Thailand confirms accurate reporting of positive COVID-19 antigen tests

[webfact]

 

The Department of Disease Control has refuted a suggestion that it has been distorting the number of daily COVID-19 cases, identified using rapid antigen tests, to give an impression that there are fewer infections in the country.

 

Dr. Chakkarat Pittayawonganon, director of the Bureau of Epidemiology of the Department of Disease Control, said that the infection numbers reported by the department come from the central “dashboard”, which compiles the figures obtained from all hospitals and health offices nationwide.

 

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He admitted that the figures for positive lateral flow antigen tests, known locally as “ATKs” may be up one day and down the next and that reports from home or community isolation facilities may not have been submitted every day.

 

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Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thailand-confirms-accurate-reporting-of-positive-covid-19-antigen-tests/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-04-04

 

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[ukrules]

If they tested 5 million people in a single day I wonder how many would be positive?

[Captain Monday]

2 minutes ago, ukrules said:

If they tested 5 million people in a single day I wonder how many would be positive?

500,000 plus or minus with 98 percent completely asymptomatic.

 

[new2here]

I think the greater “distortion” isn’t the government or any other data collection/reporting entity itself,  rather perhaps individuals who willingly/willfully fail to report their C19+ status after a self-test…

 

Now, to be fair, I can sure understand why someone may choose to not report and fly under the radar, but IMHO, that is probably where more data reporting distortion comes from versus any entity willingly manipulating collected data but before public disclosure. 

[RandiRona]

We are following CCP covid guidance where the number shouldn't go beyond 25k. Any number above that is irrelevant and a possible rounding error.

[internationalism]

As the great majority are self-tested, they would not report it and just don't turn to work or send to school, because of 10 days self-isolation and social stigma coming with it. 
They would give some other excuses for absence. 
There was suppose to be much higher ratio between atk and pcr tests. 
government knows weekly sales of atk's, so they can estimate how many positives are not reported. Just by compering to rate for pcr positives, which are always properly conducted and reported by hospitals

[Fairynuff]

When the UK numbers got too high for the government they changed the way they counted and lost 20,000 dead people. So why wouldn’t they do it here.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The Department of Disease Control has refuted a suggestion that it has been distorting the number of daily COVID-19 cases, identified using rapid antigen tests, to give an impression that there are fewer infections in the country.

Same as pigs didn't have ASF for 2 years.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

which compiles the figures obtained from all hospitals and health offices nationwide.

Who possibly under report?

[timkeen08]

5 hours ago, internationalism said:

As the great majority are self-tested, they would not report it and just don't turn to work or send to school, because of 10 days self-isolation and social stigma coming with it. 
They would give some other excuses for absence. 
There was suppose to be much higher ratio between atk and pcr tests. 
government knows weekly sales of atk's, so they can estimate how many positives are not reported. Just by compering to rate for pcr positives, which are always properly conducted and reported by hospitals

My wife just bought 20 ATK kits in Thailand but the very small print shows manufactured in China.  So is that automatically 20 positives since they have never been used?  I kept a previously purchased ATK made in the Netherlands for myself, if I ever get any symptoms.

[RichardColeman]

UK tests - 505,000,000

Thailand tests - 17,000,000

 

Fact the UK has tested it's populace about 8 times each, whilst Thailand has failed to test , what 70% of its population altogether should be more than anybody needs to know about what a complete failure these numpties have made of the covid testing

[DrJack54]

5 hours ago, new2here said:

Now, to be fair, I can sure understand why someone may choose to not report and fly under the radar, but IMHO, that is probably where more data reporting distortion comes from versus any entity willingly manipulating collected data but before public disclosure.

Had to read this twice.

So your stating that if you were mildly ill and did a self test that showed a positive result you would report this to the health authorities? 

Ludicrous. 

[jacko45k]

10 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

UK tests - 505,000,000

Thailand tests - 17,000,000

 

Fact the UK has tested it's populace about 8 times each, whilst Thailand has failed to test , what 70% of its population altogether should be more than anybody needs to know about what a complete failure these numpties have made of the covid testing

Well that said, the UK has managed to lose 165,000 of it's people to Covid, while Thailand claims only 25,000 Covid deaths. 

[4MyEgo]

5 hours ago, internationalism said:

As the great majority are self-tested, they would not report it and just don't turn to work or send to school

You would think so, but I know of a case here in our village where a female school teacher, who's 12 year old daughter tested positive spread it to her mum (school teacher) and father.

 

The daughter was told by mum she is to stay home while mum and dad continued to go to work, it wasn't until the school tested her and found she was positive, after they noticed the daughter hadn't been to school for a few days.

 

Personally if I tested positive, I wouldn't be shouted it out, but isolating self and family, only time would be shouting it out is if my condition got worse.

 

I wouldn't call that selfish, selfish IMHO is when people know they have it and still go out and about spreading it. 

[sungod]

13 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

UK tests - 505,000,000

Thailand tests - 17,000,000

 

Fact the UK has tested it's populace about 8 times each, whilst Thailand has failed to test , what 70% of its population altogether should be more than anybody needs to know about what a complete failure these numpties have made of the covid testing

Yes, UK a total success. Only spent 37 billion so far, that's what you call value for money!

 

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/news/150988/unimaginable-cost-of-test-trace-failed-to-deliver-central-promise-of-averting-another-lockdown/

 

 

[4MyEgo]

3 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Well that said, the UK has managed to lose 165,000 of it's people to Covid, while Thailand claims only 25,000 Covid deaths. 

I often wondered if anyone takes a blood sample when someone in the villages die before they cremate them, some on the same day.

 

All of us who live in villages know how many of those blue tents go up every year, suffice to say if they don't do at least a blood test of the deceased or is that the diseased, it's more or less sweeping another statistic under the carpet, isn't it.

[jacko45k]

21 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

I often wondered if anyone takes a blood sample when someone in the villages die before they cremate them, some on the same day.

It is not my experience that they are cremated on the same day. Often rest in the Wat for a few after being released from a morgue facility. 

Is it so different in these Covid times?

 

If you don't know what happens you can hardly claim statistics are being swept anywhere. 

[4MyEgo]

22 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

It is not my experience that they are cremated on the same day. Often rest in the Wat for a few after being released from a morgue facility. 

Is it so different in these Covid times?

 

If you don't know what happens you can hardly claim statistics are being swept anywhere. 

Do you live in a village ?

 

I am just going off what my Thai wife tells me, i.e. when people die in the village there are no autopsies carried out, and of course the one's that get cremated on the same day are the poorest of the poorest families who cannot afford the wake and use the money that the village has donated, usually 150 baht per family to cover the cremation costs.

[jacko45k]

2 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Do you live in a village ?

In a way I do, but close to the City. The realty is I went to quite a number of funerals in my wife's village over the years. 

I agree an autopsy would be unlikely, but surely a death certificate is issued.

[khunjeff]

"Meanwhile, the COVID-19 Information Centre reported 28,029 new infections today (Saturday), diagnosed through RT-PCR tests, and 96 deaths in the past 24 hours."

 

...which does not include positives from ATKs.

 

And this was the point that many people have been making - that while you can find ATK numbers if you look for them (however accurate or inaccurate those might be), they aren't included in the headline figure that's announced every day, even when they number in the tens of thousands.

 

Officials could reasonably argue that including them could result in double counting, since many people who test positive on the ATK subsequently get a confirmatory PCR (for insurance, if nothing else), but the headline figure is still misleadingly low.

 

33 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

It is not my experience that they are cremated on the same day. Often rest in the Wat for a few after being released from a morgue facility. 

The only person I know who died of Covid in a village died at night and was cremated the next morning, due to local policy. I have no idea whether they would have had the same express cremation if Covid hadn't been confirmed.

[SoilSpoil]

We had it, self isolated, and almost everyone in town got Covid at one stage. The fear of 2 weeks in an expensive hospital, even children alone,  kept people from going to  the authorities. Well done Health Authority Thailand (Anutin). The official numbers must run in the hundred thousands.

[4MyEgo]

26 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

In a way I do, but close to the City. The realty is I went to quite a number of funerals in my wife's village over the years. 

I agree an autopsy would be unlikely, but surely a death certificate is issued.

Not sure about death certificate's, however will ask wife when she wakes up.

 

Who knows, could put down died of old age, drowned, too muk drink.

[mrfill]

7 hours ago, ukrules said:

If they tested 5 million people in a single day I wonder how many would be positive?

I believe the correct answer in Thailand is "How many would you like it to be, sir?" or possibly "How much do you have with you?"

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, timkeen08 said:

My wife just bought 20 ATK kits in Thailand but the very small print shows manufactured in China.  So is that automatically 20 positives since they have never been used?  I kept a previously purchased ATK made in the Netherlands for myself, if I ever get any symptoms.

I have a pack of antigen tests I brought back from the UK -  Made in China.

Obviously explains why the UK figures are so high.

[Millcx]

Accurate reporting …. 5555555555555

[sandyf]

24 minutes ago, SoilSpoil said:

We had it, self isolated, and almost everyone in town got Covid at one stage. The fear of 2 weeks in an expensive hospital, even children alone,  kept people from going to  the authorities. Well done Health Authority Thailand (Anutin). The official numbers must run in the hundred thousands.

Better than the UK then with a smaller population, they are talking in millions.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

UK tests - 505,000,000

Thailand tests - 17,000,000

 

Fact the UK has tested it's populace about 8 times each, whilst Thailand has failed to test , what 70% of its population altogether should be more than anybody needs to know about what a complete failure these numpties have made of the covid testing

The testing numbers are quite irrelevant in the bigger picture.

What a is a lot more important is what percentage of the Thai population are queuing up for routine hospital procedures, how many are dying from treatment delay and how many excess deaths has there been during the pandemic.

[Bkk Brian]

7 minutes ago, sandyf said:

The testing numbers are quite irrelevant in the bigger picture.

What a is a lot more important is what percentage of the Thai population are queuing up for routine hospital procedures, how many are dying from treatment delay and how many excess deaths has there been during the pandemic.

On the excess deaths point for Thailand:

 

2020 - 2021 there were 21,700 official recorded covid deaths and then an additional 35,200 excess deaths

Peer reviewed study from Lancet

 

This year Thailand's excess deaths are also well over the 5 year average

[Chaichara]

3 hours ago, timkeen08 said:

My wife just bought 20 ATK kits in Thailand but the very small print shows manufactured in China.  So is that automatically 20 positives since they have never been used?  I kept a previously purchased ATK made in the Netherlands for myself, if I ever get any symptoms.

Bought on LAZADA perhaps?  The advertisers on the LAZ -e-commerce platform include a great many scammers, especially among those that 'ship-from abroad'. Generally, Thai based suppliers are more trustworthy, but 20% of the orders are received broken due to inadequate packing, or even the wrong product.  Getting a refund from LAZ is a minefield of excessively complicated administrative procedure but if you can wade through it, they will collect the return product for free - and then the waiting starts...

[thaibook]

Lets face it, in Thailand there are anecdotes, stories, tall stories, lies, damn lies and statistics.  The statistics use data that either are at best only partially relevant to the topic, are collected in such a way as to ensure the outcome is as desired, or have been selected appropriately.

 

In the past in France it was all about "cherchez la femme" (of course now in western Europe this is called rape) while in Thailand it is "where is the money" or "who loses face".