Thai people not confident to remove their masks - better to wear them to protect yourself, Thai media

[RocketDog]

22 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

"there  should be nothing to fear"

 

No, that's not correct.. The vaccines, especially  if you've been boosted, do a pretty good job at reducing your likelihood of serious illness and death from COVID, but they're not 100%... And their protections do tend to wane after 4-5 months post vaccination.

 

So yes, definitely get vaccinated and boosted in accord with the public health guidelines. But even for those who have already been vaccinated and boosted, wearing a quality face mask when around others in public places not only helps protect you but also protects those around you should you come down with the virus.

 

 

You're wasting your ink TallGuy.

These people have lost their struggle with reality.

Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead.

[Jimbo2014]

Certainly a study in collective madness and even Stockholm syndrome.  This is what happens when society is dumbed down and unable to properly assess risk, when combined with an autocratic anti-meritocratic government. 

[connda]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

So will YOU remove YOUR mask if the regulations permit?

Yep - as soon as the threat of fines is remove mine comes off.
I can start exercising outside again.  Two years?  Too long.

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

 

It is YOU who needs to update their knowledge!

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/01/does-it-help-wear-mask-if-no-one-else/621177/

 

One-Way Masking Works

If you’re vaccinated, boosted, and wearing an N95, you’re protected—no matter what others are doing.

[connda]

3 hours ago, RocketDog said:

Nothing to fear?

Long Covid comes to mind immediately. Immunity wanes, and vaccine resistance is possible. Variants and sub-variants, potentially more lethal and contagious, also bear some thought.

There are so many things to fear.  I had Long Dengue.  No kidding.  It took almost two years to get back to normal.  And a second round of Dengue could be a killer.

Am I afraid?  No.  Cautious as we try to keep the area around the house clear of standing water but I'm not living in fear. 
Living in fear?

Geeze.  Maybe you get Covid. Or Long Covid.  Or Dengue.  Or killed in a vehicle accident.  Or slip and fall.  Heart attack.  Diabetes.  TB.  How about a Hot-War between China and West over Taiwan.  Man - you can find a laundry list of things to fear if your wired to be fearful.

Or you can just learn to live and accept the good with the bad.  Which is what my wife and I do. 

Living in fear is unhealthy.  But for those who feel "safe" wearing a mask.
Try wearing an effective mask, not a feel good catharsis.  I just laugh when I seen people wearing a plastic face shield and they think that stops a SARS virus.
Do you want to see how effective your mask is?  Put it on and spray some tear-gas around yourself and take in a good, deep breath.  That's how effect you mask is.

For those who really want to be safe, like on an airplane or in a hospital waiting room.  Try one of these:

For those who can't abandon fear.  My prayers for you.  I hope you get over it.
And a certain amount of caution is ok.  I've started wearing a P100 mask at the local hospital's waiting room.  They process 100+ patients in 4 hours on a normal day.  That many people in close, tight spaces where the sick come to see doctors?  It's not a bad idea!   But wearing a light cloth or fabric mask?  You're only fooling yourself. 

By the way.  How many of you who are fully vaccinated and boosted have not contracted Covid yet?  Everyone in my family who have had the shots including boosters have come down with Covid.  I really, really wish they come up with a sterilizing vaccine for SARS as well as other respiratory viruses.  But we are not there. As far as I'm concerned, let it run it's course.  It will burn out and become another endemic seasonal respiratory illness.  The human immune system is an amazing thing.

 

[poskat]

the covid paranoia among the thais is very strong. At my job and in my building, when thais are in the elevator, they immediately plant their faces up against the walls.

 

the other issue is the thai's obsession with conformity, with no one willing to go first, despite what they may want to do.

[tomyami]

No helmet but wearing a mask is almost the new normal.

1/2 the world have a discretion-ally policy thats the camp I am in after 2 years and a mild bout of covid its done.

Edited May 31, 2022 by tomyami

[chalawaan]

But eating raw pork sashimi, and riding a Motosai contra-flow, at night with no lights or helmet is perfectly risk free!

[chalawaan]

On 5/30/2022 at 6:09 PM, aussiexpat said:

Sounds about right. My Thai neighbour was wearing her mask on her balcony while doing her laundry all alone in her condo

Someone had Covid in our Condo building and they sprayed the public areas with disinfectant, and took pictures, and made a big indaba about it in the Condo WeChat page. Ludacris. To be fair, they are a great management team. They have to go through with the usual Covid theatre to mollify the terrified locals who live there.

Edited May 31, 2022 by chalawaan

[spidermike007]

Stunning cowardice. Especially when outdoors. Anutin has done a good job of scaring the populace into utter submission. Mission accomplished. 

[LomSak27]

58 minutes ago, poskat said:

the covid paranoia among the thais is very strong. At my job and in my building, when thais are in the elevator, they immediately plant their faces up against the walls.

I have only seen them do that when a falang is around. I assumed radio/net shock jocks were pushing that response. Anutin of course, got them on track as to where the virus is actually coming from. 

[Pattaya Spotter]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

 

One-Way Masking Works

If you’re vaccinated, boosted, and wearing an N95, you’re protected—no matter what others are doing.

All the Thais are wearing N95 masks...got it ????

[onthedarkside]

6 hours ago, Spilornis said:

Which districts are dropping the mask mandates? Do they include big cities/towns.

Is it only outdoor masks that are dropped.

Here in Malaysia mask wearing seems to align mainly with ethnicity. They are not compulsory outdoors but I'm not seeing any moves to drop them indoors.

On my few trips into the smaller towns mask wearing seemed to be low.

Interesting that in Singapore masks were dropped over a month ago for non customer facing office workers

 This is the proposal:

 

 

 

[Neeranam]

On 5/30/2022 at 1:09 PM, aussiexpat said:

Sounds about right. My Thai neighbour was wearing her mask on her balcony while doing her laundry all alone in her condo

So would I if I had nosy neighbours staring at me. 

[Neeranam]

4 minutes ago, onthedarkside said:

 This is the proposal:

 

 

 

What does blue and green mean?

[onthedarkside]

12 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

What does blue and green mean?

The provinces / areas where they're PROPOSING to relax the masking rules.

 

[teacherofwoe]

And the brainwashing continues...

[Jingthing]

28 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

All the Thais are wearing N95 masks...got it ????

I never said that, did I?

Most aren't.

N94s are also very good.

[Jiggo]

Jumped on a baht bus, Pattaya with mask attached to the face, no one else wearing one including Thais, so off it came...  

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

It is YOU who needs to update their knowledge!

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/01/does-it-help-wear-mask-if-no-one-else/621177/

 

One-Way Masking Works

If you’re vaccinated, boosted, and wearing an N95, you’re protected—no matter what others are doing.

 

That's a good citation, Jing...  Many of the mask opponents here -- who are arguing against everything that public health and science has shown regarding mask wear -- would do well to pay attention.

 

Wearing a quality face mask when you're in an area where COVID is spreading is NOTHING about fear or submission or government control. It's about protecting your own health, and the health of those around you, period!

 

From your cited source above:

 

"If you are vaccinated, boosted, and wearing a well-fitted N95 or similar indoors, “your risk is extremely low,” says Joseph Allen, a COVID and ventilation expert at Harvard.

 

An N95 mask filters about 95 percent of airborne particles. But two surgical masks—one on me, one on you—filter only about 91 percent, Allen wrote recently for The Washington Post. Because most people’s masks aren’t perfectly sealed onto their faces, studies show that N95s reduce the wearer’s uptake of coronavirus particles by 57 to 86 percent."

 

And then of course, there's the science that the U.S. CDC brings to bear on the subject that shows even lesser quality masks help some... Basically, ANY mask that fits snugly against your face is going to be better than wearing nothing when it comes to COVID...

 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7106e1.htm?s_cid=mm7106e1_w

 

"Consistent use of a face mask or respirator in indoor public settings was associated with lower odds of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result (adjusted odds ratio = 0.44). Use of respirators with higher filtration capacity was associated with the most protection, compared with no mask use."

 

What are the implications for public health practice?

In addition to being up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccinations, consistently wearing a comfortable, well-fitting face mask or respirator in indoor public settings protects against acquisition of SARS-CoV-2 infection; a respirator offers the best protection."

 

[Neeranam]

6 minutes ago, Jiggo said:

Jumped on a baht bus, Pattaya with mask attached to the face, no one else wearing one including Thais, so off it came...  

Following the herd?

[JAFO]

7 hours ago, jacko45k said:

No it isn't. Brain dead is being completely oblivious to the habits, culture and concerns of those around you. Particularly onerous when one is a guest in the country. 

Firstly and most importantly, I am not a "guest" in this country. I live and work here and have for years. I pay taxes and abide by all the laws, rules and requirements like I would in my home country. HOWEVER there is a time when ignorance and blind compliance exists and this is one of them. I respect that if someone wants to wear a mask, then do it. A blanket wear a mask all the time is not necessary. You need to use some common sense and that just doesn't seem to fly well here. Regardless. I am done wearing a mask. I will out of courtesy wear one in a crowded area but not out of fear of getting covid, but respect that others are scared to death of getting it.    

[TravelerEastWest]

On 5/30/2022 at 1:51 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

"there  should be nothing to fear"

 

No, that's not correct.. The vaccines, especially  if you've been boosted, do a pretty good job at reducing your likelihood of serious illness and death from COVID, but they're not 100%... And their protections do tend to wane after 4-5 months post vaccination.

 

So yes, definitely get vaccinated and boosted in accord with the public health guidelines. But even for those who have already been vaccinated and boosted, wearing a quality face mask when around others in public places not only helps protect you but also protects those around you should you come down with the virus.

 

 

Completely agree.

 

Also some are at a high risk - so even if vaccinated should be very careful.

[Neeranam]

18 minutes ago, onthedarkside said:

The provinces / areas where they're PROPOSING to relax the masking rules.

 

OK, thanks , but what's the difference between green and blue areas?

[ivor bigun]

3 hours ago, connda said:

Yep - as soon as the threat of fines is remove mine comes off.
I can start exercising outside again.  Two years?  Too long.

my wife and i exercise outside and walk on the seafront without wearing a mask ,but then we are not close to anyone ,when we are we mask up.

[onthedarkside]

19 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

OK, thanks , but what's the difference between green and blue areas?

 

In terms of the face mask rules proposal, I believe there's no difference between those two colors... The two colors are, I believe, just two different government classifications for COVID rules in general.

 

"Fourteen provinces have been added to the green or low-surveillance zone, namely Chai Nat, Phichit, Ang Thong, Nan, Maha Sarakham, Yasothon, Nakhon Phanom, Lampang, Amnat Charoen, Buriram, Trat, Surat Thani, Surin and Udon Thani.

 

Seventeen provinces will be classified as pilot tourism areas or blue zones – Bangkok, Krabi, Kanchanaburi, Chanthaburi, Chonburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nonthaburi, Narathiwat, Pathum Thani, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phang-nga, Phetchaburi, Phuket, Rayong and Songkhla."

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015946

 

BTW, the Nation's headline above about those areas going "mask free" is an oversimplication of what's being proposed.... It's a relaxation of the mask rules for some groups and in certain types of areas.

 

"Jakrat said that in the early phase of the no-mask measure, only people in non-high-risk groups would be allowed to take off their masks in areas such as public parks, and the measure will be implemented first in green and blue provinces.

 

“People in high-risk groups, such as the elderly aged over 60, those with chronic health problems and unvaccinated people will still be required to wear face masks and avoid visiting crowded areas,” he added."

 

[JAFO]

14 minutes ago, TravelerEastWest said:

Completely agree.

 

Also some are at a high risk - so even if vaccinated should be very careful.

So let me ask you this. Those individuals who are high risk, should they even be out and about if they are extremely concerned about contracting Covid?? If I understand you correctly, because some are high risk that EVERYONE has to or should wear a mask? I say nonsense. If they are high risk, they should either stay home or be cognizant and wear a mask to protect themselves. Its pretty simple now. 2 years ago it wasn't   

[Bert got kinky]

3 minutes ago, JAFO said:

So let me ask you this. Those individuals who are high risk, should they even be out and about if they are extremely concerned about contracting Covid?? If I understand you correctly, because some are high risk that EVERYONE has to or should wear a mask? I say nonsense. If they are high risk, they should either stay home or be cognizant and wear a mask to protect themselves. Its pretty simple now. 2 years ago it wasn't   

 

wear a mask to protect themselves

2 years and you still don't understand the reason for the masks?

If anything's simple, I would suggest that it's you.

 

 

[Pattaya Spotter]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

I never said that, did I?

Most aren't.

N94s are also very good.

I agree N95s are the gold standard...however, what we're all wearing here in Thailand is barely hygiene theatre. The vaccines are effective...it's now time to discard mask mandates and those who want to continue covering may do so.

[aussiexpat]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

So would I if I had nosy neighbours staring at me. 

Have you ever lived in a Thai condo...here's a hint, you sit on your balcony having a coffee or beer, you can see everyone else that goes on their balcony, no staring required...

 

Edited May 31, 2022 by aussiexpat