Public advised to protect themselves as COVID-19 cases surge

[ozimoron]

1 minute ago, anrcaccount said:

You ever wear one pre 2020?

 

Let me guess No? 

 

It wasn’t common.
 

It was very rare, even all over Asia , to see anyone wearing a mask pre 2020.

 

Calling it “common” isn’t factual.

 

It seems to be a prop to justify those who believe you should be wearing them now - “Asians were always wearing masks”……

 

No they weren’t. It was rare. Uncommon. 

 

You want everyone to wear them now- fine .  But just own your opinion - and don’t try to justify it by revisionist history…. 

 

 

 

More misinformation.

 

Face masks are considered by many a useful way to stop the contraction and spread of the new coronavirus. The tiny surgical aids are less common in Western countries despite growing outbreaks in Europe and the United States. But its use has exploded in Asia. That’s because Asians, especially in Japan, China and Taiwan, have worn masks for a host of cultural and environmental reasons, including non-medical ones, since at least the 1950s.

 

https://www.voanews.com/a/science-health_coronavirus-outbreak_not-just-coronavirus-asians-have-worn-face-masks-decades/6185597.html

 

Why East Asians Were Wearing Masks Long Before COVID-19

 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/east-asian-countries-face-masks-before-covid_l_5f63a43fc5b61845586837f4

 

In countries like Japan and China, facemask use in the community is widespread – much more so than in Western cultures. People wear them to protect the respiratory tract from pollution and infection, and to prevent the spread of any pathogens they might be carrying.

 

https://globalsecurityplus.org/ive-always-wondered-why-many-people-asian-countries-wear-masks-and-whether-they-work

 

Why Was Mask Wearing Popular In Asia Even Before Covid-19?

Find out which masks are most popular in Asia and why.

 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culture-shocked/202005/why-was-mask-wearing-popular-in-asia-even-covid-19

 

Why Wearing a Face Mask Is Encouraged in Asia, but Shunned in the U.S.

 

https://time.com/5799964/coronavirus-face-mask-asia-us/

 

n full, the post reads: “So, China have been asked to wear masks since around 1984, specifically in public. They have continuously worn masks since the initial SARS Out break In 2002. Your all walking round religiously wearing them while forgetting that the Chinese people have worn them Since well before the covid-19 outbreak.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-china-mask-covid-idUSKBN25V1UR

[sungod]

1 hour ago, ozimoron said:

AP are reporting today that 1 in 10 people who get covid suffer long covid symptoms for months to years after even mild infections with omicron. Symptoms are fatigue and brain fog.

Surprising given everyone I know has had covid at least once, and no one is claiming to be suffering from 'long Covid.'

[ozimoron]

9 minutes ago, sungod said:

Surprising given everyone I know has had covid at least once, and no one is claiming to be suffering from 'long Covid.'

About 10% of people appear to suffer long COVID after an omicron infection, a lower estimate than earlier in the pandemic, according to a study of nearly 10,000 Americans that aims to help unravel the mysterious condition.

 

Early findings from the National Institutes of Health’s study highlight a dozen symptoms that most distinguish long COVID, the catchall term for the sometimes debilitating health problems that can last for months or years after even a mild case of COVID-19.

 

https://apnews.com/article/long-covid-coronavirus-covid-cc9dcd473f0513e4e62aa7e24940577e

[rabang]

47 minutes ago, anrcaccount said:

You ever wear one pre 2020?

 

Let me guess No? 

 

It wasn’t common.
 

It was very rare, even all over Asia , to see anyone wearing a mask pre 2020.

 

Calling it “common” isn’t factual.

 

It seems to be a prop to justify those who believe you should be wearing them now - “Asians were always wearing masks”……

 

No they weren’t. It was rare. Uncommon. 

 

You want everyone to wear them now- fine .  But just own your opinion - and don’t try to justify it by revisionist history…. 

 

 

 

 

A small minority wore them, mostly due to pollution. Yet these people have been banging for years now that 'Asians' were wearing them prior to 2020. No they were not, anyone who has travelled in the region before covid knows that.

 

[rabang]

Double post

Edited May 26, 2023 by rabang

[rabang]

2 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Yet they were worn, and it is something folks deny.  It gets old having to prove that masks were worn here in Asia versus the rest of the world before Covid.  Moving on.  I wear one to protect myself when out and about in large crowds, or when shopping.  Most food vendors are wearing them still, as well as restaurant employees.  In fact the movie theatre employee's were wearing them again today when we went to see a movie as well as most of those watching the movie, well the ones not stuffing popcorn into there mouths.

You can wear masks until the end of time, just don't expect others to do the same.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

12 minutes ago, rabang said:

You can wear masks until the end of time, just don't expect others to do the same.

From the OP article in this thread:

 

"Dr. Thira Woratanarat, of the Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University, said in his Facebook post...suggested that members of the public not lower their guard and protect themselves by following the recommendations of the Public Health Ministry, which include wearing face masks in public places, avoiding crowds, not sharing plates and spoons, isolating if they develop flu-like symptoms and taking rapid antigen tests."

 

[rabang]

6 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

From the OP article in this thread:

 

"Dr. Thira Woratanarat, of the Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University, said in his Facebook post...suggested that members of the public not lower their guard and protect themselves by following the recommendations of the Public Health Ministry, which include wearing face masks in public places, avoiding crowds, not sharing plates and spoons, isolating if they develop flu-like symptoms and taking rapid antigen tests."

 

Personally I couldn't care less. I have had it at least twice (tested) and refuse to let fear dictate my life.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

It's not "fear" to take common sense and easily accomplished protective measures to help safeguard one's health.  It's just common sense.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

As for the added risks of incurring repeated COVID infections, emerging research suggests successive COVID infections may also increase the risks of bad outcomes -- something to be avoided for sure.

 

Many repeat infections are mild, but some studies suggest people who have been infected with COVID more than once are at a greater risk of severe disease or long COVID

 

...

The first study of health risks from repeat infections was published last November. A team of researchers led by Ziyad Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University, in St. Louis, and his colleagues concluded that reinfected people are twice as likely to die and three times as likely to be hospitalized with COVID than those infected only once, regardless of their vaccination status."

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-repeat-covid-infections-increase-the-risk-of-severe-disease-or-long-covid/

 

[chalawaan]

I'd love to protect myself but I can never find the condoms under the beer bottles and pizza boxes.

 

I finally got Covid in January, about 24 hours after I entertained a vivacious young demimondaine.

 

I'd been away for a year, the Covid was less hassle than all the other social bugs I've, occasionally picked up in this sporting life. 

 

But I was vaxxed. 

 

[chalawaan]

51 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

As for the added risks of incurring repeated COVID infections, emerging research suggests successive COVID infections may also increase the risks of bad outcomes -- something to be avoided for sure.

 

Many repeat infections are mild, but some studies suggest people who have been infected with COVID more than once are at a greater risk of severe disease or long COVID

 

...

The first study of health risks from repeat infections was published last November. A team of researchers led by Ziyad Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University, in St. Louis, and his colleagues concluded that reinfected people are twice as likely to die and three times as likely to be hospitalized with COVID than those infected only once, regardless of their vaccination status."

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-repeat-covid-infections-increase-the-risk-of-severe-disease-or-long-covid/

 

Statistically, since this is a Coronavirus = Common Cold Family of Viruses, then every human on earth will get it, and then will get it more than once.  It's like death and taxes, unavoidable at some point. 

 

Maybe a mask makes sense on the BTS at rush hour, but we can't go through this life wearing masks for years on end, and I stopped when it was no longer mandatory. 

[rabang]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

It's not "fear" to take common sense and easily accomplished protective measures to help safeguard one's health.  It's just common sense.

 

It is not common sense to keep wearing a mask ad infinitum. It is like clinging to a teddy bear when you are past your childhood. You won't see almost any masks anymore outside of a small number of countries in Asia, ever wonder why?

Edited May 26, 2023 by rabang

[jacko45k]

11 hours ago, sungod said:

Surprising given everyone I know has had covid at least once, and no one is claiming to be suffering from 'long Covid.'

Basing your decisions on your own limited circles may not represent reality. Nobody I know is transexual, but I know they exist. Long Covid is supposed to be about 1 in 3, but decreasing.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, rabang said:

You won't see almost any masks anymore outside of a small number of countries in Asia,

Just got back from Southern  California... Plenty of people wearing masks there, more than I might have expected. Mostly older folks...

 

Not a majority or anything close to that. But everywhere I went, I was hardly alone in wearing my N95 mask...

 

And I returned from the trip without having contracted COVID -- just the same as I've never contracted it, AFAIK, since the outbreak in 2020.

 

A good quality mask, consistently worn, social distancing, and staying up-to-date on COVID vaccines and boosters go a lot way toward keeping one off the "I've had COVID multiple times and am proud of it" list.

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[ThailandRyan]

13 hours ago, anrcaccount said:

You ever wear one pre 2020?

 

Let me guess No? 

 

It wasn’t common.
 

It was very rare, even all over Asia , to see anyone wearing a mask pre 2020.

 

Calling it “common” isn’t factual.

 

It seems to be a prop to justify those who believe you should be wearing them now - “Asians were always wearing masks”……

 

No they weren’t. It was rare. Uncommon. 

 

You want everyone to wear them now- fine .  But just own your opinion - and don’t try to justify it by revisionist history…. 

 

 

 

I started wearing a mask around 2010 as we had moved to BKK from Udon.  Saw it regularly in Bangkok because of the PM 2.5 issues and that was just one reason I know they were worn and why we wore them.  The other reason they were worn, and still are worn, is because of the exhaust from the cars and motorcycles.  As I walk the streets or ride my bike this has also made it a necessity. 

 

I never said anywhere i my posts that I want everyone to wear one, so please do not put words in my posts which were never written.  Uncommon for you to see people wearing masks as you probably never paid much attention to what was going on around you and you just ignored it. 

 

It wasn't until the mask mandates came in that people started to complain and bellyache.....My view is different then your and we will agree to disagree on that point. 

 

Continue to misquote me and you will not be given the time of day again.  Plenty of studies and articles to prove mask wearing in Asia was common prior to Covid.  Enjoy your weekend.

[ThailandRyan]

13 hours ago, rabang said:

You can wear masks until the end of time, just don't expect others to do the same.

As the Thai's say "Up to you" I have no problem wearing a mask when it is necessary, and if I choose not to wear one, like you and I get sick for some reason or another, then the only one I have to blame is myself.  If your visiting and elderly individual or a friend who has medical issues, I would hope a sensible approach is made and if requested a mask is worn.  I went into the RTP office to help my elderly neighbor file a theft report yesterday.  We wore masks as well as the entire Staff in the office.  A foreign gentleman entered the office, was met by the officer at the front desk running the que, and he started shouting about how he was not going to put a mask on after he was asked to.  He was then politely shown the door and asked to leave until he came back with a mask on.  Politeness and sensibility go a long way when it comes to using common sense instead of bowing ones back.  

[h90]

14 hours ago, sungod said:

Surprising given everyone I know has had covid at least once, and no one is claiming to be suffering from 'long Covid.'

You can add to your statistic 8 people I know well, had covid and no one has long covid. Got sick, got good again....my 80+ year old father needed a bit to stop being tired all the time.

[anrcaccount]

4 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

I started wearing a mask around 2010 as we had moved to BKK from Udon.  Saw it regularly in Bangkok because of the PM 2.5 issues and that was just one reason I know they were worn and why we wore them.  The other reason they were worn, and still are worn, is because of the exhaust from the cars and motorcycles.  As I walk the streets or ride my bike this has also made it a necessity. 

 

I never said anywhere i my posts that I want everyone to wear one, so please do not put words in my posts which were never written.  Uncommon for you to see people wearing masks as you probably never paid much attention to what was going on around you and you just ignored it. 

 

It wasn't until the mask mandates came in that people started to complain and bellyache.....My view is different then your and we will agree to disagree on that point. 

 

Continue to misquote me and you will not be given the time of day again.  Plenty of studies and articles to prove mask wearing in Asia was common prior to Covid.  Enjoy your weekend.

Fair enough and you too.  

 

We will continue to agree to disagree on the definition of "common". Also on the usefulness of mass mask wearing- but that's OK. 

 

I see this "common" narrative often from people, that implies masks were everywhere in Asia pre covid, that grinds my gears, as it's just not true.

 

Yes they were worn occasionally, for various reasons such as the ones you outlined - but (very) uncommon. 

 

 

[anrcaccount]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

as I've never contracted it, AFAIK, since the outbreak in 2020.

Have you had an antibody test? 

 

I think you'd be surprised, many of those who think they've never been infected have actually been. Some multiple times.

 

One thing we can agree on is - this virus is wildly contagious. 

[RefinedGentleman]

16 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

You best do some research.  Many articles out there to prove your view as disinformation.

I don't need to "do some research" because I was actually living here. Masks were an absolute rarity.

[ThailandRyan]

10 minutes ago, RefinedGentleman said:

I don't need to "do some research" because I was actually living here. Masks were an absolute rarity.

Your view and not mine, so I will agree to disagree with mask wearing being a rarity. Enjoy your day.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, RefinedGentleman said:

I don't need to "do some research" because I was actually living here. Masks were an absolute rarity.

I'd been wearing N95 masks here in BKK seasonally for several years before COVID came along, because of the very high levels of PM2.5 air pollution typically from the fall through spring months.

 

I was lucky and fortunate to have been doing so, because then when COVID came along, I already had a good surplus supply of N95 masks at home ready to wear.... in the first two-year period of the pandemic when they became very rare and very hard to obtain, especially in a commercial backwater like Thailand.

 

So no, masks were hardly a rarity in BKK before COVID came along... Although they definitely were seasonal, coinciding with the bad PM2.5 months of the year.

 

We even had threads here, pre-COVID, about how and where to find/buy the N95s here and what models were the best to wear, along with similar threads about indoor HEPA air purifiers.

 

For example, from 2019:

 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Went back and checked my Amazon ordering history. My first orders of N95 masks from Amazon U.S. were several in early 2018.... and then continuing onward from there....

 

Long before COVID came along, masks were a thing in BKK, Chiang Mai and elsewhere.

 

 

[sungod]

6 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Basing your decisions on your own limited circles may not represent reality. Nobody I know is transexual, but I know they exist. Long Covid is supposed to be about 1 in 3, but decreasing.

Been here 30 years, Bangkok and Pattaya. Know alot of people with 2 kids at 2 schools and different sports clubs.

 

Not all of us live sheltered lives around the lake.

 

 

[Danderman123]

3 hours ago, anrcaccount said:

Have you had an antibody test? 

 

I think you'd be surprised, many of those who think they've never been infected have actually been. Some multiple times.

 

One thing we can agree on is - this virus is wildly contagious. 

I've never been infected, and an antibody test would pick up antibodies generated via vaccination.

[sungod]

17 hours ago, ozimoron said:

About 10% of people appear to suffer long COVID after an omicron infection, a lower estimate than earlier in the pandemic, according to a study of nearly 10,000 Americans that aims to help unravel the mysterious condition.

 

Early findings from the National Institutes of Health’s study highlight a dozen symptoms that most distinguish long COVID, the catchall term for the sometimes debilitating health problems that can last for months or years after even a mild case of COVID-19.

 

https://apnews.com/article/long-covid-coronavirus-covid-cc9dcd473f0513e4e62aa7e24940577e

Thanks for the article, as I say I dont know anyone.

[Danderman123]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/time.com/5799964/coronavirus-face-mask-asia-us/%3famp=true

 

But even before the coronavirus outbreak, masks were a common sight across East Asia—worn for a variety of reasons. It’s common for people who are ill and want to protect the people around them to wear masks. Others wear masks during cold and flu season to protect themselves.

 

In Japan, people wear masks for non-medical reasons ranging from wanting to hide a swollen lip or a red nose during allergy season, to keeping warm during the winter, says Mitsutoshi Horii, a sociology professor at Japan’s Shumei University, who works in the United Kingdom. Masks in Japan come in cloth and printed variations, and can also be worn for style. They can also be seen on the streets of Hong Kong.

[jacko45k]

4 minutes ago, sungod said:

Been here 30 years, Bangkok and Pattaya. Know alot of people with 2 kids at 2 schools and different sports clubs.

 

Not all of us live sheltered lives around the lake.

 

 

 

Presuming I know fewer folks than you (as I am insular), but I do know some who got the long Covid.... it exists. 

Personally nowhere near a lake.......

[Danderman123]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.voanews.com/amp/science-health_coronavirus-outbreak_not-just-coronavirus-asians-have-worn-face-masks-decades/6185597.html

 

Not Just Coronavirus: Asians Have Worn Face Masks for Decades