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Thailand on Saturday (February 19) reported 18,885 new COVID-19 cases, 10,946 recoveries and 29 additional deaths over the past 24 hours. 

 

▶︎ Infections outside prisons: 18,661. Prisons: 224

▶︎ Recoveries: 10,946

 

Saturday’s cases bring the total number of COVID-19 infections in Thailand to 2,693,362 with 22,594 deaths.

 

The news comes as Thailand will consider a recommendation from an airline tycoon to reduce the steps required for international entry, by doing away the second COVID-19 test, currently required on the fifth day after arrival.

 

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul met with AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes, who suggested measures to improve the “Test & Go” scheme, specifically the removal of the second test requirement.

 

*Thai PBS contributes to this report

 

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PCR test positive cases, total of 18,885 official new infections. 29 official covid deaths recorded.

 

Rapid tests positive cases, 13,558 bringing the total of PCR and ATK results to 32,443

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/

 

Rolling 7 day average chart from 17th Feb

https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/thailand

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1494825762658349061

 

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1494825312269783041

 

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1494842251109109761

 

58 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

PCR test positive cases, total of 18,885 official new infections. 29 official covid deaths recorded.

 

Rapid tests positive cases, 13,558 bringing the total of PCR and ATK results to 32,443

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/

 

Rolling 7 day average chart from 17th Feb

https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/thailand

Rocket ship time....maybe this is Thailands version of a moon shot....

1 minute ago, ThailandRyan said:

Rocket ship time....maybe this is Thailands version of a moon shot....

Good to see that deaths are still lowish though, lets hope it stays that way although they are rising.

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/

There were almost 5,000 new hospital admissions yesterday. 

Whilst Omicron poses little threat to reasonably healthy people especially children, it is still a significant threat to those with severe illness and immune suppression.  But that is also the way with many URT viral infections. It's a real dilemma what to do for the best. Thailand needs to get hold of a few million Paxlovid pills sharpish.  A game changer will be Evusheld which is a type of passive vaccine for the immune suppressed. Pfizer and AZ at the forefront again.

1 hour ago, Danderman123 said:

There were almost 5,000 new hospital admissions yesterday. 

And likely about 3000 of those really don't need to be there. Most of the others will be out within a few days. 

6 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

Whilst Omicron poses little threat to reasonably healthy people especially children, it is still a significant threat to those with severe illness and immune suppression.  But that is also the way with many URT viral infections. It's a real dilemma what to do for the best. Thailand needs to get hold of a few million Paxlovid pills sharpish.  A game changer will be Evusheld which is a type of passive vaccine for the immune suppressed. Pfizer and AZ at the forefront again.

Also have to remember that delta is still in Thailand.

Even if it's only lets say 10% of the total cases, it's still several thousand of Delta cases a day.

13 minutes ago, Virt said:

Also have to remember that delta is still in Thailand.

Even if it's only lets say 10% of the total cases, it's still several thousand of Delta cases a day.

That's true. I think it's currently 3% of total cases. 

 

Really, the answer is vaccination and boosters. Is it really still a supply issue!

 

The Chinese vaccines do a job whatever anyone says.

 

 

9 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

That's true. I think it's currently 3% of total cases. 

 

Really, the answer is vaccination and boosters. Is it really still a supply issue!

 

The Chinese vaccines do a job whatever anyone says.

 

 

Nobody said the Chinese vaccines do not "do a job" we know what they do re T and B cells as well as we know what other vaccines do. 

 

However Thailand is not actually suffering from a supply issue, its actually donating vaccines to other countries now, its suffering from a small proportion of its population who have decided not to get vaccinated. As with many countries. That however is their own decision and fault if they suffer as a consequence.

1 hour ago, Bkk Brian said:

Nobody said the Chinese vaccines do not "do a job" we know what they do re T and B cells as well as we know what other vaccines do. 

 

However Thailand is not actually suffering from a supply issue, its actually donating vaccines to other countries now, its suffering from a small proportion of its population who have decided not to get vaccinated. As with many countries. That however is their own decision and fault if they suffer as a consequence.

Nobody said the Chinese vaccines do not "do a job"   -  I don't know about that at all Brian!

 

The booster program in Thailand appears quite slow.  Nobody around me has been offered one, and they want it. 

 

Although Omicron does not represent  a significant threat to the vast majority of people, deaths can and will occur in the immune compromised and those with chronic underlying illness, or those who are simply very old.  We must do our utmost to protect them.  And it is do-able.  Everything else is just meaningless, tiresome fluff- all the restrictions, border controls, testing, etc.  Tackle the fire not the smoke.

 

 

9 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

Nobody said the Chinese vaccines do not "do a job"   -  I don't know about that at all Brian!

 

The booster program in Thailand appears quite slow.  Nobody around me has been offered one, and they want it. 

 

Although Omicron does not represent  a significant threat to the vast majority of people, deaths can and will occur in the immune compromised and those with chronic underlying illness, or those who are simply very old.  We must do our utmost to protect them.  And it is do-able.  Everything else is just meaningless, tiresome fluff- all the restrictions, border controls, testing, etc.  Tackle the fire not the smoke.

 

 

Back to Chinese vaccines....lol, I will leave that one alone.

 

I was not talking about the booster shots, I was clearly saying everyone that wanted to be vaccinated has now had the chance to do so and that there was not a supply problem as you claimed. Those that have chosen not to purely because they are anti vaccine can face any consequences.

 

On boosters and everybody around you who wants one but cannot get one, what area do you live in where this is happening, its not my experience, perhaps they want one before the official time gap? Granted it could be sped up and needs to be.

 

I'm also for protecting everyone that wants to be protected, did I hint that was not the case?

Rolling 7-day avg. positivity rate of 18.88 % should a bit alarming even for any flu-like contagious disease.

 

 

Does that figure just cover PCR testing?

 

 

27 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

Nobody said the Chinese vaccines do not "do a job"   -  I don't know about that at all Brian!

 

The booster program in Thailand appears quite slow.  Nobody around me has been offered one, and they want it. 

 

Although Omicron does not represent  a significant threat to the vast majority of people, deaths can and will occur in the immune compromised and those with chronic underlying illness, or those who are simply very old.  We must do our utmost to protect them.  And it is do-able.  Everything else is just meaningless, tiresome fluff- all the restrictions, border controls, testing, etc.  Tackle the fire not the smoke.

 

 

My wife, who works in the medical field, reports than now vaccines are expiring or reaching expiry. So there seems to be relatively low demand for booster shots. Thais, at least, should be able to go to Bang Sue and get a booster there. I would suggest those around you go there and see if they can get a booster. 

 

Personally, Im witing. I had two shots of az, but the last was about 6 months ago. My risk is quite low, so I will wait until close to the end of the school holidays (mid May) to get a booster. 

54 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Rolling 7-day avg. positivity rate of 18.88 % should a bit alarming even for any flu-like contagious disease.

 

 

Does that figure just cover PCR testing?

 

 

Like here in Finland positivity rate whit omicron is over 40% and nobody get worried about it!

Policymaker's say here , not come to get tested if really not need certificate about it. Just stay home if have flue like symptoms. And stay home time is 5 days. Test is not important anymore, only how many people get in hospital, here only people who are really sick and need hospital treatment.

55 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Back to Chinese vaccines....lol, I will leave that one alone.

 

I was not talking about the booster shots, I was clearly saying everyone that wanted to be vaccinated has now had the chance to do so and that there was not a supply problem as you claimed. Those that have chosen not to purely because they are anti vaccine can face any consequences.

 

On boosters and everybody around you who wants one but cannot get one, what area do you live in where this is happening, its not my experience, perhaps they want one before the official time gap? Granted it could be sped up and needs to be.

 

I'm also for protecting everyone that wants to be protected, did I hint that was not the case?

'I'm also for protecting everyone that wants to be protected, did I hint that was not the case?'

 

No, you didn't and neither did I suggest you did.

 

I think with the booster roll out in my area (Surat Thani) they are probably sticking to the 6 month gap- which is pointless really as Omicron will be in full flight by then. It's slow- much too slow. It really shouldn't be that difficult to roll out boosters to the very old, and the vulnerable imo.  And it is the single most important thing to do.  As for me, I'll probably try to get a booster in Bangkok when I go there.  

2 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

'I'm also for protecting everyone that wants to be protected, did I hint that was not the case?'

 

No, you didn't and neither did I suggest you did.

 

I think with the booster roll out in my area (Surat Thani) they are probably sticking to the 6 month gap- which is pointless really as Omicron will be in full flight by then. It's slow- much too slow. It really shouldn't be that difficult to roll out boosters to the very old, and the vulnerable imo.  And it is the single most important thing to do.  As for me, I'll probably try to get a booster in Bangkok when I go there.  

Its only 6 months if you've already had 2 shots of Pfizer or 2 shots of a mix of AZ & Pfizer. 

 

For 2 shots of Sinovac its just a 4 weeks gap before a booster is due.

 

https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/searo/thailand/2022_01_26_tha-sitrep-220-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=bf4f76d6_5

Thailand 2022 COVID hospitalizations (regular hospitals):

 

Jan 4 -- 17,280

Feb. 1 -- 40,590

 

(Past Week)

Feb 13 –- 58,245

Feb 14 –- 60,558

Feb 15 –- 60,303

Feb 16 -- 62,752

Feb 17 –- 64,919

Feb 18 -- 69,943

Feb 19 – 74,697 (more than quadrupled since the start of the year)

 

Thailand 2022 COVID patients in serious/critical condition:

 

Jan 4 -- 555

Feb 1 -- 557

 

(past week)

Feb 13 -- 641

Feb 14 –- 687

Feb 15 -- 702

Feb 16 -- 699

Feb 17 -- 728

Feb 18 -- 755

Feb 19 – 749

 

Source: MoPH daily COVID reports, including the latest below, with the hospitalization and patient condition statistics in the blue colored section.

 

https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/photos/a.106455480972785/506768357608160/?type=3

 

Also, more broadly as shown in the blue box, Thailand currently has 157,499 COVID positive cases in care, including the 74,697 in regular hospitals, and another 82,802 in various alternate arrangements including "hospitels," field hospitals, etc. (and I believe this includes official home quarantine as well)

 

I noticed this detail wasn't included in the OP report above... just to keep some sense of perspective:

 

For the past 24 hours:

 

New general public "official" domestic cases -- 18,554

Imported cases from travelers -- 224

 

And here's what appears to be a somewhat misleading article from The Nation, since it's only talking about occupancy rates for TOTAL hospital beds, not the much smaller number of ISOLATION hospital beds that are supposed to be used for COVID patients. No mention of the current occupancy rates for their isolation beds.

 

Bed occupancy still below 50% despite Omicron surge

 

"As of February 16, Covid-19 patients were using 80,756 of a total 174,029 beds available – an occupancy rate of 46.4 per cent. Meanwhile, 93,273 beds were still free.

 

In Bangkok and surrounding provinces, Covid-19 patients occupied 25,359 of a total 55,369 available beds, a 45.8 per cent occupancy rate."

 

Ya, they've got SO many beds available for the daily rising tally of COVID hospitalizations. BUT... note the following added tidbids...

 

"Somsak added that since Covid-19 infections were still rising, the department will divert patients with mild symptoms to home, community and hotel isolation to ensure that there are enough hospital beds to treat those with severe symptoms of Covid-19 and other diseases.

...

The department has also instructed hospitals to convert as many beds as they can into Covid-19 treatment beds.”

 

(more)

 

If they were being legitimate their reporting, they'd be talking about the occupancy rate for ISOLATION beds... and not including the rate for all the general purpose rooms.

 

Another oddity about the above report:

 

It's saying COVID patients were using 80,756 hospital beds as of Feb. 16.

 

But the MoPH's daily report above for Feb. 16 said there were 64,919 COVID patients hospitalized as of that date...

 

What gives with that?  But hey, it's only a difference of 15,000+ beds utilization!  ????

 

Meanwhile, no medical emergency here... Nothing to see. Just walk on by...

4 hours ago, mommysboy said:

And likely about 3000 of those really don't need to be there. Most of the others will be out within a few days. 

 Ya right....except:

 

"Somsak added that since Covid-19 infections were still rising, the department will divert patients with mild symptoms to home, community and hotel isolation to ensure that there are enough hospital beds to treat those with severe symptoms of Covid-19 and other diseases."

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40012526?fbclid=IwAR3oHWuEqiPokoiVflAep7xU2IVkWUbC8n8p8P68Q2xEMcPwSjXyrlKBVRk

 

And, in case you hadn't noticed, the volume of COVID patients hospitalized increased by almost  5,000 just in the past day...  So if so many of them will be out "within a few days," then there must be a WHOLE LOT MORE coming in the doors every day.... because the overall COVID hospitalization figures are climbing like a rocket.

 

Despite continuing misperceptions by some here, I think it's pretty clear the days of the Thai authorities hospitalizing asymptomatic DOMESTIC COVID cases just because of positive tests only are long gone.

Omicron survives almost 200 hours on plastic, expert warns

 

Recent research on how long Covid-19 virus can survive on plastic and skin shows that Omicron is significantly more stable than previous variants, said a Thai infectious disease expert on Saturday.

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40012532

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Thailand 2022 COVID hospitalizations (regular hospitals):

 

Jan 4 -- 17,280

Feb. 1 -- 40,590

 

(Past Week)

Feb 13 –- 58,245

Feb 14 –- 60,558

Feb 15 –- 60,303

Feb 16 -- 62,752

Feb 17 –- 64,919

Feb 18 -- 69,943

Feb 19 – 74,697 (more than quadrupled since the start of the year)

 

Thailand 2022 COVID patients in serious/critical condition:

 

Jan 4 -- 555

Feb 1 -- 557

 

(past week)

Feb 13 -- 641

Feb 14 –- 687

Feb 15 -- 702

Feb 16 -- 699

Feb 17 -- 728

Feb 18 -- 755

Feb 19 – 749

 

Source: MoPH daily COVID reports, including the latest below, with the hospitalization and patient condition statistics in the blue colored section.

 

https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/photos/a.106455480972785/506768357608160/?type=3

 

Also, more broadly as shown in the blue box, Thailand currently has 157,499 COVID positive cases in care, including the 74,697 in regular hospitals, and another 82,802 in various alternate arrangements including "hospitels," field hospitals, etc. (and I believe this includes official home quarantine as well)

 

Chart here to visualize just how quickly real hospital beds are rising

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/

 

6 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

There were almost 5,000 new hospital admissions yesterday. 

For all those that are saying Omicron is just like the Flu - take note

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 Ya right....except:

 

"Somsak added that since Covid-19 infections were still rising, the department will divert patients with mild symptoms to home, community and hotel isolation to ensure that there are enough hospital beds to treat those with severe symptoms of Covid-19 and other diseases."

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40012526?fbclid=IwAR3oHWuEqiPokoiVflAep7xU2IVkWUbC8n8p8P68Q2xEMcPwSjXyrlKBVRk

 

And, in case you hadn't noticed, the volume of COVID patients hospitalized increased by almost  5,000 just in the past day...  So if so many of them will be out "within a few days," then there must be a WHOLE LOT MORE coming in the doors every day.... because the overall COVID hospitalization figures are climbing like a rocket.

 

Despite continuing misperceptions by some here, I think it's pretty clear the days of the Thai authorities hospitalizing asymptomatic DOMESTIC COVID cases just because of positive tests only are long gone.

As a comparison to the height of the delta wave back on the 13th August last year when 23,400 positive cases were recorded the real hospital bed number then was 61,299 and we know that at that time there were many hospitals closed and others with patients waiting outside on beds in Bangkok. Yet now there are as you say 74,676 in real hospitals.

 

I am presuming we are not seeing overflowing hospitals yet because the distribution of cases is now all over the country rather than just Bangkok?

 

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/

42 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Yet now there are as you say 74,676 in real hospitals.

 

I am presuming we are not seeing overflowing hospitals yet because the distribution of cases is now all over the country rather than just Bangkok?

 

I can't explain the whys of things....

 

As I pointed out in a post here yesterday, for the volume of "official" cases being reported now, the share of severe cases hospitalized is much less now compared to the Delta wave last year. Probably due to a combination of vaccinations, temporary immunity from prior infections, and Omicron in general causing a lower share of acute health effects vs Delta.

 

The last comparable time Thailand had about 700 serious COVID cases in hospital and under 200 intubated cases was late April 2021 at the beginning of the Delta wave. But those numbers occurred with daily case counts at that time of only about 2,000 and a total hospitalized COVID population of about 26,000.

 

Nowhere close to today's nearly 19,000 new cases per day and almost 75,000 current COVID hospitalizations. It would seem we're comparatively lucky this is Omicron instead of Delta all over again.

 

PS - I think it's hard to rely on the local media for reliable info re the real state of hospital availability. They've never done a very good job at that, and most tell-tale signs in the past have bubbled up from social media posts -- not the official media outlets.

 

All I can recall immediately, is someone here posted here just the other day that they had someone come down with COVID, needed hospitalization, called around, and was being told that no one had any available beds for new COVID cases. Obviously, that's anecdotal.

 

 

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Nowhere close to today's nearly 19,000 new cases per day and almost 75,000 current COVID hospitalizations. It would seem we're comparatively lucky this is Omicron instead of Delta all over again.

Agree, its the ICU and ventilated cases that are important as well and they are not anywhere near the levels of the delta wave, although its still a large burden on the health service to have so many normal hospital beds taken up in covid wards.

 

Interesting piece from Bill Gates yesterday:

 

Bill Gates says Covid risks have ‘dramatically reduced’ but another pandemic is coming

 

KEY POINTS

Bill Gates told CNBC Friday that the risks of severe disease from Covid-19 have “dramatically reduced” but another pandemic is all but certain.

Speaking at Germany’s annual Munich Security Conference, Gates said that a potential new pandemic would likely stem from a different pathogen.

Advances in medical technology could cut vaccine production times to six months, Gates added.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/18/bill-gates-covid-risks-have-reduced-but-another-pandemic-will-come.html