiming it suggests the original RT-PCR test is/was not fit for purpose. Why you think I'm a party to that I cannot fathom. You just got the wrong idea. 

[VBF]

3 hours ago, bradiston said:

Not quite sure what has happened to my original post. @Danderman totally got the wrong end of the stick and I'm still waiting for his apology after his misdirected steam of invective. I've read the whole article and several of the links therein. He assumed I was somebody involved in denouncing the test on the completely false premise the CDC had announced it was flawed.

 

I seem to waste an awful lot of time and energy fighting off accusations such as this. People have become ludicrously hair triggered. A couple of key words and they're off. Try quoting "Sinovac" and witness the deluge of stupidity that avalanches your way. Post-trumpian stress disorder I guess.

@bradiston and @Danderman123

Not quite sure what happened here - I was agreeing with Danderman  when he took a pop at Covid Deniers and castigated someone who I thought didn't read the whole post and had assumed a change of testing routine meant a cancellation of testing. Clearly not the case.

 

Re-reading it, doesn't make too much sense now but if we're talking about people who are "hair triggered" when it comes to Covid Deniers and Anti-vaxxers, then I plead guilty as charged....and proud of it! ????  But apologies if I appear to have slagged off the wrong people!  Just my usual "foot-in mouth" disease.

 

In my defence, I did make the point that some people read the title / first line of a link and don't go on to read the substance of it which is often a mistake.

[bradiston]

1 hour ago, VBF said:

@bradiston and @Danderman123

Not quite sure what happened here - I was agreeing with Danderman  when he took a pop at Covid Deniers and castigated someone who I thought didn't read the whole post and had assumed a change of testing routine meant a cancellation of testing. Clearly not the case.

 

Re-reading it, doesn't make too much sense now but if we're talking about people who are "hair triggered" when it comes to Covid Deniers and Anti-vaxxers, then I plead guilty as charged....and proud of it! ????  But apologies if I appear to have slagged off the wrong people!  Just my usual "foot-in mouth" disease.

 

In my defence, I did make the point that some people read the title / first line of a link and don't go on to read the substance of it which is often a mistake.

Well @Danderman123 needs to calm down, step away from the keyboard, and put the frigging gun down! And yes, your response didn't help, but at least you've reread the thread. Cheers!

[ukrules]

The entire system will collapse in just a few weeks time, if I had to guess and I do, and will, then I'd say by around Jan 15th everything changes.

[jerrymahoney]

South Africa Says Its Omicron Wave Has Passed With No Big Spike in Deaths
The announcement offered cautious hope to other countries grappling with the fast-spreading variant.

Updated Dec. 30, 2021, 5:46 p.m. ET

“The speed with which the Omicron-driven fourth wave rose, peaked and then declined has been staggering,” said Fareed Abdullah of the South African Medical Research Council. “Peak in four weeks and precipitous decline in another two..."

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/30/world/omicron-covid-vaccine-tests