Thailand reports 7,926 new COVID-19 cases, 13 deaths, 3,612 recoveries

[Bkk Brian]

Great news and shows that the booster lasts without need for another.

 

Figures show that around three months after they received the third jab, protection against hospitalisation among those aged 65 and over remains at about 90%.

[LosLobo]

18 minutes ago, Bluetongue said:

In Australia most states have adopted the practice of allowing people to report online their positive RAT tests. It has been officially acknowledged that there has been some double counting. It means the numbers are not correct. Of course some people may not report, just as likely some people may report they are positive, when not, for whatever reason. So even more a reason to focus less on the raw number and more on the outcomes

Double counting? How can you double count when all tests are registered by name.

 

I would suggest that there has been gross under-counting with all testing under pressure.

 

COVID-19 testing under pressure across Australia, as rapid antigen tests remain hard to find amid long delays for PCRs - ABC News

[James105]

33 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Thats a worldwide problem with ATK tests although not so much in countries which have more sensible measures for isolation. However this is about the dismal PCR testing rates in Thailand which I was referring to, the official ones, so wind back a little amigo.

 

If my wife develops moderate symptoms and we feel she needs medication or care then she will be informing authorities as is the advice given by Thailand.

Who exactly are you expecting to put themselves forward for an official test with mild or no symptoms though?   The punishment for a positive (false or correct) is a 10-14 day sentence in some kind of hell hole for Thais and an expensive unnecessary hospital / hotel for foreigners unless they can persuade someone in authority to let them stay at home.

 

I'm just confused about what you actually want to happen here based on your own situation.  If you reported your wife to the authorities they would then most likely take her away and give her a PCR test to confirm and would that not make the numbers a bit more accurate?  This is what you seem to be suggesting you want.   Or do you just want other people to do that?  

[Bkk Brian]

3 minutes ago, James105 said:

I'm just confused about what you actually want to happen here based on your own situation.  If you reported your wife to the authorities they would then most likely take her away and give her a PCR test to confirm and would that not make the numbers a bit more accurate?  This is what you seem to be suggesting you want.   Or do you just want other people to do that?  

Your confusion is your own making, my personal situation has nothing to do with PCR tests. My wife would not be taken away to hospital if she reported it as there is a home isolation policy here in Phuket for those who have suitable accommodation and have mild or no symptoms, no follow up PCR test is given or asked for.

 

Like I said that only comes into play if she develops symptoms that need care. Savvy?

[Bluetongue]

4 minutes ago, LosLobo said:

Double counting? How can you double count when all tests are registered by name.

 

I would suggest that there has been gross under-counting with all testing under pressure.

 

COVID-19 testing under pressure across Australia, as rapid antigen tests remain hard to find amid long delays for PCRs - ABC News

Not so. In reporting on the first day the Victorian Health Minister said many of the antigen tests had also been and had a PCR test. They had no way of knowing how many. Considering they were reporting tens of thousands its likely to be a fair number. In any case doesn't matter, either way, they dont know the numbers so its pointless to headline them every day

[LosLobo]

5 minutes ago, Bluetongue said:

Not so. In reporting on the first day the Victorian Health Minister said many of the antigen tests had also been and had a PCR test. They had no way of knowing how many. Considering they were reporting tens of thousands its likely to be a fair number. In any case doesn't matter, either way, they dont know the numbers so its pointless to headline them every day

 

 

I'll help you out. Here is the link that you forgot in your original post! ????

 

"Inaccurate case numbers expected as PCR and RAT results double up"

 

Victoria records 51,356 COVID-19 cases and nine deaths - ABC News

[Bkk Brian]

32 new Covid-19 cases confirmed in Koh Chang

 

As many as 32 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed in Koh Chang on Sunday prompting a temporary closure of the Mu Koh Chang National Park.

The Trat provincial public health said on Sunday that 48 cases had been confirmed on Sunday, eight of whom had recovered. Of them, 15 were found in Koh Chang and 17 in Koh Chang Tai.

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40010900

[Bkk Brian]

Thai News Reports: Surat Thani health officials are reporting 74 new cases on the islands and no deaths: Koh Samui 28 , Koh Pha-ngan 42 , and Koh Tao 4 #COVID19

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1480389304736047107

 

[jerrymahoney]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Only one covid-related number Thais should concentrate on, senior doctor says

To me there are two relevant numbers: 100% you got it and 0% you don't got it.

 

 

[Bkk Brian]

Phuket 513 new cases, no deaths

https://www.facebook.com/phuketinfocenter/posts/461472678841247

[Bkk Brian]

Covid infected people who enter home isolation will be monitored and provided with medicine, food, thermometer and oximeter, the government spokesman Thanakorn said on Monday amid criticisms that many infected people are being left to their own means at home.

 

https://twitter.com/ThaiEnquirer/status/1480402638759874561

 

[wasabi]

2 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Maybe one of these so-called experts needs to tell Thais that face masks are for protecting others more than yourself and when you sneeze don't pull your mask down to do it. Idiots. As for the numbers they are now and have always been massively under-reported. What we have now is a virus that has indeed an exponential increase. Numbers in Thaiand down from yesterday. I don't think so. Thing about Omicron is it spreds very fast so the peak comes quickly and Delta is pushed out. I'm guessing end of the month should see peaks happening although these peaks will of course be different in different provinces. BKK and Phuket will more than likely be early to peak. Looking at Kalasin info something very odd in the numbers. Definitely not showing the doubling rate experienced elsewhere. Difference may be masks wearing.

http://www.kalasin.go.th/t/index.php/th/covid-19.html

 

 

I certainly won't be sneezing in my mask ever. I will pull it down and sneeze in a tissue. 

[mommysboy]

2 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

This mornings PM 2.5 of 171 where I am in Sathorn makes it hard to see past 2 buildings outwards.  Such haze and my air purifier are all working hard to keep the internal at 32.  My eyes have been burning for the past week since the air quality became horrid after all of the construction went back in play 24/7.  Allergy symptoms I do have......

 

yes, very difficult to distinguish between URT allergy, a common cold, or Omricon, or a combo, and probably quite needless in any case as they are self limiting in most cases.

[mommysboy]

2 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

Great news and shows that the booster lasts without need for another.

 

Figures show that around three months after they received the third jab, protection against hospitalisation among those aged 65 and over remains at about 90%.

But after 3 months it will likely fade. Still, 3 months will be enough to see the back of Omicron.  

 

More durable T cell protection runs at 60-80% after 2 doses.  AZ appears particularly good in this respect.

[anchadian]

138,885 vaccine doses administered yesterday

 

[Bkk Brian]

Seems a bit misleading to me, Omicron was not even a thing back on 1st Nov. They should move that date up to a more recent timeline such as end of Dec - Jan 09

 

Out of 15,345 Covid samples that were taken from around the country between November 1 and January 9, 5,397 or 35.17% were #Omicron and 9,929 or 64.71% were Delta, the CCSA said on Monday.

https://twitter.com/ThaiEnquirer/status/1480419970760601601

 

[Bkk Brian]

Phuket well and truly the most infected Province in Thailand by far per 100k population

[Mr Derek]

3 hours ago, anchadian said:

Most people with Omicron do not have any symptoms, but for the ones that do, here are the 8 most common ones:

 

Cough 54%

Sore throat 37%

Fever 29%

Muscle pain 15%

Runny nose 12%

Headache 10%

Difficulty in breathing 5%

Loss of sense of smell 2%

 

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1480364504936423426

 

A lot milder than the common cold then. When I get a cold, it's 100% certain I will get a completely blocked nose for several days, nasty sore throat and wretched cough for at least a couple of weeks, headaches, loss of appetite, and general debility. Hopefully in future I'll be getting Omicron instead.

[anchadian]

Dr Muiris Houston: Omicron may push Delta out for good

 

Latest variant is likely to raise immunity, ushering in a sharp drop in transmission

 

Could we really be entering our third year of uncertainty with Covid-19? A successful vaccine programme (at least in this part of the world) has made a difference, but we remain firmly in pandemic mode. So is Sars-CoV-2 fated to become our ‘groundhog’ virus?

 

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/dr-muiris-houston-omicron-may-push-delta-out-for-good-1.4770939

Queues at a Covid-19 vaccination centre in a shopping plaza in Bangkok, Thailand. Photograph: EPA/Narong Sangnak

[Petey11]

Hospital up by 3000 odd on yesterday, as said concentrate on hospital numbers.

[anchadian]

2 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

Phuket 513 new cases, no deaths

https://www.facebook.com/phuketinfocenter/posts/461472678841247

Again, not including in the total, óther' infections.

 

 

[samtam]

3 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

This mornings PM 2.5 of 171 where I am in Sathorn makes it hard to see past 2 buildings outwards.  Such haze and my air purifier are all working hard to keep the internal at 32.  My eyes have been burning for the past week since the air quality became horrid after all of the construction went back in play 24/7.  Allergy symptoms I do have......

 

I agree, the high AQI, at the level you mention first thing this morning has now reduced to around 100. My air purifiers are now showing 9. I too have been suffering from burning eyes, eased by "natural tear" drops. Luckily so far, no sore throat, although a slight "scratchy" cough of no consequence. The danger is that one can think both these symptoms are mild Omicron. I've been avoiding going out for both air quality reasons and the avoidance of people. The only thing I do is swim my 1400m, (which takes about 35 minutes) and without anyone else, as we have a booking system that restricts usage to 1 unit per time (hour), and then I'm up in the air-purified flat, with filtered aircon.

 

 

Good Morning Bangkok! "I love the smell of napalm in the morning.."

[Bkk Brian]

Omicron: How the world’s fastest spreading virus could also end the pandemic

 

Far more transmissible than previous variants, Omicron has risen to become the world’s second-most contagious virus – closely behind measles.

 

Omicron is expected to take over from Delta as the dominant COVID-19 strain soon. The new variant was responsible for half of the infections confirmed at the Ramathibodi Hospital’s Centre for Medical Genomics in the past few days.

 

“Home isolation will be the main mode of treatment, as we will reserve hospital beds for those with identified risks and serious conditions,” he said. He emphasized that only those who think their condition is worsening should go to the hospital.

 

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/omicron-how-the-worlds-fastest-spreading-virus-could-also-end-the-pandemic/

[John Drake]

9 minutes ago, samtam said:

I've been avoiding going out for both air quality reasons and the avoidance of people. The only thing I do is swim my 1400m, (which takes about 35 minutes) and without anyone else, as we have a booking system that restricts usage to 1 unit per time (hour), and then I'm up in the air-purified flat, with filtered aircon.

Sounds like a great life. 

[samtam]

5 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

It should be simple, but many people (probably most Thai people) need to work!  The current poor air quality here in Bangkok has given me a terrible cough and sore throat (as it usually does every year), but my last ATK test was negative, so I'm continuing to work.

 

4 hours ago, anchadian said:

Most people with Omicron do not have any symptoms, but for the ones that do, here are the 8 most common ones:

 

Cough 54%

Sore throat 37%

Fever 29%

Muscle pain 15%

Runny nose 12%

Headache 10%

Difficulty in breathing 5%

Loss of sense of smell 2%

 

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1480364504936423426

 

Yeah, the cough one might pick up from the hideous AQI is a cause for potential confusion with the mild Omicron symptom. But until there is universal clarity on treatment and hospitalisation, there is going to be underreporting, for both those who do not want to lose their jobs, and those who do not want to waste time and beds in hospital, when the latter does not require it. Also the quarantine by association with a "covid positive" person needs to be reviewed; our building manager's spouse tested positive for covid. He now has to quarantine at home for 14 days, although he is negative, (2 ATK tests). This policy is not sustainable, or we shall have a breakdown in logistics, including of course the healthcare system, as has happened in UK, for example.

[samtam]

2 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Sounds like a great life. 

LOL. It's a laugh a minute! I'm antisocial and curmudgeonly anyway.

[anchadian]

I found out today that the number of international arrivals testing positive are not all from their Day 1 in #Thailand. Even Sandboxers who walk around Phuket for seven days and then test positive are counted as an imported case. Local cases start after Day 10. See thread

 

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1480444536685875202

 

[anchadian]

Thai virologist downplays presence of new ‘Deltacron’ COVID variant

 

A senior Thai virologist has dismissed the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant, unofficially dubbed “Deltacron” as reported in Cyprus, noting that it is possible that the RNA of both the Delta and Omicron variants was contaminated in laboratories.

 

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thai-virologist-downplays-presence-of-new-deltacron-covid-variant/

[ThailandRyan]

41 minutes ago, samtam said:

I agree, the high AQI, at the level you mention first thing this morning has now reduced to around 100. My air purifiers are now showing 9. I too have been suffering from burning eyes, eased by "natural tear" drops. Luckily so far, no sore throat, although a slight "scratchy" cough of no consequence. The danger is that one can think both these symptoms are mild Omicron. I've been avoiding going out for both air quality reasons and the avoidance of people. The only thing I do is swim my 1400m, (which takes about 35 minutes) and without anyone else, as we have a booking system that restricts usage to 1 unit per time (hour), and then I'm up in the air-purified flat, with filtered aircon.

 

 

Good Morning Bangkok! "I love the smell of napalm in the morning.."

Down to 9 in the Condo now in all rooms, and yet outside is still 97.

[anchadian]

Government to conduct more tests in bid to halt Omicron

 

The government plans to conduct more proactive Covid testing to halt the spread of Omicron, the government said on Monday in a scheduled press conference.

 

A spokesman also added that people with mild Covid symptoms should do home isolation instead of burdening the health system.

 

https://www.thaienquirer.com/36349/government-to-conduct-more-tests-in-bid-to-halt-omicron/