The COVID-2019 Thread

[PAG]

[Buckaroo Banzai]

Hey!! what happened to the below 10,000 cases reports? Stop slacking, get with the program , and start posting better reports or I am taking my covid report business elsewhere.
You have been warned.

[aging one]

Hey!! what happened to the below 10,000 cases reports? Stop slacking, get with the program , and start posting better reports or I am taking my covid report business elsewhere.
You have been warned.

I appreciate PAG putting these stats up but I think you need to look at the % of people inoculated over these figures. To me that is the key to getting this country open. BKK and the main tourist zones are plugging along but the country as a whole no. Get those numbers up and start to prioritize the average Thai. The beauty of Thailand is freedom to do what you want, not be contained to a designated tourist zone..

[cyrille]

Most people would argue that the number of people sick and dead is important.

[PAG]

Daily vaccination stats.

[PAG]

This is probably the most useful graphic, gives essentially all information re new cases, vaccination numbers and %, as well as hospital statistics.

[Switch]

Most people would argue that the number of people sick and dead is important.

But more accurate and definitive information is better than less, especially in Thailand’s case. Who knows what they might try to hide?

[OhOh]

Who knows what XXX might try to hide?

Only in Thailand.

[Joe 90]

Journalist Investigating The Origin Of Covid-19 Shares Evidence It 'Did Not Arise Naturally' | GMB - YouTube

[PAG]

This graphic much better for all round information.

[harrybarracuda]

Good news for our convict brethren.

Australia will open its international border from next month, ending one of its toughest Covid restrictions after more than 18 months.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Friday that the ban for citizens travelling abroad, which has been in place since March last year, will be lifted in November.

Australia travel ban eases with borders opening to international arrivals from November after 18 months

[Buckaroo Banzai]

This graphic much better for all round information.

Infections inside Thailand,11743. from abroad 11 !! need I say more in reference to all the hoops we have to jump to get here?

[harrybarracuda]

Infections inside Thailand,11743. from abroad 11 !! need I say more in reference to all the hoops we have to jump to get here?

Every one of those 11 is a potential cluster though.

[misskit]

Merck says experimental pill cuts worst effects of COVID-19

WASHINGTON (AP) — Drugmaker Merck said Friday that its experimental COVID-19 pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half in people recently infected with the coronavirus and that it would soon ask health officials in the U.S. and around the world to authorize its use.


If cleared, the drug would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19, a potentially major advance in efforts to fight the pandemic. All COVID-19 therapies now authorized in the U.S. require an IV or injection.


Merck and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said early results showed patients who received the drug, called molnupiravir, within five days of COVID-19 symptoms had about half the rate of hospitalization and death as patients who received a dummy pill. The study tracked 775 adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who were considered higher risk for severe disease due to health problems such as obesity, diabetes or heart disease.

MORE Merck says experimental pill cuts worst effects of COVID-19

[Buckaroo Banzai]

Every one of those 11 is a potential cluster though.

So are the 11,700.
As there is such thing as "unavoidable risk" so is "acceptable risk"
we all have dealt with the concept in our professional carriers.

[PAG]

[Buckaroo Banzai]

For me, watching the daily results is like watching a Limbo dance.
How low can you gooo!! Ohhh his up again, no, no, no. look his going down again
Ta tata tata ta ta. !!!

[harrybarracuda]

So are the 11,700.
As there is such thing as "unavoidable risk" so is "acceptable risk"
we all have dealt with the concept in our professional carriers.

And 14 day quarantine reduces that risk to effectively nil.

7 day, probably near zero.

0 day - you'll be introducing infections into the population.

So it's what Thailand think is

"acceptable risk"

[malmomike77]

in a bus shelter....first time i've seen evidence of anti-vax nuttery in the UK

[Buckaroo Banzai]

And 14 day quarantine reduces that risk to effectively nil.

7 day, probably near zero.

0 day - you'll be introducing infections into the population.

So it's what Thailand think is

Well . you would have to calculate the cost to risk ratio and make a decision if the reward is adequate to justify the risk.
IMO the amount of infection that 11 , or 110 would introduce into the national equation justified the risk involved in making it easier for tourists to come and revitalize the tourism economy.

[harrybarracuda]

Well . you would have to calculate the cost to risk ratio and make a decision if the reward is adequate to justify the risk.
IMO the amount of infection that 11 , or 110 would introduce into the national equation justified the risk involved in making it easier for tourists to come and revitalize the tourism economy.

I think they looked at the possibility of the healthcare system being overwhelmed before anything else.

It didn't help that one of the first arrivals in the Phuket sandbox was an infected family from the UAE who had relied on Shiteovax for their immunity.

[harrybarracuda]

Oct 1 (Reuters) - Worldwide deaths related to COVID-19 surpassed 5 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, with unvaccinated people particularly exposed to the virulent Delta strain.

The variant has exposed the wide disparities in vaccination rates between rich and poor nations, and the upshot of vaccine hesitancy in some western nations.

More than half of all global deaths reported on a seven-day average were in the United States, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and India.

While it took just over a year for the COVID-19 death toll to hit 2.5 million, the next 2.5 million deaths were recorded in just under eight months, according to a Reuters analysis.

An average of 8,000 deaths were reported daily across the world over the last week, or around five deaths every minute. However, the global death rate has been slowing in recent weeks.

Global COVID-19 deaths hit 5 million as Delta variant sweeps the world | Reuters

[harrybarracuda]

Cairo, Egypt, September 30, 2021 – U.S. Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. Nicole Shampaine and Assistant Minister of Health Dr. Mohamed Hassany welcomed the arrival of the first shipment of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines to Cairo. The 1.6 million Pfizer dose shipment is a direct donation from the United States to Egypt through COVAX. These vaccines will help protect Egyptians from COVID-19 and prevent the spread of the virus’s dangerous new strains.

United States Donates 1.6 Million COVID-19 Pfizer Vaccines to Egypt | U.S. Embassy in Egypt

[cyrille]

the virus’s

Tricky.

[Joe 90]

Covid threat looms over Thailand's plans to open up to tourists




Image caption,Foreign tourism, once an engine of the Thai economy, has collapsed
Back in mid-June, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha surprised everyone by promising to reopen the country to foreign tourists by October.


The time had come, he said, to take that calculated risk.


At the time, few took him seriously.


Thailand had zealously guarded its borders, imposing quarantine and mountains of paperwork on all arrivals since April last year.


Foreign tourism, once an engine of the Thai economy, collapsed. Just over 70,000 came into the country in the first eight months of this year, compared to 40 million in the whole of 2019.


Covid-19 was successfully contained through most of 2020, but by June this year infections were rising quickly, and the government was being roundly criticised for being too slow to start vaccinating. Opening up in October seemed impossible.


But true to his word, the great reopening appears to have begun, albeit with only very modest steps.


The night-time curfew has been shortened by an hour, starting at 10pm, and libraries and museums can open.


You can visit a spa, but only with advanced booking and a recent negative Covid test.


Fully-vaccinated tourists will now be quarantined for just one week instead of two. Further minor relaxations are expected in November. This is welcome news for the battered hospitality industry, but hardly sufficient to get the visitors pouring back in.



Image caption,Bars in Bangkok have been closed since early April
Why is the Thai government proceeding so cautiously?


The simple answer is vaccines and the limited number of ICU beds.


Despite significantly ramping up its orders of vaccines, the government started late and is still a long way short of its official target of inoculating at least 70% of the population.


By the end of September just over one quarter had received two doses, and many of those who received the less effective Sinovac vaccine are now having to get booster shots.

• What do we know about China's Covid-19 vaccines?
• Is China's vaccine success waning in Asia?

And at the peak of the latest Covid wave in July and August, all Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds in Bangkok were filled, forcing families with seriously ill patients to search frantically for beds in other parts of the country. No-one wants to see a repeat of that distressing experience.


But with the known infectiousness of the delta variant, many health experts believe even 70% of the population is too low a target for vaccination before Thailand can fully open to tourists.


"The vaccine rate among the older and most vulnerable population should be as high as 85 or 90%", says Tanarak Plipat, a senior health inspector-general and until recently deputy director of Thailand's Department for Disease Control. "Overall, given the delta variant, to be safe vaccine coverage for anybody residing in Thailand should be 80%."


Some in the travel industry agree that it is too soon for a full reopening.


"Realistically 1 January would be a good time", Tassapon Bijleveld, Chairman of Thai Air Asia, the country's largest low-cost carrier told the BBC. "I won't be scheduling any international flights until then".


'They act as though we never existed'

But there are other barriers to tourism apart from the relatively low vaccination rate.


Thailand's famous nightlife cannot restart with the 10pm curfew, with all bars forced to stay closed since early April in Bangkok, and no alcohol permitted in restaurants, although that regulation is now being relaxed on the holiday island of Phuket.


The varied requirements for new Covid tests when you cross provincial borders are also proving prohibitively expensive for travellers planning to visit several areas of Thailand.


At the stylish Tax bar in an old shophouse in central Bangkok, Niks Anuman Rajadhon and his staff are now preparing for a possible easing of the nightlife ban, spacing out their seating and ensuring good airflow. But after being open for just six weeks this year, he is not optimistic about his business.


"For us to stay closed for this long without any compensation has been a disaster. Bangkok is a 24-hour city. Look at everything the bar industry has done for the city, getting top rankings in Asia. I wish they would have more understanding of the hospitality and nightlife business. Right now the government acts as though we never existed," he says.



Image caption,Signs of economic distress can be seen everywhere in Thailand
Acute economic distress is now very visible in Thailand, in the rows of shuttered shops, in the long queues for food handouts, and in the crowds of angry, unemployed young men who have joined the anti-government protest movement and come out every weekend in parts of Bangkok to fight the police.


This is what has forced an unpopular government's hand. But this month's heralded reopening is only the start.


They still have a long way to go.





Media caption,Young Thai workers race to reopen deserted beaches


Image caption,Foreign tourism, once an engine of the Thai economy, has collapsed
Back in mid-June, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha surprised everyone by promising to reopen the country to foreign tourists by October.


The time had come, he said, to take that calculated risk.


At the time, few took him seriously.


Thailand had zealously guarded its borders, imposing quarantine and mountains of paperwork on all arrivals since April last year.


Foreign tourism, once an engine of the Thai economy, collapsed. Just over 70,000 came into the country in the first eight months of this year, compared to 40 million in the whole of 2019.


Covid-19 was successfully contained through most of 2020, but by June this year infections were rising quickly, and the government was being roundly criticised for being too slow to start vaccinating. Opening up in October seemed impossible.


But true to his word, the great reopening appears to have begun, albeit with only very modest steps.


The night-time curfew has been shortened by an hour, starting at 10pm, and libraries and museums can open.


You can visit a spa, but only with advanced booking and a recent negative Covid test.


Fully-vaccinated tourists will now be quarantined for just one week instead of two. Further minor relaxations are expected in November. This is welcome news for the battered hospitality industry, but hardly sufficient to get the visitors pouring back in.



Image caption,Bars in Bangkok have been closed since early April
Why is the Thai government proceeding so cautiously?


The simple answer is vaccines and the limited number of ICU beds.


Despite significantly ramping up its orders of vaccines, the government started late and is still a long way short of its official target of inoculating at least 70% of the population.


By the end of September just over one quarter had received two doses, and many of those who received the less effective Sinovac vaccine are now having to get booster shots.

• What do we know about China's Covid-19 vaccines?
• Is China's vaccine success waning in Asia?

And at the peak of the latest Covid wave in July and August, all Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds in Bangkok were filled, forcing families with seriously ill patients to search frantically for beds in other parts of the country. No-one wants to see a repeat of that distressing experience.


But with the known infectiousness of the delta variant, many health experts believe even 70% of the population is too low a target for vaccination before Thailand can fully open to tourists.


"The vaccine rate among the older and most vulnerable population should be as high as 85 or 90%", says Tanarak Plipat, a senior health inspector-general and until recently deputy director of Thailand's Department for Disease Control. "Overall, given the delta variant, to be safe vaccine coverage for anybody residing in Thailand should be 80%."


Some in the travel industry agree that it is too soon for a full reopening.


"Realistically 1 January would be a good time", Tassapon Bijleveld, Chairman of Thai Air Asia, the country's largest low-cost carrier told the BBC. "I won't be scheduling any international flights until then".


'They act as though we never existed'

But there are other barriers to tourism apart from the relatively low vaccination rate.


Thailand's famous nightlife cannot restart with the 10pm curfew, with all bars forced to stay closed since early April in Bangkok, and no alcohol permitted in restaurants, although that regulation is now being relaxed on the holiday island of Phuket.


The varied requirements for new Covid tests when you cross provincial borders are also proving prohibitively expensive for travellers planning to visit several areas of Thailand.


At the stylish Tax bar in an old shophouse in central Bangkok, Niks Anuman Rajadhon and his staff are now preparing for a possible easing of the nightlife ban, spacing out their seating and ensuring good airflow. But after being open for just six weeks this year, he is not optimistic about his business.


"For us to stay closed for this long without any compensation has been a disaster. Bangkok is a 24-hour city. Look at everything the bar industry has done for the city, getting top rankings in Asia. I wish they would have more understanding of the hospitality and nightlife business. Right now the government acts as though we never existed," he says.



Image caption,Signs of economic distress can be seen everywhere in Thailand
Acute economic distress is now very visible in Thailand, in the rows of shuttered shops, in the long queues for food handouts, and in the crowds of angry, unemployed young men who have joined the anti-government protest movement and come out every weekend in parts of Bangkok to fight the police.


This is what has forced an unpopular government's hand. But this month's heralded reopening is only the start.


They still have a long way to go.





Media caption,Young Thai workers race to reopen deserted beaches