Dots, stripes, footsteps and temperatures everywhere
According to the Thai government, the number of local infections of Covid-19 in Thailand has been reduced to zero for a month and a half. Only some infected Thai from mainly Muslim countries now contribute to the Corona bag upon return.
I can only judge Hua Hin and its surroundings, but the unsuspecting visitor might think that the contamination is lurking everywhere. Floors of shops, restaurants, schools, banks and official institutions are amply covered with multi-coloured dots, stripes and footprints. Employees sit behind a plastic screen with a hatch to pass on the goods.
That's nice, you would think. Yes, but with the note that it will rust the average Thai. First come, first served/eat and that is more important than keeping your distance. If you keep too much distance (also in traffic), there is a good chance that someone will fill the gap.
Incidentally, the imposed control is by no means watertight. The devices to measure the temperature of visitors do not always work correctly. For example, myself, girlfriend Ray and daughter Lizzy all had 35,2 and that seems strange. There is also no check whatsoever on the data that visitors must leave behind upon entry. Scooter riders are only checked for temperature, not their identity.
The face masks are also going in the wrong direction, now that fewer and fewer Thai and foreigners wear such a patch. It is also difficult to talk and eat with such a thing in front. The rule that only one person is allowed per table in a food court regularly leads to strange scenes. Where should my wife and my daughter sit? Incidentally, there is no monitoring of violations.
A good friend visited a Dutch prisoner in Bangkok. His temperature was checked five times between the gate and the prisoner and five more times on leaving the prison.
A little too much of a good thing? The women's prison did it differently: on entry and exit only zero times in total. Are women less at risk or does no one care if they get sick?
We left earlier than planned for the Netherlands in March. Downstairs in changmai at the airport fever measured both green. 5 minutes later at immigration with my husband red. I say that is not possible just below both green. Shot in the tress I thought no hey soon he will not be allowed to come along. Another guy fiddled with the battery a bit and yes, 4 times green. But for the same money they did nothing and we were not allowed to come along. I only felt comfortable when the plane took off to Amsterdam. well come. Certainly unreliable thermometers.
If we have indeed had no new domestic infections in Thailand for almost 40 days and everyone entering the country is quarantined, then there is nothing left to spread, right? How can we still infect each other? Or am I missing something?
Yes, you are overlooking something. The outer borders are not watertight. Hence the enemy lurks before the regime. The illegal workers enter unseen and can thus spread unwanted viruses. They pick up a lot, but not all. Hence the still present fear of contamination.
Yes Cornelis, you are overlooking something, namely the invisible virus.
From the official figures you can only conclude that the virus is no longer there. Or are those numbers wrong?
Don't forget about job creation. Measuring the temperature once at the entrance should be sufficient. By the way: I think this is much better than the European NOTHING. If someone is developing corona symptoms, there is a good chance that this will be accompanied by a fever. In this way, corona cases are filtered out at an earlier stage. Then put on a face mask to be less of a source of infection and to reduce your own risk of infection, and… in Europe, corona could already have been a frightened dream in the past.
But yes… Everyone here knows it infinitely better than the entire medical world put together.
Yes, nice, but NO ONE has yet been discovered with the virus in this way. All the temperature testing, checking in and out and leaving your name everywhere is total nonsense. I participate in the dances because it is expected, but we put on a show for a risk that is no longer there.
And that while 60 people still die in traffic every day, if they would pay the same attention to it, we would finally really save people.
Yes, China also knew it well: in Beijng it was only found out that many cases could not be detected with extensive (!) temperature measurements and a new group of infections emerged. I would say: follow the news then you will find out enough and you know that temperature measurements are only one thing. Do the doctors also follow the news or do you think they consult a magic book?
Yes @Cornelis, I think so too. It is as if people think that the virus is lurking somewhere and will jump on us at a time when “it” seems nice. But there may be (younger?) people who have it without knowing it? But then the elderly should in principle also receive it, and percentage wise they become much more ill, so they go to hospital, so they become registered sick again, etc.? The logic is missing. But not with keeping your distance, as @Hans mentions, I find the comparison with traffic very amusing: because indeed, if you keep your distance, as you should and is much safer, others will indeed fill the gap! And I no longer stop for pedestrians who want to cross, because there is too much of a chance that a moped (Panda, Grab...) will run them over...
We have a company here that employs approximately 135 men and women. none of them have been infected and, as far as we have been able to determine, there have been no infections or COVID-19 deaths within their circle of family and friends.
People who have lived and worked here for a while will know that Thais are gossipers and can panic quite easily when hearing bad news. This is largely reflected in social media...
there is also little to be found in social media about COVID-19 victims (I mean from personal posts, not what is spread through PR Thai Government, newspapers and forums).
I think the situation is actually quite well under control. The measures sometimes look a bit strange to our Western eyes, but I would rather be here than in any country in Europe.
and as for the near future, I'll wait and see. I do not participate in all the speculation about when flying will be allowed again, or whether there will be travel bubbles or not.
we will notice the day something is officially announced….
Stay Safe | Stay Healthy
Anyone who thinks a bit can count on their fingers at the current contamination figures that the Thai government itself has no confidence in these figures.
If you have no or hardly any covid19 tests carried out, you are of course also in a hurry or no infected persons.
It goes without saying that the Thai government also suspects much more contamination among its own population, and many other countries where tests are being carried out, so that the figures are a lot clearer here.
Why would a government still stick to these measures, visibly ruining the country and large groups of the population, if these infections have been at 0 for quite some time?
In Patong and Bang Tao both Phuket they do have a few thousand
tests conducted in high-risk groups. However, the number of infected persons was less than 1% and
therefore random testing was not a solution. They did, however, check with infected people
who they interacted with at home and at work. Those people were also all checked
and that was effective in detecting Corona infections.
Dr TAK
Things are going much smoother now. In the MRT and BTS, all seats are already available again and the distance stripes have been removed. Still a temperature check when entering, but that is already possible with an IR? camera in most places.
All seats are also available again at the Chao Phraya express boat, occasionally the temperature is measured at the ticket sales (on the quay).
At the BigC, QR and temperature were checked, but occasionally only temperature.
The different Amazon coffee also have different policies. With one you get a paper cup and with the other you just get the stone cup served with a glass of water. You can also just sit at a table with 2 while the other person is still allowed 1 person per table.
(paper cups can also be laziness, they do not have to be washed)
You can also see on the markets that there is almost no monitoring anymore.
All in all, the end will be for you that there will be an easing of these matters again.
We have a bad feeling in terms of the arrival of tourists, which may take until the end of this year before that changes again.