COVID-19 surges during Songkran festival

webfact · April 21

1,004 people were admitted for treatment of COVID-19 infections between April 14th and 20th, according to Dr. Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, director of the Department of Disease Control.

Of those admitted to hospitals, 292 are suffering from lung infections and 101 require ventilators to help with breathing. Three have died and all were either elderly people or had comorbidities.

Dr. Thongchai said that the surge in COVID cases during the Songkran festival was not unexpected and most of the cases were found in and around Bangkok and in tourist provinces.

Citing a report from the Medical Science Department, most of the cases are related to the Omicron variant and most of the patients developed flu-like symptoms, such as coughs, sore throats, headaches, muscle pains and runny noses, said Dr. Thongchai, adding that the seriousness of the disease has not increased.

For safety sake, he suggested the wearing of face masks in crowded places, on public transport and in hospitals and nursing homes for the elderly. Washing hands often is also recommended, as are rapid antigen tests if flu-like symptoms develop, he added.

Full story: Thai PBS 2024-04-22

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CrossBones · April 21

What? Covid finished 2 years ago

MangoKorat · April 21

Jeez, they'll be wearing masks forever more.

Puccini · April 21

29 minutes ago, CrossBones said:

What? Covid finished 2 years ago

Obviously, Covid-19 infections did not finish rwo years ago.

CrossBones · April 21

2 hours ago, Puccini said:

Obviously, Covid-19 infections did not finish rwo years ago.

News to me. Why doesnt anyone talk about it now. Whats different now and then

1happykamper · April 21

So Thailand and the world finally understands that this virus is here to stay...

The WHO et al should be all burned at the stake for shutting down the planet for 2 or 3 years

Edited April 22 by stats
misinfo claim removed

Bangkok Barry · April 21

4 hours ago, 1happykamper said:

So Thailand and the world finally understands that this virus is here to stay...

The WHO et al should be all burned at the stake for shutting down the planet for 2 or 3 years

The situation now has no resemblance to 2020-2022, after the planet was 'shut down' to restrict - not combat - the virus as much as was practically possible. I say practically possible, as the only way to have killed it stone dead was to prevent all movement by everyone for a month. That, clearly, was impossible.

Anyone who paid attention to the news and saw how people with Covid were treated in hospitals would have seen the virus was nothing like the flu. Now, in 2024 and as predicted, the virus has been largely controlled and has burned itself out and there are an infinitely smaller number of casualties. The effects of it NOW are usually similar to the flu.

Where the WHO was at fault wasn't in 'shutting down' the planet, but in sucking up to the Chinese who refused point blank to allow them to properly and fully investigate the cause and source of the virus. There were absolutely zero consequences for the Chinese. None at all. By any government or organisation. None.

thailand49 · April 22

1 hour ago, CrossBones said:

News to me. Why doesnt anyone talk about it now. Whats different now and then

🤑

newbee2022 · April 22

Who didn't expect??😂

spidermike007 · April 22

How many people die every year from the flu? And how many of them were old and had issues?

Some simply do not want to let this go, even though it became endemic long ago. I am over 60 and got Covid. I have had worse flu bugs and remain more concerned over getting a flu, than covid.

dinsdale · April 22

8 hours ago, CrossBones said:

What? Covid finished 2 years ago

What a silly comment. Like the flu and the common cold covid is here to stay.

Edited April 22 by stats
unsubstantiated claim removed

dinsdale · April 22

4 hours ago, 1happykamper said:

So Thailand and the world finally understands that this virus is here to stay...

The WHO et al should be all burned at the stake for shutting down the planet for 2 or 3 years

Covid 19, flu and the common cold are three distinctly different viruses. It's now 2024 and you still do not know this?

ChrisY1 · April 22

And right on cue after Songkran.....get you masks back on and keep the factories making them, profitable!

ikke1959 · April 22

Thailand is the only country that still has news about Covid. Who said Thailand is not conservative?? They can't let go anything

UKJASE · April 22

21 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Thailand is the only country that still has news about Covid. Who said Thailand is not conservative?? They can't let go anything

uk news still covers covid

dinsdale · April 22

1 hour ago, UKJASE said:

uk news still covers covid

Bet they don't cover excess deaths and vaccine injury though.

TallGuyJohninBKK · April 22

Another Thai news report that fails to fully convey what's really been going on lately with COVID in Thailand. While the latest single week hospitalization numbers reported by Thai PBS are correct as far as they go...

What they fail to report is that new weekly COVID hospitalizations in Thailand had been rising steadily since well before Song Kran, and in fact have DOUBLED in the past six weeks since mid-March, as shown below from the MoPH's weekly COVID reports:

March 16 -- 501

March 23 -- 630

March 30 -- 728

April 6 -- 774

April 13 -- 849

April 20 -- 1,004

Links to all of those weekly reports have been posted here:

https://aseannow.com/topic/1311049-weekly-thai-ministry-of-public-health-covid-reports/?do=findComment&comment=18783819

and also are available directly from the MoPH here:

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

What the Thai PBS report also doesn't tell you is that the latest weekly total of 1,004 new COVID hospitalizations is Thailand's highest weekly tally of those since early July 2023, almost a year ago, when the number hit 1,193.

And, that Thailand experienced a similar seasonal COVID hospitalizations spike a year ago, starting in mid-April 2023 and continuing thru mid-July 2023 that saw new weekly COVID hospitalizations peak at 3,085 by early June 2023. So the numbers this year may well continue rising in the weeks ahead.

TallGuyJohninBKK · April 22

6 hours ago, CrossBones said:

News to me. Why doesnt anyone talk about it now. Whats different now and then

COVID remains in the news all the time, even now, though you have to look a bit harder to find it. But there are people, including many here, who want to deny and deflect that it's continuing to be a major health issue, especially for older people and those with chronic medical conditions.

As an example of that, the U.S. just recently ended a 29-week-long streak of COVID deaths of 1,000 or more per week. Unlike Thailand, the spring is the low-COVID period in the U.S., so the numbers there have been falling lately. The U.S. had reached a seasonal peak of more than 2,500 weekly COVID deaths back at the beginning of the year.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1323433-report-28th-week-in-a-row-with-more-than-1000-new-covid-deaths-in-the-us/?do=findComment&comment=18840334

Likewise, the UK's most recent report shows that they currently are having about 100 COVID deaths per week.

https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/

NHS rolls out new variant Covid vaccine as virus kills 100 a week

https://www.mylondon.news/news/health/nhs-rolls-out-new-variant-29011931

Another factor is, as the WHO regularly reports, many countries have either stopped or limited their public reporting on COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths. So once a country stops reporting what's going on, the news tends to cease as well.

Edited April 22 by TallGuyJohninBKK

dinsdale · April 22

18 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Another Thai news report that fails to fully convey what's really been going on lately with COVID in Thailand. While the latest single week hospitalization numbers reported by Thai PBS are correct as far as they go...

What they fail to report is that new weekly COVID hospitalizations in Thailand had been rising steadily since well before Song Kran, and in fact have DOUBLED in the past six weeks since mid-March, as shown below from the MoPH's weekly COVID reports:

March 16 -- 501

March 23 -- 630

March 30 -- 728

April 6 -- 774

April 13 -- 849

April 20 -- 1,004

Links to all of those weekly reports have been posted here:

https://aseannow.com/topic/1311049-weekly-thai-ministry-of-public-health-covid-reports/?do=findComment&comment=18783819

and also are available directly from the MoPH here:

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

What the Thai PBS report also doesn't tell you is that the latest weekly total of 1,004 new COVID hospitalizations is Thailand's highest weekly tally of those since early July 2023, almost a year ago, when the number hit 1,193.

And, that Thailand experienced a similar seasonal COVID hospitalizations spike a year ago, starting in mid-April 2023 and continuing thru mid-July 2023 that saw new weekly COVID hospitalizations peak at 3,085 by early June 2023. So the numbers this year may well continue rising in the weeks ahead.

Seasonal covid. Seasonal colds. Seasonal flu. Seasonal dengue fever. It's called endemic.

TallGuyJohninBKK · April 22

16 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Seasonal covid. Seasonal colds. Seasonal flu. Seasonal dengue fever. It's called endemic.

Thailand doesn't publicly report comparable figures for each of those diseases...

But the U.S. does, and neither the flu nor colds nor dengue fever have been killing anywhere near the 1,000 per week rates that COVID had been driving in the U.S.

Seasonal, yes. Comparable, no.

Latest CDC data suggests U.S. COVID deaths are running about double those associated with the flu, as follows:

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm

Same for hospitalizations:

COVID:

Flu:

Edited April 22 by TallGuyJohninBKK

BarraMarra · April 22

Surprised no one from the Thai Govt has stepped forward blaming the upsurge of tourist during Songkran,

dinsdale · April 22

8 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Thailand doesn't publicly report comparable figures for each of those diseases...

But the U.S. does, and neither the flu or cold or dengue fever have been killing anywhere near the 1,000 per week rates that COVID had been driving in the U.S.

Seasonal, yes. Comparable, no.

They are comparable because they are all endemic. Colds, flu and dengue are seasonal and covid surges might also be seasonal. They are also comparable in that they are all viruses and 3 out of the 4 are infectious. Now tell me they are not comparable.

TallGuyJohninBKK · April 22

Also worth noting, the latest Thai MoPH weekly report on COVID also gives the following cumulative COVID stats for thus far in 2024:

COVID new hospitalizations (9,593) & COVID deaths (72), though the deaths figure probably should be asterisked because MoPH long ago adopted a very narrow definition of what's considered a COVID death, basically only those driven by respiratory symptoms, whereas COVID in fact causes death thru various other means as well, and deaths that occur outside of hospitals likely are never assessed for cause.

MoPH Weekly COVID report for April 14-20:

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

Edited April 22 by TallGuyJohninBKK

MangoKorat · April 22

8 hours ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

and this bothers you how????

Mainly because as the virus is far less lethal now, mask wearing is ineffective. Its far better to let it run its course - as has been shown in other countries.

And partly because:

Of the looks and comments I get for not wearing one.

Many Thai's wear them as 'chin hammocks'.

Other habits in Thailand, such as food sharing, further reduce their overall efficacy.

Edited April 22 by MangoKorat

BangkokReady · April 22

15 hours ago, CrossBones said:

What? Covid finished 2 years ago

Not in Thailand. It's permanent.

dinsdale · April 22

12 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Covid 19, flu and the common cold are three distinctly different viruses. It's now 2024 and you still do not know this?

My comment above was in respose to this comment which got edited by the mods. It originally said that covid was just the flu. Here's the modded quote from @1happykamper

Quote

So Thailand and the world finally understands that this virus is here to stay...

The WHO et al should be all burned at the stake for shutting down the planet for 2 or 3 years

Amethyst · April 22

A post with entirely unsourced and unsubstantiated claims has been removed.

Please note the following forum rule:

"In factual areas such as news forums and current affairs topics member content that is claimed or portrayed as a fact should be supported by a link to a relevant reputable source."

https://aseannow.com/forum_rules/

spidermike007 · April 23

23 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Another Thai news report that fails to fully convey what's really been going on lately with COVID in Thailand. While the latest single week hospitalization numbers reported by Thai PBS are correct as far as they go...

What they fail to report is that new weekly COVID hospitalizations in Thailand had been rising steadily since well before Song Kran, and in fact have DOUBLED in the past six weeks since mid-March, as shown below from the MoPH's weekly COVID reports:

March 16 -- 501

March 23 -- 630

March 30 -- 728

April 6 -- 774

April 13 -- 849

April 20 -- 1,004

Links to all of those weekly reports have been posted here:

https://aseannow.com/topic/1311049-weekly-thai-ministry-of-public-health-covid-reports/?do=findComment&comment=18783819

and also are available directly from the MoPH here:

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

What the Thai PBS report also doesn't tell you is that the latest weekly total of 1,004 new COVID hospitalizations is Thailand's highest weekly tally of those since early July 2023, almost a year ago, when the number hit 1,193.

And, that Thailand experienced a similar seasonal COVID hospitalizations spike a year ago, starting in mid-April 2023 and continuing thru mid-July 2023 that saw new weekly COVID hospitalizations peak at 3,085 by early June 2023. So the numbers this year may well continue rising in the weeks ahead.

And how many younger folks, without any pre-existing issues are dying from it? Likely less than the flu.

dhupverg · April 23

23 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Another Thai news report that fails to fully convey what's really been going on lately with COVID in Thailand. While the latest single week hospitalization numbers reported by Thai PBS are correct as far as they go...

What they fail to report is that new weekly COVID hospitalizations in Thailand had been rising steadily since well before Song Kran, and in fact have DOUBLED in the past six weeks since mid-March, as shown below from the MoPH's weekly COVID reports:

March 16 -- 501

March 23 -- 630

March 30 -- 728

April 6 -- 774

April 13 -- 849

April 20 -- 1,004

Links to all of those weekly reports have been posted here:

https://aseannow.com/topic/1311049-weekly-thai-ministry-of-public-health-covid-reports/?do=findComment&comment=18783819

and also are available directly from the MoPH here:

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

What the Thai PBS report also doesn't tell you is that the latest weekly total of 1,004 new COVID hospitalizations is Thailand's highest weekly tally of those since early July 2023, almost a year ago, when the number hit 1,193.

And, that Thailand experienced a similar seasonal COVID hospitalizations spike a year ago, starting in mid-April 2023 and continuing thru mid-July 2023 that saw new weekly COVID hospitalizations peak at 3,085 by early June 2023. So the numbers this year may well continue rising in the weeks ahead.

Should we put these fear mongering numbers in context? Out of 72,000,000 people , 1000/week are hospitalized. What's that percentage wise? Oh, it's 1.3888888E-5 In other words, it's basically nothing............................................

TallGuyJohninBKK · April 23

So COVID deaths only matter if they involve "younger folks?

And we don't need to be concerned about the 1,000+ new weekly COVID hospitalizations reported by the Thai government, or the 214 COVID patients currently hospitalized in serious condition, or the 144 of those requiring intubation to breath -- all patients for whom the MoPH doesn't give any age breakdown?

But we DO know that COVID certainly has the potential to cause serious health problems, and even death, for "younger folks" -- even though those are more rare than for older folks.

For example, from the U.S.:

As Covid-19 hospitalizations climb, rates among seniors and children raise concern

September 22, 2023

...

"Seniors have the highest rates of Covid hospitalizations by far, but hospitalizations among children — especially among those younger than 5 — are rising fast."

...

a new analysis of federal data from the American Academy of Pediatrics showed hospital admissions among children are rising faster than average. Nearly 1,200 children were admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 during the week ending September 9, marking a five-fold increase over the past three months. Hospitalizations among adults increased about three-fold in that same time period."

...

Children accounted for 6% of all Covid-19 hospital admissions during the week ending September 9, federal data shows. And children under 5 were the most at risk, with about half of all pediatric Covid-19 hospitalizations among those younger than 5, according to the AAP analysis.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/22/health/covid-hospitalizations-seniors-kids-vaccines/index.html

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