Covid-19 News & Updates

[dtaai-maai]

Without entirely dismissing the point being made, without a stake in either side of the argument, without looking at the website, and without examining the stats in detail, my immediate reaction is "it's official, folks, according to lockdownsceptics.org", which is rather like saying that global warming is a myth according to climatechangesceptics.com.

[handdrummer]

I think the global warming argument is whether or not it's caused by humans and can humans mitigate it and not about whether it's real.
The recent clearing of the air due to lack of burning fossil fuels for over a month, should put the human part of argument to rest.
I doubt whether it will affect world temperatures.
The SW US has been under a severe drought for 10 yrs. and it's not getting any cooler and that area has some of the least industrial fuel burning.
I know Thailand is getting hotter, even in rural areas that have no industries and little auto/truck traffic.

[dtaai-maai]

^^It was just an analogy, I didn't intend to reopen the global warming debate!

[buksida]

Getting things back to topic with some Covid-19 news ...

After the relaxed measures have come into effect in many countries, Thailand Post has announced that it will resume its international services. EMS World can now deliver to Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Vietnam. And ePacket can be delivered to Bhutan, China, South Korea, Russia, and Singapore. Because of the #COVID19 pandemic, some destinations are still unavailable. Please check the available destinations before posting mail or packages.

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I guess they haven't included Europe and the US in case the packages get the virus.

[HHTel]

No briefings over the weekend but the government announced 3 new cases over the last 24 hours. 2 are from returnee quarantine and one from Phuket.

https://www.thaienquirer.com/13459/thre ... hailand-2/

[PeteC]

Misery as arrival ban keeps families apart

https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/mise ... lies-apart

Thailand’s ban on foreign arrivals is causing misery among families across the nation as foreigners married to Thai nationals plead with the government to let them return to be with their families.

James Jacobs, a Briton stranded in France, told Nation Thailand he wants to return to his 29 year old wife Sopa, who lives in Chiang Mai. Speaking by phone, Sopa said her husband has been stranded in France since Thailand stopped all incoming flights in April for fear of imported Covid-19 infections. She says she can only keep in touch with him online.

Alan Cheetham, another Briton who is stranded in the UK, says he wants to get back to his family in the northeastern Udon Thani province. He created a Facebook page called “Thai Expats Stranded Overseas due to Covid-19 Travel Restrictions” last week. More than 450 people who are in the same situation have already joined. Together with a second page, “Farangs Stranded Abroad due to Lockdown in Thailand,” with 397 members as of today, they share information as part of their efforts to reunite families.

Trapped in Ireland, Michael O’Halloran says he wants to be with his 3 daughters, aged 13, nine and 20 months, now living with his wife in Chon Buri.

Alan Edwards, another expat who is in a similar predicament, says it’s unfair that families are being kept apart during the crisis just because one of the spouses is not Thai.

“I understand that in these difficult times, many difficult decisions have to be made by the Thai government, but does the prejudice against Thai/foreigner families have to go on for so long? How is it fair that Thai people and children must be without a loved one or a parent because they are not Thai?”

Rob Kennedy, who belongs to “Farangs Stranded Abroad due to Lockdown in Thailand,” is trapped in Brunei, and says the Thai embassy there is helpful, but officials in Bangkok are showing little interest in his case. He says he’s willing to pay for quarantine if he’s allowed to return.

Another expat who has a family in the southern resort city of Phuket, speaking on condition of anonymity, says he left Phuket in March and now cannot return. He has a four year old son who has a medical condition.

“Mam,” a Chiang Mai woman who didn’t wish to give her real name, told Nation Thailand that her husband has been stranded in Canada for months.

“My two year old girl often asks, ‘where is Daddy’?”

The Thaiger has received a number of emails along the same lines, pleading for access back to the country to reunite with family and relatives in the Kingdom. The Thaiger has referred them to the Thai embassies in the countries they’re currently living in.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand banned all incoming passenger flights on April 4 and has extended the ban several times. The latest extension is until June 30.

The government says it is worried about importing new Covid-19 cases as the rate of infections is still pretty high in many countries, while here it has dropped to single digit increases for more than a week.

Authorities are letting Thai nationals stranded abroad return home in limited numbers, based on the capacity of state quarantine facilities and hospitals.

Recently, the government decided to have hotels and hospitals work together on quarantine facilities that can accommodate people who want to be comfortable and are willing to pay for it. This model may also apply to foreign tourists.

[Ginjaninja]

^
I'm one of them. Finished up my project in Borneo and can't get back to Thailand. Having to fly back to the U.K.

[HHTel]

Another zero new cases or fatalities over the last 24 hours.

All good!

[migrant]

I seem to remember a few days ago that the BKK Post reported a plane flight back where 90% of the passengers had fevers and were immediately quarantined. At the time I thought "here goes a spike in new cases" but nothing.

Maybe it's the grey hairs, ah well.

[caller]

I seem to remember a few days ago that the BKK Post reported a plane flight back where 90% of the passengers had fevers and were immediately quarantined. At the time I thought "here goes a spike in new cases" but nothing.

Maybe it's the grey hairs, ah well.

It was nine and it was Thai's returning from the UK - covered elsewhere. They won't be counted unless tested and hospitalised.

[PeteC]

Worldwide Update

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/19234 ... ide-update

They forgot Brazil which is now #2, overtaking Russia

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/ ... 35764.html

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavir ... ry/brazil/

[buksida]

Opinion: There is no new normal, there are old problems that need fixing now
As Thailand continues to report COVID-19 cases in the single digits, relax its regulations, and see its population returning to malls and restaurants, it seems that soon, this pandemic will come to an end. We can then start to return to our “normal” lives and leave COVID-19 for the history books.

However, as we start to approach normalcy, we should not forget the lessons that this global pandemic has taught us.

As COVID ravaged the kingdom, it has revealed the pervasive disparities within our society, especially socioeconomic inequality.

During the pandemic, we saw the rich retreat to their seaside beach houses in Hua Hin or their high-rise apartments in Sukhumvit. From there, they were able to comfortably self-isolate, with their income flowing in steadily; their jobs not at risk. Even when they broke quarantine, by throwing parties in Hua Hin, for example, they could do so without any real consequences. Because of their wealth and power, they knew that they would be able to pay for the best doctors from private hospitals from our unequal healthcare system.

This stands in stark contrast with people from the lower socioeconomic classes. A lot of these individuals are day workers, who subsequently lost their jobs during self-isolation. Since many are from the rural provinces and do not live in Bangkok, they were losing money through rent and other daily expenses while trying to follow the government’s mandate to stay at home. In this group, we actually saw suicide rates rise out of desperation and worsening mental health.

As this was happening, the government spent their efforts on issuing the อยู่บ้านเพื่อชาติ (translation: Stay home for your country) campaign. While this campaign to promote social distancing is an important public health measure to deter the spread of COVID, it was completely tone-deaf to the struggles that lower class Thais faced. There were no measures issued by the government to support those who cannot comfortably self-quarantine at home. There was no additional support for physical or mental health issues that could have arisen during the crisis. The government did not acknowledge or address food insecurity during the crisis. Monetary support did not start until later in the pandemic, and even then, it did not reach those who needed it most. There were various news reports of elderly people whose money ran out because they could not use the ATM machines, as well as reports of homeless people who were not able to access these aid funds because they did not have a bank account.

https://www.thaienquirer.com/13472/opin ... ixing-now/

[Big Boy]

Still no bars?

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[HHTel]

As an aside, I've never seen reports of cases arising from bars and the like. Boxing stadiums, private parties, Taxis, public transport, sports arenas etc and of course from quarantine. Have I missed all the reports of the spread of covid in bars?

[nil]

It’s quite clear the government doesn’t like alcohol sales and are quite happy for bars to go out of business.