How will life in Thailand change when the COVID state of emergency ends this month?

[josephbloggs]

6 minutes ago, atpeace said:

Reality is it is happening in mass.  Some employers are actually charging employees that claim they have COVID and take time off.  GF's sister son has to pay 800 baht a day and he only makes 500 baht!  He now works but with patients that already have COVID.  Interesting workaround but not sure if it makes sense.

 

My point is stop being a righteous signaler and see reality.  As for not having respect, my bet is you have rarely garnered any respect throughout your life.

Weird, I wasn't even replying to you, but was replying to someone who slags off Thais constantly then complains they don't respect him.

I have nothing to prove to you, but I have have 30+ Thai employees who have worked for me for 15 years in three different companies (they resigned and followed me when I moved, twice).  I don't have a problem with any of them being lazy or lying about having Covid.  

I guess you get out what you put in.  No respect to the Thais means you get none back.

[DezLez]

1 hour ago, Fairynuff said:

It’s not the mask that’s stupid 

No, just the stupid wearers!

[atpeace]

1 minute ago, josephbloggs said:

Weird, I wasn't even replying to you, but was replying to someone who slags off Thais constantly then complains they don't respect him.

I have nothing to prove to you, but I have have 30+ Thai employees who have worked for me for 15 years in three different companies (they resigned and followed me when I moved, twice).  I don't have a problem with any of them being lazy or lying about having Covid.  

I guess you get out what you put in.  No respect to the Thais means you get none back.

OK, I have no idea of your prior interaction. If what you stated is true, then you are an exceptional employer and good for you.

[OJAS]

The National Communicable Disease Committee has ruled that “DMHT” – distancing, mask-wearing, handwashing, and testing – rules are enough to control the spread of COVID-19.

 

Whilst much has been said about mask-wearing on this thread, not a dickey-bird has been said about distancing, which IMHO can be a much greater PITA in certain situations. For example, what on earth is the bloody point of being forced to stand on your feet for ages in an overcrowded immigration office or bank waiting for your ticket number to be called because half the seats are marked as not being for use and the remaining half are already occupied, merely in order to satisfy some sham pretence of "social distancing"?

 

And will the lifting of the COVID-19 state of emergency finally consign this particular piece of nonsense to the rubbish bin where IMHO it now rightly belongs? Somehow I doubt it.

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by OJAS

[Stargeezr]

My Thai family gave me a mask to wear in Bangkok, years ago

to wear for protection against pollution. Has all the pollution quit?

just asking for the Anti COVID people. 555.

bad joke.

[Fairynuff]

3 hours ago, DezLez said:

No, just the stupid wearers!

Yeah right. I’m not the one obsessed with a piece of cloth taking away my civil rights.

[wolf81]

13 hours ago, Kwaibill said:

We got covid. Didn't much care for it. Might not have made it without my jabs and reduced viral load due to mask use.

Well, me, my GF and daughter got COVID 2 times. Yeah, it's a bit like a bad flu, lasting longer, but we survived. 

 

First time none of us had vaccination. Second time my girlfriend had 2x Pfizer. I think she recovered a bit more quickly than me, but I think in general she's a bit healthier than me anyway (me working indoors behind desk and she working often outdoors on the farm).

[micmichd]

On 9/26/2022 at 5:30 AM, Fairynuff said:

For those of us living in Thailand I think it’s pretty meaningless. (My) life is as normal as it was before. For Thai people generally on a day to day basis I don’t see how things will change much either.

For the tourism industry there'll be an impact, and that's where many Thais work. 

[Fairynuff]

13 hours ago, micmichd said:

For the tourism industry there'll be an impact, and that's where many Thais work. 

I know quite a few people who work in tourism in one way or another and they all say things have been really picking up for a good few months now 

[Glassjaw]

On 9/26/2022 at 9:09 AM, sandyf said:

Quite. I went back early August and attended an RAF related reunion. We had 6 out of 35 attendees cancel at the last minute due to covid.

Yeah, it will be an issue for years to come as it is highly contagious. In the U.K. people get Covid and isolate a few days then get on with life. Most people aren’t afraid anymore. Like most respiratory viruses it will continue to put vulnerable in the hospital, unfortunately. Japan has the highest numbers and they obsessively wear masks like Thais.

[KhunLA]

One thing for certain, it won't change some Thai's view of us 'dirty farangs' ... ????

 

Went to Global yesterday, wife goes in, about 5 ish meters in front of me, no mask, no problem.  I go in, 'sir sir, excuse me sir' ... I ignore, man comes around from counter, with his chin diaper on, yea, not exaggerating, and points to the 'desk'.  Staff holding up mask, need to wear, actually ready to give me one out of a sealed pack for those that don't have I guess.

 

I reach in pocket and put mine on, nose exposed, and continue on.  If wife not already in, I would have simple turned around & left.

 

While in, the usual + ... staff wearing, wearing incorrect, some not wearing at all, that's the +, as rare to see in the past ... BUT the dirty farang ... make sure he's wearing.

 

Won't be returning anytime soon.

Edited September 28, 2022 by KhunLA

[rattlesnake]

On 9/26/2022 at 8:10 PM, Stargeezr said:

My Thai family gave me a mask to wear in Bangkok, years ago

to wear for protection against pollution. Has all the pollution quit?

just asking for the Anti COVID people. 555.

bad joke.

You keep on wearing it if it makes you happy.

 

I chose not to inhale my own carbon dioxide and never made my kid do it either.

 

Each to their own.

[Bkk Brian]

On 9/27/2022 at 1:10 AM, Stargeezr said:

My Thai family gave me a mask to wear in Bangkok, years ago

to wear for protection against pollution. Has all the pollution quit?

just asking for the Anti COVID people. 555.

bad joke.

Fortunately I don't live in Bangkok where air quality can sometimes get to very dangerous levels with schools having to be closed briefly. Let alone in Chiang Mai where it can often reach worst levels in the world yearly. I would join you in wearing them at those times.

 

Phuket mostly escapes bad air quality thankfully.

 

I see on the covid measures front that pupils at Thai schools no longer have to wear masks which is good news for them.

 

Thai schools to drop COVID-19 measures

Public school students will no longer have to sit two meters from their friends and may forgo face masks starting next week. 

After over two years of COVID-19 restrictions, Thai students can return to their usual learning environment as the Education Ministry announced that COVID-19 health measures will be revoked Saturday.

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/thai-schools-to-drop-covid-19-measures/

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, Glassjaw said:

In the U.K. people get Covid and isolate a few days then get on with life.

Not all of them.

A total of 4,262 patients were admitted to critical care with confirmed COVID-19 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between January 2022 and June 2022. Of these, around two-thirds (67%) were discharged, almost one in four (24%) died in critical care and 9% are still in critical care.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19latestinsights/hospitals

 

In the UK over 10% of the population are waiting to be treated in hospital, what is the figure for Thailand?

[Kwaibill]

On 9/26/2022 at 7:52 PM, Bday Prang said:

I had it twice, the original version before the jabs or masks were in use   and then again after 3 jabs and constant mask wearing I got what i think was the Omicon version.  Nether was remarkable or any worse than mild influenza., I'm  60 year old smoker,  much ado about nothing as far as i am concerned

Well, youngster, I have several co-morbidities, and whatever strain it was it was a bit more taxing than I recall any case of the flu I've ever had.

YMMV.

 

 

[Kwaibill]

On 9/27/2022 at 8:50 AM, wolf81 said:

Well, me, my GF and daughter got COVID 2 times. Yeah, it's a bit like a bad flu, lasting longer, but we survived. 

 

First time none of us had vaccination. Second time my girlfriend had 2x Pfizer. I think she recovered a bit more quickly than me, but I think in general she's a bit healthier than me anyway (me working indoors behind desk and she working often outdoors on the farm).

Yes, considerable difference in cases. My sister ( a senior nurse) was hospitalized despite being innoculated. Convinced she wouldn't have made it without the jab, and has long term effects from it.????

[DavisH]

On 9/26/2022 at 9:03 AM, jtrump said:

Prove it, you can't.  Every study shows that mask do nothing to prevent the spread of Covid.  Only studies backed by the mask manufacturers will tell you different.  Majority of people don't wear properly anyway.

Do you know the difference between prevent and reduce?

[sandrew33]

On 9/26/2022 at 1:13 PM, kingstonkid said:

Thais have been wearing masks for as long as I have been in Thailand (12 years). They wear them for air pollution and when the cold season starts.

 

As to kids wearing them in schools.  I have seen this past few months students that have covid still attending class one school had to shut down because there were so many students with covid.

 

I think schools will keep the mandate for a while longer.  Until there rate of covid in students drops.  The same as they did when the flu was going around.

 

Thais will continue to wear masks for the foreseeable future just as possible protection against anyone that has a cold, or anything that is airborne.  Especially if they take the BTS where people can be crammed in.

 

As to changes in Thailand, the biggest change will be the ability for Thais to protest and meet in groups.

 

besides that nothing

 

I lived in Thailand from 2008 until 2018, the number of Thais wearing masks was miniscule. You made that up. 

 

And it’s genuinely hilarious that the response to an increase of Covid cases in fully masked schools is to extend the mask rules in schools. Which based on the first half of the sentence clearly don’t work. Which is of course evidenced everywhere else in the world. 

 

But sure double down on masks to solve a problem masks don’t solve. Thai logic at its best ????????

[sandrew33]

On 9/26/2022 at 8:02 AM, Karma80 said:

Not sure why people get triggered by other people wearing a mask. Don't wear one. It's your choice.
However, I do continue to wear one in crowded spaces and on public transport. Likewise this is my choice.

This is Asia, not the west. 

It’s not being triggered to point out absurdity, I mean if you want up wear a maxi pad on your head that’s your call too. But when 90% of people wear them I’ll probably observe that it looks absurd. Cos it does. 

 

And Thais acknowledge that the primary driver now is social conformity not health. It’s not wanting to face the stares of other Thais. 

 

In areas heavily populated with tourists this conformity rapidly falls away. 

 

If people genuinely believe they help and are free to choose then go for it. But the absurdity is real when you see people masked up outdoors and then quickly removing them to go into a crowded indoor cafe/restaurant and leave them off for hours only to put them back on to go outdoors. 
 

It’s absurd. But sure if people want to do it that’s fine. It’s unwelcoming and it deprives the place of much basic human connection but sure whatever … 

 

 

[sandrew33]

On 9/28/2022 at 10:01 PM, DavisH said:

Do you know the difference between prevent and reduce?

Lol. Yes because they really reduce spread right? 
 

The waves have been identical everywhere with reasonable measurement. They surge, then they peak and then they abate. Every time. Masks, no masks, doesn’t matter. 

[Eleftheros]

I wonder if Thailand will avoid the excess all-cause mortality now hitting many Western nations.

 

Australia's Bureau of Statistics reported that deaths from all causes from January to June were up 17.1% over the long-term average, which is a staggering amount.

 

Only a small fraction of deaths were Covid-related; the biggest increases were seen in deaths from Alzheimer's disease (up 21.8%), diabetes (20.1%), and more recently, other respiratory diseases.

 

For some reason, the Federal government doesn't seem keen to investigate the cause of over 13,000 extra unexplained deaths of its citizens in 6 months.

 

That's why a comparison with Thailand would be interesting, as Thailand avoided the harsh lockdowns and hospital restrictions which may plausibly be contributing to this carnage.

[Bkk Brian]

15 minutes ago, Eleftheros said:

I wonder if Thailand will avoid the excess all-cause mortality now hitting many Western nations.

 

Australia's Bureau of Statistics reported that deaths from all causes from January to June were up 17.1% over the long-term average, which is a staggering amount.

 

Only a small fraction of deaths were Covid-related; the biggest increases were seen in deaths from Alzheimer's disease (up 21.8%), diabetes (20.1%), and more recently, other respiratory diseases.

 

For some reason, the Federal government doesn't seem keen to investigate the cause of over 13,000 extra unexplained deaths of its citizens in 6 months.

 

That's why a comparison with Thailand would be interesting, as Thailand avoided the harsh lockdowns and hospital restrictions which may plausibly be contributing to this carnage.

https://ourworldindata.org/excess-mortality-covid

[3NUMBAS]

new strains are waiting to strike and it will return

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Eleftheros said:

I wonder if Thailand will avoid the excess all-cause mortality now hitting many Western nations.

 

Australia's Bureau of Statistics reported that deaths from all causes from January to June were up 17.1% over the long-term average, which is a staggering amount.

 

 

 

The above is a nice attempt at misleading with selected numbers and leaving out others.

 

What your recap above doesn't include from the cited report is that doctor-certified COVID deaths in Australia totaled 5,292 for the Jan. to June 2022 period that is the focus of the report's comparisons, making it the 5th largest cause of death during that period, according to selected mortality causes chart in the report, and roughly double the number of deaths from diabetes for that period.

 

 

And, since their baseline comparison period for the 2022 data is the years 2017-2019 plus 2021, they didn't do a baseline calculation change for COVID deaths, probably at least in part because COVID wasn't around back in their comparison years of 2017-2019.

 

But, the growth in COVID deaths from basically 0 in those prior years to 5,292 for the first six months of 2022 is a LARGER number of deaths than all of the other category increases over baseline combined in the above chart.

 

A chart in the same report also shows that COVID deaths in Australia continued to increase from March 2022 onward thru June 2022, which was entirely an Omicron variant period... you know... that variant that's nothing more than some sniffles, some folks here on the forum often argue.

 

 

I can't tell with certainty from the way the report is written, but it at least appears that the 5,292 COVID deaths during the first half of 2022 account for a goodly share of the 13,524 total deaths above baseline that the report talks about for the first half of 2022.

 

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/provisional-mortality-statistics/jan-jun-2022

 

Edited October 1, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Eleftheros]

None of the above affects what I said:

 

Deaths from causes other than Covid-19 in Australia (and many other Western countries) are up sharply this year, particularly in Australia for dementia and diabetes, slightly less so for other non-Covid respiratory diseases.

 

I would think that an overall mortality rise of 17.1% in the population sustained over a 6-month period would be worth investigating for any government that cares about the health of its citizens.

 

I'm quite prepared to believe that Australian federal and state governments don't care overmuch about the health of their citizens, given their behavior over the past two years, but I don't agree that there is nothing to see here, and that we should just move on.

 

Something is going on - in Thailand also, it appears from the graph posted above - and it needs to be looked into.

Edited October 1, 2022 by Eleftheros
Clarification

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 minutes ago, Eleftheros said:

 

Something is going on - in Thailand also, it appears from the graph posted above - and it needs to be looked into.

 

Yes, what was going on was LOTS of Australians were dying from COVID during the first half of 2022... more than most other different non-COVID causes.  And vastly more than died from COVID in 2017-2019, needless to say.

 

That all adds up to a ton of excess COVID deaths compared to past years that had none.

 

 

Edited October 1, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[onthedarkside]

A post continuing an off-topic diversion for the topic of this thread has been removed.

 

[rattlesnake]

4 hours ago, Eleftheros said:

None of the above affects what I said:

 

Deaths from causes other than Covid-19 in Australia (and many other Western countries) are up sharply this year, particularly in Australia for dementia and diabetes, slightly less so for other non-Covid respiratory diseases.

 

I would think that an overall mortality rise of 17.1% in the population sustained over a 6-month period would be worth investigating for any government that cares about the health of its citizens.

 

I'm quite prepared to believe that Australian federal and state governments don't care overmuch about the health of their citizens, given their behavior over the past two years, but I don't agree that there is nothing to see here, and that we should just move on.

 

Something is going on - in Thailand also, it appears from the graph posted above - and it needs to be looked into.

It's called the elephant in the room. It will inevitably come out, unless it's covered up by a world war, which would be rather convenient.

[anrcaccount]

13 hours ago, sandrew33 said:

It’s not being triggered to point out absurdity, I mean if you want up wear a maxi pad on your head that’s your call too. But when 90% of people wear them I’ll probably observe that it looks absurd. Cos it does. 

 

And Thais acknowledge that the primary driver now is social conformity not health. It’s not wanting to face the stares of other Thais. 

 

In areas heavily populated with tourists this conformity rapidly falls away. 

 

If people genuinely believe they help and are free to choose then go for it. But the absurdity is real when you see people masked up outdoors and then quickly removing them to go into a crowded indoor cafe/restaurant and leave them off for hours only to put them back on to go outdoors. 
 

It’s absurd. But sure if people want to do it that’s fine. It’s unwelcoming and it deprives the place of much basic human connection but sure whatever … 

 

 

Excellent comment, spot on. If I can restate your 3 main points as they're so very accurate: 

 

The way mask wearing is done in Thailand is absurd. 

 

It's not done for health but for social conformity. 

 

It deprives people of human connection. 

[onthedarkside]

A trolling post and ensuing reply have been removed.