What would be the reaction from families with young children?

If you wouldn't leave how would you live your life?

A bit like the joke about aids starting in Africa. ... Zimbabwe was the culprit and the world was looking at Robert Mugabe. Upon looking at his family tree they found some of his siblings still living there. Ok I'll grab my coat.....poor attempt at 'black' humor.

if it appears in Chiang Mai, I am stocking up on a couple months of food and water and some similar supplies. If its bad, 3m P95 masks and leaving covered.

Just looking for visibly sick people hardly covers it. As said, people can enter without symptoms and get sick later.

I believe that in a few days or perhaps weeks - Thailand will ban entry of all people from the West African Ebola stricken countries and issue orders to cease granting entry visas to same.

Plus I expect Thai Immigration to speed up their program of finding reasons to expel all Africans from Thailand ... for other reasons.

I believe that in a few days or perhaps weeks - Thailand will ban entry of all people from the West African Ebola stricken countries and issue orders to cease granting entry visas to same.

Plus I expect Thai Immigration to speed up their program of finding reasons to expel all Africans from Thailand ... for other reasons.

This wouldn't surprise me at all ... but would it work. On the surface, I think people would think it would work. But as I've posted here, there is an argument that it probably wouldn't. In other words, if the infection increases rapidly in Africa, it will get most everywhere anyway, travel restrictions or not.

That's the point, can it be escaped from?

Leaving Chiang Mai for where?

I would go to a place a less populated and dry like my home in the California desert.

The Issues Thailand has are many. High population density, primitive sanitation, ineffective government and it's somewhat inflexible minded inhabitants.

My worst fear would be for a country like Korea or Taiwan not allowing connecting flights from Thailand.

I'd hunker down, thanks to my upbringing there will always be enough food in the pantry and freezer to ride out most things, water can be boiled if necessary. Probably safer than travelling.

And for all those talking about masks, I have some very bad news - there's not a mask in the world that can help save you from Ebola, it's transferred by body fluid (including sweat).

That's the point, can it be escaped from?

The likelihood of ebola reaching every country on the planet is 100% unless harsh immigration and screening processes are implemented, which doesn't seem to be on the agenda for western countries... Major population areas will be the first effected, suffering the highest mortality rates... The further away from large population zones you are, the better...

My worst fear would be for a country like Korea or Taiwan not allowing connecting flights from Thailand.

Yes, if you are going to try to get out, you will have to do it early.

I would stay in Chiang Mai, but would take precautions when visiting the establishments on Loi Kroh.

^^^ Somehow I don't think that horizontal olympics would be the same in those outfits...

I'd hunker down, thanks to my upbringing there will always be enough food in the pantry and freezer to ride out most things, water can be boiled if necessary. Probably safer than travelling.

And for all those talking about masks, I have some very bad news - there's not a mask in the world that can help save you from Ebola, it's transferred by body fluid (including sweat).

That's a little bit dramatic

It's transferred thru mucus membranes and compromised skin.

Wearing a mask and perhaps googles and latex gloves would lower the risk quite a bit.

Not sure at that point if it would be lower than a plane crash or hijacking but it would be quite low probability.

"Ebola then spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids."

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

I'd hunker down, thanks to my upbringing there will always be enough food in the pantry and freezer to ride out most things, water can be boiled if necessary. Probably safer than travelling.

And for all those talking about masks, I have some very bad news - there's not a mask in the world that can help save you from Ebola, it's transferred by body fluid (including sweat).

It really depends on how many amulets a person is wearing.

I would double up.

The rats are always the first to leave a sinking ship.

Well, let's see - we just had the geniuses from the TAT suggesting foreign visitors should come to Thailand "because it doesn't have Ebola".

Wonderful!! But it does have an unusually high number of West African drug mules locked up in prison, flying in to Suvarnhabumi and wondering around Soi Nana. Nothing racist in this - but that's the most likely venue for infection.

I would stay in Chiang Mai, but would take precautions when visiting the establishments on Loi Kroh.

Ok when I start seeing those Karaoke Girls dressed like that in front of their bars at night I will know it is time

to exit the country

No, I would not leave or even consider it.

Anyway, as Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation if Islam wrote a few days ago, "Another method is disease infection through bio-weapons such as Ebola and AIDS, which are race targeting weapons. There is a weapon that can be put in a room where there are Black and White people, and it will kill only the Black and spare the White, because it is a genotype weapon that is designed for your genes, for your race, for your kind."

I'm one of those White dudes, so no worries here.

so uptheos where would you go if there is a confirmed case here?

In all likelihood, Ebola would have spread to most bigger cities in Europe and Asia already if it has arrived in Chiang Mai.

So my view is that you should look at Ebola similar as when SARS happened or H1N1 was a risk and take similar precautions:

Avoid densely populated areas, use NS95 face mask when you go to populated areas like a market etc. Don't send your kids to school, use common sense hygiene etc.

Travelling somewhere on airplane, congested airports etc, going to a city that is more densely populated than Chiang Mai etc would be probably the wrong reaction from my point of view.

One has to think what the daily life would really be like (in a city like CM, or other) in case of a -real- ebola outbreak in Thailand.

It's not just about disease transmission, it's also about individual behaviors.

Let's take the worst case scenario of significant epidemic in Thailand.

In such a case, common citizens would avoid gatherings and physical proximity. What does it means in terms of food supply, markets, transports, logistics..? Food and common amenities can quickly become scarce resources. Even energy, water supply can be impacted by people not showing to work by fear. Rationality is the first victim in case of lethal epidemic.

On the other hand, law enforcement can also be a tricky aspect. In remote area, food scarcity can lead to some extreme acts and can we really expect the authorities to be able to maintain global order in case of outbreak?

Low density areas can be a wise choice in terms of transmission but not necessarily in terms of security.

At the end, it depends on your confidence in the ability of a specific country to control such parameters. It will dictate your preference in terms of location. In case travel is still an option.

This is the worst case scenario, based on the non-availability of any treatment by then.

But worldwide, full teams are busy on this.

Plenty of food and water here in Chiang Mai. I wouldn't go anywhere in such a scenario. I agree though with your security concerns especially in a bigger city. Although you can assume that the Thai army would manage things here if it would get really that bad.

For a cure, go to 18.8128° N, 98.8936° E. From that location, find the amulet dealer who speaks Icelandic. They will ask you 7 secret questions, only answer the 4th one, in Arabic. Then give him 123,444 baht for his time and wait by the tree of forgiveness. After 11 days, I will text you the dance of the cure. you must perform it during a full moon at sunday market.

thank me later.

Someone sitting not to far from me, seems to think that as they are screening then we are quite safe and of course they must not let in any 'black people'

Right. Hear that often around here too. But it pertains to fellow Thais from the Northeastern provinces, as well as people from India, Pakistan, etc.... Always starts a disagreement when it comes up.

I believe that in a few days or perhaps weeks - Thailand will ban entry of all people from the West African Ebola stricken countries and issue orders to cease granting entry visas to same.

Plus I expect Thai Immigration to speed up their program of finding reasons to expel all Africans from Thailand ... for other reasons.

I hope no one takes this wrong as I'm certain anyone who knows me would never say I'm prejudiced, but on a recent trip to Bangkok I was amazed at the amount of criminal/hustler types in action I saw from some of the West African countries. Tightening up or restricting visas may serve more than one purpose...

Maybe they will follow the same path of action as they do at present for Dengue prevention......

not a helluva lot.

Never I would leave any place because of it ... It's not like we are talking about millions of people infected or died already - we are still in the single digit thousands- WORLWIDE

I'd hunker down, thanks to my upbringing there will always be enough food in the pantry and freezer to ride out most things, water can be boiled if necessary. Probably safer than travelling.

And for all those talking about masks, I have some very bad news - there's not a mask in the world that can help save you from Ebola, it's transferred by body fluid (including sweat).

That's a little bit dramatic

It's transferred thru mucus membranes and compromised skin.

Wearing a mask and perhaps googles and latex gloves would lower the risk quite a bit.

Not sure at that point if it would be lower than a plane crash or hijacking but it would be quite low probability.

"Ebola then spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids."

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

If you watch the BBC program you will see that one man contracted it from touching the bed frame of a bed where an infected patient was. He survived.

Not sure why this question should be limited to Chiang Mai.

If it makes it there, it's in Thailand ...

It seems likely it will make it here so the question is how will this country DEAL with it.

Easy: They'll cover it up as long as they can...