Respected virologist Dr. Yong Poovorawan said Sunday that COVID-19 Omicron variant infections are on the steady rise across Thailand, averaging 25,000 cases a day and the number may surge to 100,000 cases a day in the future.

 

Judging by the rapid transmissibility of the BA.2 sub variant of the Omicron variant reported in Singapore, where daily infections average about 15,000 in a population one tenth the size of Thailand’s, Japan’s or South Korea’s, he said that Thailand may soon fall into the same pattern.

 

Dr. Yong, head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University, pointed out that the current rate of infection is ten times that of the four previous waves in the country.

 

“We saw a two-digit daily infection rate in the first wave, a three-digit rate in the second wave, a four-digit rate in the third wave and a five-digit daily infection rate in the fourth wave, which was dominated by the Delta variant,” he said, adding that “now, we are in the 5th wave and I am not sure whether infections will surge to six digits but I don’t want to see such figures.”

 

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Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thai-virologist-dr-yong-predicts-daily-covid-19-infections-may-reach-100000/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-02-21

 

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4 minutes ago, webfact said:

We saw a two-digit daily infection rate in the first wave, a three-digit rate in the second wave, a four-digit rate in the third wave and a five-digit daily infection rate in the fourth wave, which was dominated by the Delta variant,” he said, adding that “now, we are in the 5th wave and I am not sure whether infections will surge to six digits but I don’t want to see such figures.”

Guess the sky is the limit with Omicron.  It has been elsewhere, but as quickly as it went up elsewhere it went downwards.  However, from when the first cases were found here in Thailand Omicron has not acted like it has elsewhere until just the past 5 days, so one has to ask themselves why?  What is so different about Thailand that the virus acts completely out of character before it takes off just like with Delta and the original strain.......

17 minutes ago, webfact said:

Respected virologist Dr. Yong Poovorawan said Sunday that COVID-19 Omicron variant infections are on the steady rise across Thailand, averaging 25,000 cases a day and the number may surge to 100,000 cases a day in the future.

How much you wanna bet they are already 100,000 a day?

Already there. No biggie. Let it run. 

29 minutes ago, webfact said:

and the number may surge to 100,000 cases a day in the future.

how would you know sonce the absolute max number of daily tests ever done here was about 80k and besides that have you been looking a foreign news again 

 

omicron spreads there is nothing can be done to stop it - next prediction yoiu make should be "Thailand to scrap all restrictions" and emerfency powers to end - just like every country is now doing 

26 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Guess the sky is the limit with Omicron.  It has been elsewhere, but as quickly as it went up elsewhere it went downwards.  However, from when the first cases were found here in Thailand Omicron has not acted like it has elsewhere until just the past 5 days, so one has to ask themselves why?  What is so different about Thailand that the virus acts completely out of character before it takes off just like with Delta and the original strain.......

The Omicron numbers are low because of low testing. Thailand ranks 146th in testing. 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

I am not sure whether infections will surge to six digits but I don’t want to see such figures

There's absolutely no chance the number of infections is lower than 100k a day already.

 

If they ever find 100k confirmed cases per day then it's because there's many times more than that.

 

31 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

The Omicron numbers are low because of low testing. Thailand ranks 146th in testing. 

Of course we know that David, and you slowly came around to that fact after many discussions on en-mass testing needing to be conducted.  Hope you did not forget those discussions many months ago....

1 minute ago, ukrules said:

There's absolutely no chance the number of infections is lower than 100k a day already.

The WHO would agree with you as well as many of us do.

In the US, it went from 100k to 800k a day in 6 weeks and then back down to 100k in 4 weeks. Took off like a rocket, peaked quick and fell quicker. Between Omicron and the other variants, over half the population has probably had COVID at least once

If you look at the derivatives, as I have been doing for the last two years, you will see that the rate of growth is slowing down and daily cases will peak over the next few days.  Thailand would need to do about 5 times as many tests per day to find 100,000 "cases"...

 

100K, Why not a whole million?

But personally I don't see the point of lunatic testing numbers.  If you aren't ill you aren't ill.  If you are you'll go and see the Doc and they'll put you in hospital if you need to be there.  (Well that's what always happened before the planet lost its collective marbles.)

Don't  have to be an expert with such prediction however you need to ask why are infections in Thailand consistently so low since the very start of the pandemic. Probably lack of testing which case no point in continuing reporting  number of reported infections and accept it is now endemic in Thailand.

The important numbers should be about people in ICU and on ventilators.

I've known several people in Phuket who have tested positive for covid via lateral flow test and not a single one of them has reported it. Add to this those asymptomatic and mild cases where people haven't been tested then I'm sure that the figures may well be close to that 100,000 already.

4 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Guess the sky is the limit with Omicron.  It has been elsewhere, but as quickly as it went up elsewhere it went downwards.  However, from when the first cases were found here in Thailand Omicron has not acted like it has elsewhere until just the past 5 days, so one has to ask themselves why?  What is so different about Thailand that the virus acts completely out of character before it takes off just like with Delta and the original strain.......

It has been perplexing and somehow appears Thailand is 'immune'..... 

Infection numbers, deaths too, have been subdued. I expected omicron to take off early January when the first few cases were detected in people coming in on test and go or whatever. We might be seeing it now, but where was it for a month? I was more perplexed many years ago when Covid was in its early days....we all knew Chinese had been wandering around in the country, some from Wuhan, but seemingly no infections, while Italy got stabbed in the heart by a returning workforce. (And from there all over Europe and onwards). 

36 minutes ago, Rockhound said:

But personally I don't see the point of lunatic testing numbers.  If you aren't ill you aren't ill.  If you are you'll go and see the Doc and they'll put you in hospital if you need to be there.  (Well that's what always happened before the planet lost its collective marbles.)

Would it be so simple. 

Testing has been cited in the UK as the great saviour, although it is debatable they had any great success beyond stopping medical facilities being overwhelmed. If you don't feel particularly ill, you likely will not get a test, nor take any action, and become a spreader. Some people haven't got the money for doctors too. That is the point of free testing. A person informed, with a socially responsible mindset, would isolate themselves. 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

“now, we are in the 5th wave and I am not sure whether infections will surge to six digits but I don’t want to see such figures.”

Already, but don't worry, you'll never see it officially as Thailand limits its testing to around 70k max but currently around 40k

 

https://ourworldindata.org/covid-models#institute-for-health-metrics-and-evaluation-ihme

2 minutes ago, BE88 said:

100,000 a day with a cold like the queen of England.

Now you are worried about who to refill the 90 million vaccines that are useless.

So spreading fear is just what you know how to do  respected virologist Dr. Yong Poovorawan

Where did you come up with your statement that the 90 million vaccines that are useless?  Vaccines help to keep those who do get infected from becoming seriously ill and may have assisted the Queen of England to just have come down with a minor case instead of a deadly one....stop with your misinformation as the vaccines have proven useful.

I was reading the article waiting for the part where it will say: Thailand should shut its borders and quarantine every tourists for 14 days with 5 PCR tests...

So what? Omnicron is relatively harmless. Stop talking about infection rates and start talking about hospitalisations (I mean real ones not people that were already sick with something else). This is irresponsible scaremongering by someone that just wants his picture in the papers.

 

Now the umpteenth ‘expert’ Long Dong Yong has spoken, the sky is officially falling! Do any of these these yokels have any idea how tiresome this has become?

4 hours ago, smedly said:

how would you know sonce the absolute max number of daily tests ever done here was about 80k and besides that have you been looking a foreign news again 

 

omicron spreads there is nothing can be done to stop it - next prediction yoiu make should be "Thailand to scrap all restrictions" and emerfency powers to end - just like every country is now doing 

Unfortunately Thailand is not like every country and when it’s the logical thing to do and in doing so giving up their power to push you around unnecessarily that’s when it becomes a problem. They will keep the restrictions past the rest of the world giving them up. I also think the potential start up of demonstrations agains the current junta will prevent a quick resumption in normality.

No sweat Dr Google Professor Anutin has done a great job now back in your box ????

All experts and newspapers know very well that the correct parameter to measure the incidence of covid is the rate of positivity compared to the number of tests performed (In some countries more tests are done, in others less). Using absolute figures, 10000 infected today, 15000 yesterday or tomorrow, means little. And the number of deaths are the consequence of infections.

With these numbers in play what difference will a few extra international visitors with the virus make? The test and go as it stands is futile and can only be seen for what it is - a money grab. 

 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Respected virologist Dr. Yong Poovorawan

respected follower of tv coverage of other country Covid infections would be more appropriate.  Even Michael Fish could predict this rise based on history on other countries wave peaks !

I dont understand the problem. We are vacinated now and people getting sick is having a mild fever? Right? Dont get it, seariously i dont. Its a bout 25 dying of covid related decise every day. That under what traffic kils. So f....it

1 minute ago, Bendi said:

I dont understand the problem. We are vacinated now and people getting sick is having a mild fever? Right? Dont get it, seariously i dont. Its a bout 25 dying of covid related decise every day. That under what traffic kils. So f....it

This is what the guy does.....