Covid-19 News & Updates

[PeteC]

Visits by foreign diplomats, business reps suspended

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -suspended

The government has temporarily banned the entry of foreign diplomats and special business representatives after the young daughter of the Sudanese attache was found to be infected with the coronavirus after the family arrived from Khartoum.

Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, on Tuesday announced the suspension of arrivals by privileged foreigners and business reps under special arrangements, and foreign diplomats and their families.

He said it would remain in force while the CSA plugged loopholes in its disease control measures.

Privileged visitors are people the prime minister or an emergency state supervisor invited to the country. Business reps under special arrangements plan on only short stays. Both categories have been allowed in since July 1.

Dr Taweesilp said that in future arriving foreign diplomatic staff and their families would have to stay for 14 days at "alternative state quarantine" facilities that the government would arrange. It would be dangerous for them to stay at embassies, he said.

The CCSA decision was a response to the case of the 9-year-old daughter of the Sudanese attache in Bangkok, he said.

The girl's mother took their family of five for health checks in Sudan on July 7, and they were given clearance to travel.

They left Sudan that day and arrived in Thailand at 5.40am on July 10. They reached their residence at One X condominium in Sukhumvit area at 9.25am. The same flight also carried 245 Thai returnees.

Upon arrival, the family was asymptomatic but samples were taken for Covid-19 tests. It was known later that morning that the girl was infected.

Her father took her to a hospital in Bangkok, where a second test confirmed the first result.

On July 11 the girl was diagnosed with pneumonia and was referred to Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health in Bangkok on Juy12. The same day, her family moved into the Sudanese embassy on Soi Suan Phlu.

The family had been staying on the 19th floor of the One X condominium building, which has 329 rooms of which 200 were occupied.

About 70% of the residents were foreigners and about 50% of them wore face masks while using elevators there, Dr Taweesilp said.

Seven people were deemed at high risk of infection - the girl's parents and younger sister, a limousine chauffeur, two airport van drivers and a Sudanese embassy official.

Fifteen other people who used the same elevator the family used were deemed at low risk of infection, he said. The family and drivers would be tested on Wednesday.

[PeteC]

Wow If you read the news this morning you'll see that Rayong and area has had the mother of all knee jerk reactions over this Egyptian incident. Better safe than sorry I guess, but the extent of what they are closing and doing seems a bit extreme. The entire island of Koh Samet emptied itself, and advanced reservations cancelled. The island is miles and miles east of where this group was. People are in panic it seems.

[buksida]

GOV’T, MILITARY DENY BLAME ON RAYONG QUARANTINE NEGLIGENCE
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday apologized to the public for the government’s failure to enforce quarantine rules in Rayong province, where a coronavirus patient was permitted to leave his hotel and visit a shopping mall.

Although Prayut said he is taking responsibility for the incident, no legal action was taken against him or the coronavirus response center, of which he serves as the chairman. The Prime Minister described the case as “unprecedented” and ordered relevant authorities to reevaluate quarantine measures.

“It shouldn’t have happened,” Prayut said. “It happened because of those who didn’t respect the rules and those who blamed each other. Therefore, myself as the director of the government’s crisis response center will take responsibility for this.”

An Egyptian airman who later tested positive for the coronavirus and his colleagues were allowed to leave their quarantine hotel last week for shopping trips in Rayong province.

Nearly 400 people may have come in close contact with the patient, officials said, raising fears that Thailand’s record of nearly two months without local coronavirus transmission might soon come to an end.

It is unclear what the 31 pilots from the Egyptian Air Force were doing in Thailand. The delegates also flew to Chengdu, China, before returning to their hotel in Rayong province.

In a contrast to the government’s harsh enforcement of pandemic health measures on members of the public, no charge was filed against any government or military officials responsible for the Egyptian pilots’ arrivals and quarantine.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics ... egligence/

As always with Thai officialdom ... its always someone else's fault.

[Big Boy]

I think most of us worked this one out weeks ago when the first announced it. Better late than never

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[PeteC]

One thing that is happening is that the media, especially the Thai language media including Social, is doing its best to scare people to death about what happened in Rayong. Pm Prayut is absolutely right with his request for the media to tone things down. It's not a freedom of speech or press issue at all, it's a responsible reporting issue.

Rayong resorts and business are being devastated (again) with everyone jumping around looking for bogeymen under the bed.

[Big Boy]

Has this not been the situation with most media from day 1 of this pandemic? There are some very sick gits out there loving every bit of this crisis. I've never known a situation where you have to read a dozen versions of the same story, and then work out your own version of the truth. I've got to the point where I don't believe anything at first presentation.

Once reliable sources such as Bangpost put out 3 completely different versions of the same story in 3 days. I think they're competing with Social Media, trying to be first without checking their facts. It is so confusing/worrying.

[buksida]

Hua Hin next?

151 THAI SOLDIERS RETURNING FROM HAWAII MAY QUARANTINE IN HUA HIN
The 151 soldiers returning from a military exercise in Hawaii may be held at the Suan Son Pradipat Resort in Hua Hin to observe their condition, a military commander said, though a receptionist at the resort said she hasn’t heard about the plan.

“We’re currently seeking permission to see if we should use state quarantine arranged by the government COVID-19 center,” 2nd Region Army commander Lt. Gen. Tanya Kiatisan said.

“We suggested using an army-run hotel,” the general said. “We will likely use Suan Son Pradipat since it has enough space for all the troops.”

The soldiers are currently in a joint military exercise with the U.S. army called Lightning Forge 2020 at the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii from July 1 to 21. They are scheduled to return on July 22.

The soldiers were initially meant to quarantine at Sripattana Hotel in Nakhon Ratchasima province before changing the venue due to inadequate space, Lt. Gen. Tanya said.

But a woman picking up the phone at the army resort Thursday who refused to give her name said that they could neither confirm nor deny anything about the troops staying there.

She said the hotel had not received specific orders about their quarantine yet.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/cri ... n-hua-hin/

They'll be straight down Bluport for a Burger King ...

[PeteC]

Hawaii is a pretty tame place Covid wise, being islands. I doubt the troops pose a risk back here.

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[pharvey]

This is certainly not going away anytime soon........

All From: - https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... a22b9a05ca (updated throughout the day).

US Records World Record Daily Cases With 77,300 New Infections in One Day

"According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, which relies on official government data, the US has recorded a startling 77,300 new Coronavirus cases in 24 hours.

This is the highest one-day total for the pandemic so far. The US has consistently broken one-day records in recent days, but this is by a fairly wide margin. 10 July marked the last global record increase, with 67,800 new cases in the US.

The US, by far the worst-affected country worldwide in terms of the number of cases and deaths, has 3,576,221 confirmed infections and 138,358 fatalities.

Brazil is next highest with 2,012,151 cases (the country passed the sombre milestone of 2m on Thursday) and 76,688 deaths."

India Cases Top 1m

"India has crossed 1 million Coronavirus cases, third only to the United States and Brazil, prompting concerns about its readiness to confront an inevitable surge that could overwhelm hospitals and test the country’s feeble health care system, AP reports.

A surge of 34.956 new cases in the past 24 hours took the national total to 1,003,832.
The Health Ministry on Friday also reported a record number of 687 deaths for a total of 25,602. The ministry said the recovery rate was continuing to improve at 63%."

More Countries Re-introduce Restrictions

Around the world, countries are re-imposing localised restrictions as new virus clusters or outbreaks emerge. In Mexico, authorities imposed local restrictions on mobility, commerce, and leisure, particularly in popular tourist destinations, even as the government seeks to revive the battered economy. Mexico has 317,635 cases and 37,574 deaths.

In Spain, officials in Catalan said on Thursday that residents in three districts in the Barcelona suburb of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat must stay indoors amid a resurgence in cases. Wednesday saw residents told to stay at home in an area in and around the north-eastern city of Lerida, a measure affecting around 160,000 people. They are allowed to leave to go to work, buy food or medication, or to exercise.

In Colombia, doctors are calling for a return to a strict city-wide quarantine to slow coronavirus infections in the capital, warning that medical services are close to collapsing. The country has reported over 165,000 cases of the Coronavirus and around 6,000 deaths. Bogota accounts for more than a third of the country’s total cases and over 20% of its deaths, Reuters reports.

Bogota’s intensive care units were at just under 90% capacity as of Wednesday evening, according to local government figures.

The Israeli government is reported to be considering a full national lockdown at weekends and plans to shut all kindergartens. Israel has 46,059 cases and 384 deaths.

In India, new restrictions have been introduced in the western city of Pune and other states including Uttar Pradesh, home to 200 million people, badly hit Tamil Nadu and Assam. The northern Indian state of Bihar, with a population of around 125 million people, started a 15-day lockdown from 16 July. The southern city and IT hub of Bangalore, home to more than 13 million people, also began a week-long confinement on 14 July:

[Hahuahin]

Hua Hin next?

151 THAI SOLDIERS RETURNING FROM HAWAII MAY QUARANTINE IN HUA HIN
The 151 soldiers returning from a military exercise in Hawaii may be held at the Suan Son Pradipat Resort in Hua Hin to observe their condition, a military commander said, though a receptionist at the resort said she hasn’t heard about the plan.

“We’re currently seeking permission to see if we should use state quarantine arranged by the government COVID-19 center,” 2nd Region Army commander Lt. Gen. Tanya Kiatisan said.

“We suggested using an army-run hotel,” the general said. “We will likely use Suan Son Pradipat since it has enough space for all the troops.”

The soldiers are currently in a joint military exercise with the U.S. army called Lightning Forge 2020 at the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii from July 1 to 21. They are scheduled to return on July 22.

The soldiers were initially meant to quarantine at Sripattana Hotel in Nakhon Ratchasima province before changing the venue due to inadequate space, Lt. Gen. Tanya said.

But a woman picking up the phone at the army resort Thursday who refused to give her name said that they could neither confirm nor deny anything about the troops staying there.

She said the hotel had not received specific orders about their quarantine yet.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/cri ... n-hua-hin/

They'll be straight down Bluport for a Burger King ...

Okay, another "home lock down" for the residents of Hua Hin with other words.

[HHTel]

Why would it affect the general public at all. This is quarantine. They're only being quarantined here because of the numbers and space needed.

No worries.

[PeteC]

Why are Thailand’s Covid-19 numbers so low?

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/wh ... ers-so-low

Why has Thailand, with a population greater than that of the UK, been largely spared the catastrophic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the nation and much of the world? Social distancing is embedded in Thai culture – Thais rarely touch when greeting, preferring the prayer-like “wai” gesture to a handshake or embrace. Could this custom be at least partly responsible for the country’s low numbers?

There have been no overwhelmed hospitals in the country’s public hospital system. No dead bodies in the streets. No social media postings from frantic doctors or nurses. The country simply acted swiftly, and with a determined force.

Thailand was quick to adopt the use of facemasks, close schools and enforce social distancing on public transport, even before declaring a national state of emergency and curfew, sealing its borders and forbidding interprovincial travel. Is that what prevented the runaway transmission of the virus here?

Is there a genetic component that makes the immune systems of Thais (and others in the Mekong River region) more resistant to the virus? Or is it some combination of all these factors that have insulated this country of 69 million?

One thing’s for sure, despite an influx of foreign visitors early in the year from countries badly hit by the virus, especially China, Thailand has recorded just 3,236 cases since January, 58 deaths and achieved a 95.5% recovery rate. As of today, there have been no cases of local transmission for about 7 weeks (although there’s been a steady flow of daily single-figure infections as Thais repatriate from overseas).

Thailand’s low infection rate appears to be shared by other countries in the Mekong River basin. Vietnam has not recorded a single death and has logged about three months without a case of community transmission. Myanmar has confirmed 336 cases, Cambodia 166 and Laos just 19, though authorities believe the numbers are likely higher due to low testing rates in such developing nations. Yunnan, the southwestern Chinese province through which the Mekong flows, before winding its way to south east Asia, had fewer than 190 cases, with none being “active” now.

According to Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the the country’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, says he doesn’t believe it’s got anything to do with immunity or genetics alone.

“It has to do with culture. Thai people do not have body contact when we greet each other. This is how the countries in the Mekong region greet each other as well. “

Thailand appears to have brought the virus well under control, but the outlook didn’t always look so positive. In January, Thailand confirmed the world’s first case of the virus outside China, in a tourist from Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the outbreak is thought to have begun. A wave of infections was set off by people arriving from Japan, Europe and the US and a Bangkok boxing match turned into into a massive virus-spreading event.

But after the lockdown was enforced in March, which shuttered businesses and schools, domestic transmissions subsided quickly. In the island of Phuket most of the island’s 17 ‘tambons’ (suburbs) were all locked down with checkpoints set up to stop people moving out of their area, except for emergencies. There were no protests, no arguments, everyone realised what needed to be done although the economic impact was considerable.

A public health expert at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, researching an outbreak of the virus in the southern border province of Pattani, noted that more than 90% of those who tested positive there were asymptomatic, a much higher proportion than normal. He claimed Thais and other people from this part of Southeast Asia are more susceptible to serious cases of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne virus, than those from other continents.

“What we are studying now is the immune system. If our immune systems against dengue are so bad, why can’t our immune system against Covid be better? “

Though Thailand’s hospitals have not been overwhelmed by Covid-19 patients, the country’s tourism-dependent economy has been battered, if not almost entirely shut down.

In April, Thailand banned virtually all incoming flights, and holidaymakers stopped coming to Bangkok, once known as the world’s most visited city. The Thai Tourism and Sports Ministry estimates that 60% of hospitality businesses could end up permanently closing by the end of this year.

The International Monetary Fund also predicts the Thai economy will shrink by at least 6.5% in 2020 with other estimates even higher. The World Bank says more than 8 million Thais may lose their jobs or income in 2020 as a result of the virus.

SOURCE: The New York Times

[handdrummer]

The International Monetary Fund also predicts the Thai economy will shrink by at least 6.5% in 2020 with other estimates even higher. The World Bank says more than 8 million Thais may lose their jobs or income in 2020 as a result of the virus.

My youngest daughter lost her job as a translator for an international company. She worked at home for month then, was laid off. I heard that the company is considering leaving Thailand. Hard times on the horizon.

[buksida]

95% say 'no foreigners' to prevent 2nd Covid wave
A vast majority of Thais -- 94.51% -- say foreigners should be barred from entering the country to prevent a second wave of the Covid-19 spread, according to an opinion survey by the Suan Dusit Rajabhat University or Suan Dusit Poll.

The poll was carried out online on July 14-18 on 1,459 people throughout the country to gauge their reactions to the cases of an Egyptian soldier and a Sudanese girl found to be infected with Covid-19 after they were allowed to enter the country.

Asked how they felt after hearing about the two cases, 52.23% of respondents said they were very worried; 39.68% fairly worried; 6.58% slightly worried; and 1.51% not worried at all.

Asked to mention "five things" that would worry them if there were a new wave of the Covid-19 spread, with each respondent allowed to give more than one answer, 95.89% cited the degree to which the disease spread; 94.45% unemployment; 92.05% a shutdown of businesses; 84.17% their children's schooling; and 84.17% another lockdown announcement.

A large majority, 73.82%, thought the chance that Thailand would announce a second lockdown was high while 26.18% said this was unlikely.

Asked to suggest ways of preventing a new wave of the pandemic, 94.51% said foreigners should definitely not be allowed to enter Thailand; 86.41% said the process of screening and quarantine of people returning from abroad must be stringent; 83.80% said people must wear face masks while outdoors and frequently wash their hands; 81.40% said people must be given correct and clear information about the virus; and 76.73% said people should be given free testing for Covid-19.

Asked what the government should do to ease the people's concerns about the novel coronavirus, 47.38% said the screening and quarantine process must be made more stringent, without exemptions for "privileged" people; 33.43% said punishments should be imposed on those who violate the ban on foreigners entering Thailand; and 23.20% said the government must quickly solve coronavirus-related problems that could affect the people.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -wave-poll

[handdrummer]

33.43% said punishments should be imposed on those who violate the ban on foreigners entering Thailand.

That would Thai officials, right? A foreigner can't enter the country without being let in by an official.