Reader question: Has Thailand received other Corona information from China, and is that why the figures are so bad?
Dear readers,
I'm just a simple person and try to keep up with developments around Covid19 as best as possible. All this because of my age and the idea of wanting to settle in Thailand one day. If that's still possible, please.
My thoughts are as follows: China is a large country with an area of 9.600 square km1.400 and a population of 34 million people, spread over 10.200 different provinces and regions. Europe has an area of 744 km². There are 44 million people living in 60 countries. How is it possible that only one province (Hubei, 1.300 million inhabitants) has had to deal with Corona infections, and all those other regions have hardly or not at all, at least so minimally that it turned out not to be worth mentioning? We are talking about more than XNUMX million people. Hubei and especially the capital Wuhan were closed, but I am not aware of a total lockdown of the rest of China. Larger cities were partially closed, such as Beijing and Shanghai, but that was it.
If you compare Hubei to the Netherlands, then Hubei comes out very comfortable, namely the same number of deaths. Thailand's numbers are completely off the charts. The Netherlands has reacted very strongly to the news that the virus arrived, while Thailand has dealt with the infection much more relaxed. Many people have died in the Netherlands, while the damage to people and society in Thailand has so far remained limited. Has Thailand received other information from China? Is Thailand's more relaxed response understandable for that reason?
No hospital in Thailand has gone on a rampage to get intensive care units up to strength? Private hospitals even refuse to admit Corona patients. And guess what: neither the private nor the government hospitals are full of Corona, nor that explosive use should be made of IC beds. There is some rumor about mouth masks that were supposed to generate extra income through street sales, but nowhere do I hear or read anything about shortages of protective clothing, about the search for vaccines, nor about the use of extra medication in the treatment of patients in connection with aggravation of existing underlying ailments and their aggravation due to the acquired Corona infection. And no reports of backlogs of stagnant treatment for people with cancer, heart disease and the like.
Thailand entered a partial lockdown two weeks ago, and in the meantime the Prayut government is also considering an exit strategy.
Did Thailand receive other information from China about the impact of Corona, because that impact on China was limited to a small area with an even smaller population given the size of the surface and total population of China?
Greetings,
Lieke
Hello,
I live in Thailand and have been traveling regularly over the past few months. In my opinion, Thailand has not dealt with the virus more relaxed, but has started earlier. From the end of January there were already temperature scans at the airport and various other places. Subsequently, travel restrictions were introduced at the beginning of March, airports were closed and restrictions were introduced for interprovincial travel. Antecedents research has been done in infected people to trace and isolate other possible infections. The only thing Thailand could have done better in my opinion was closing the border to Chinese earlier.
Compare it with the Netherlands, where there are still no checks at airports, where no temperature scans are done, where no face masks are worn and where no background checks are carried out. Combine that with unconvincing guidelines from the RIVM, the government taking action too late and the media hysteria that apparently is in great demand among a part of the population in whose opinion the measures cannot be strict enough, and you have the difference to grab.
Dear Wim, that's what I mean. How is it possible that Thailand has responded so quickly and accurately to the first corona reports? As you say, started measuring temperature at airports in January last year? Thailand is of course close to China, and may have had more arrivals from Chinese tourists, but the Netherlands was still indifferent at the beginning of March, while the United Kingdom even denied this at the beginning of this month. Did the Thai RIVM have different/better information/warnings? Do you find it strange that European countries do not act adequately while a country like Thailand does better. The exodus from Bangkok to the countryside has had virtually no consequences, and Songkran's ban on travel back and forth is a very wise decision. So hats off to Thailand.
Fast and adequate?? You cannot intercept sick people with just a temperature measurement. You can be infected for almost 2 weeks and walk around without seeing any symptoms. Thailand allowed Chinese to enter for another 2 months who could very well be ill but did not yet visibly have flu/corona. A major risk, the Thai authorities have received a lot of criticism for this. My opinion is justified.
How timely were the authorities really? In Thailand, the first corona patient was diagnosed on January 13. The government allowed Chinese people without restrictions, even from the Wuhan area. Temperature measurement at the airport is considered sufficient. It was not until around March 20 that people were called to keep their distance (social distancing) and to voluntarily stay at home as much as possible. The state of emergency came into effect on March 24. Since then, no real measures have been taken. That is 2,5 months after the first Corona detection in the country.
Short comparison with the Netherlands: first sick person on February 27, The government introduced several hygiene measures on March 9. From March 11, the government called on people to stay at home, avoid social contacts, etc. From March 15, explicitly keep a distance of 1,5 meters. That is 2 weeks since the first detection.
Social distancing, keeping a distance, etc. has been proven to help. Thailand was not quick with that call, although the number of diagnosed patients was still limited. But then comes the chicken and the egg question. Was the number of confirmed infections still low due to the low number of tests, or was the number of tests low due to the low number of patients?
In any case, that Thailand took measures 'in a timely manner' is an opinion with which I do not agree. I see more late reactions and then sudden ad hoc actions (for example closing the borders immediately). The disadvantage of this is that both citizens and authorities did not have the time to adapt, confusion, etc. (see what happened at the airport when people suddenly had to go into quarantine). In Europe, there was about a day or two between the announcement and the implementation of such drastic measures (border closed). This means more time to prepare, but also a chance that someone will slip through unseen. What is better? Can also have an opinion about it.
And as Chris wrote below, the face masks (don't protect you, do protect a bit if you stand close to someone else and splash them under, but you better just keep your distance from others) you didn't see much until March. I wouldn't call two months of little or no action fast and adequate, but everyone has their own opinion.
I think we have to look elsewhere for the explanation
https://www.thailandblog.nl/nieuws-uit-thailand/coronacrisis-thailand-15-april-30-nieuwe-besmettingen-en-2-personen-overleden/#comment-587776
Rob, you know I'm not in favor of this administration. Nevertheless, they now have the situation pretty well under control. Unfortunately, that is now happening with enormous economic damage.
I see wearing mouth and nose protection (now really 99% in Bangkok) as an important part of the low grades. The protection is not for yourself, but ensures that the droplets are strongly inhibited when sneezing or coughing.
Another big difference is the number of “super spreader events” in Europe. These are the sporting event, the carnival, church services, and all others where many people gather, sing or shout without a mask, in poorly ventilated areas. In Thailand there was only 1 such event (box stage) from which most infections occurred.
Many people do not believe Thailand's numbers. I do. There will probably be many more infections than the current small 3000, but the number of deaths cannot be hidden. In February, government coverage was very poor. Each ministry had its own opinion and politics played too big a role. Now that is clearly much better. Now the coverage is exclusively by physician specialists and the ministers have been temporarily sidelined. This is a common medical enemy that can only be fought by medical specialists, and not like in eg the US where political gains lead to many sick & dead.
In a crisis like this I am now happy to live here.
The enormous economic damage caused to many people by the current measures is another discussion.
I still believe that the figures in Thailand are a lot lower than in the Netherlands, although of course I prefer to wait for counts from experts in the field of corona victims. Whether or not also set against the total number of deaths (so that one can see whether there is anything strange there and can compare the corona figures). The Thai government is now acting properly (including the Netherlands), but that was certainly not the case from the very beginning. I also have criticism: introducing ad hoc measures without a 24-48 hour period so that citizens and civil servants can prepare for them has, among other things, sought chaos on Suvarnaphum. That could be better. How to deal with the economic consequences is indeed another discussion.
But where should we look for a difference in victims? Not because they worked so well from day 1 and would therefore have an advantage (something I would say for Taiwan). The geographical location (temperature, climate, humidity)? Who knows, it may play a role. Although we know from flu research from Australia that the total number of sick people does not differ much between the warm and milder parts. Things aren't great everywhere in Indonesia... is it because of how many people come together in a room and light each other's dab? Maybe that also affects me, so that countries where people spend more time outdoors have an advantage.
I just can't say it. I know that I will not trumpet the praise of the Thai government. I won't drive them into the ground either, despite the stitches that were dropped. There were no scripts ready, so you can expect mistakes and blunders. It is easy to judge in hindsight. I'll wait and see what the experts have to say, guessing as a layman is fun but I don't have the answer. Soon there will be enough time to analyze what went right and wrong. I'm happy here in the Netherlands, I think it would have saved me in Thailand too.
Nb: well the US, that helmsman goes in all directions… not exactly the greatest country on earth. I also reject the Swedish strategy:
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/19/anger-in-sweden-as-elderly-pay-price-for-coronavirus-strategy
- https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/swedens-massive-public-health-gamble-is-failing
I personally do not believe a word of official figures from the Thai government. There are still no figures on how many people have actually been tested, and we can wait a long time for a comparison between the expected death toll and the real death toll.
I had a student who showed obvious symptoms of Covid-19 in class in early March: fever, cough and sore throat. The doctor at the hospital in Bangkok gave her some medicine to get sick at home. Asked for a corona test: not available and very expensive according to the doctor and you have to pay for it yourself. The number of confirmed infections hardly increased during that period.
In short: not tested. Ignorance is bliss. And I can't imagine she was the only one in Bangkok.
Yes that is certainly true what you say , we were in Thailand Dec Jan Feb March and had a booking for Vietnam Feb 4 and received an email from the hotel in Vietnam in Jan that if we were Chinese we would not be allowed in if we were in Schools in Vietnam were already closed compared to Thailand, they caught up very quickly, back in Thailand nothing had been done yet there were still flights from China
Lieke, I don't know if Thailand has been fast and accurate. In my opinion, they were too late to fend off the hordes of Chinese. Aside from that, the approach has worked well here. It may well be that an infection has been missed in the statistics here and there, but it is certainly not the case that the hospitals here are overflowing with uncounted corona cases.
If I compare the situation here with the Netherlands, the approach in NL seems clumsy. The RIVM indicated for quite some time that there was no danger. I understand that the situation was unclear at the beginning, but then I say: when in doubt, don't overtake. So people should have said 'we don't know, it could be better or worse, it would be wise to keep your distance, wear face masks and wash your hands thoroughly'.
Also in NL far too late travel restrictions for Chinese, Italians, etc. No face masks.
I know many people in NL think that temperature checks and face masks are nonsense. I am also convinced that it is not 100% effective. But that is also absolutely necessary. Even if it were only 50%, it still breaks the chain of transmission, exactly the same thing that keeping your distance does.
Bottomline: I think Thailand has handled it reasonably, but the approach in NL has been, and still is, clumsy. That's why Thailand suddenly seems so good.
Other information? No, I do not think so. What is the big difference in Thailand with the Netherlands is the early wearing of face masks, which means that the spread is considerably less. Furthermore, there were considerably fewer so-called "super spreader events" in Thailand, such as sports in closed stadiums, carnival, church services, where there is a lot of shouting and singing in poorly ventilated areas.
Still strange when you consider that the effect of face masks is controversial, and that food courts in Thailand are crowded several times a day with people sitting close together eating. Also stand close together waiting for their order, walk right next to each other towards the table. Street food is also popular, public transport is also often crowded with people, the effect of the mass exodus from Bangkok was limited, crowds of people have been packed together in recent days waiting at support application counters and food distribution points, all of this is possible if places with risk of super-spreading. The only reason I can think of is that Thailand has been "affected" by a milder variant of Corona and the degree of contamination has remained very limited. That fits in with the picture of the entire region together with Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam. All those countries have been slightly/moderately affected by contamination. Let's just say that Thailand has looked / listened carefully to China. Smart!
Is not only Thailand, but many countries in Asia, a low curve and much fewer infections than Europe and the USA.
Where we live in isaan I don't know anyone with an infection
When I now see the 45000 deaths in the US you may wonder why the virus exploded.
Trump blames China and later Europe,
They are the best in the world, political boast!
There are now warnings of a second outbreak by winter, then we can turn things around and blame the US as they open hairdressers, massage parlors, pedicure shops, etc. how can they maintain social distancing?
It is true, as in many other countries that Thailand is looking for a vaccine,
However, a vaccination for corona is still many months away
Greetings
Moderator: Please just respond to the reader's question.
Dear Like,
There are indeed strange things going on when you look at the differences per country. One of the most important is that not every country tests in the same way (and even with changes in the test regime over time), does not register (infections, deaths) in the same way, so that any comparison between countries is nonsensical and leads to wrong conclusions. leads. In other words: you can interpret the data in such a way that you are always right. (as happens with the mouth masks)
In each country, the number of infections is very likely higher than the official figures simply because a number of people are infected but are not really affected by it.
The explanations for development WITHIN one and the same country fall into three types:
– characteristics of (the spread of) the virus. (e.g. what happens in tropical regions, higher humidity?)
– characteristics of the local population (old age, diseases, immunity, behavior such as visiting churches, houses without air conditioning and without windows, etc.)
– characteristics of the medical sector and the measures taken (number of IC beds, lock downs, curfews, face masks).
The story about the effectiveness of mouth masks in Thailand and about measuring temperature at the airport is nonsense in my opinion. The first infection in Thailand was on January 13 and then a few more followed until an outbreak in mid-March (Thai returning from abroad and a boxing match in Bangkok). I use public transport in Bangkok every day and until mid-March (the virus had been around for 2 months, but no real outbreak) I have not seen 10% of Thais wearing caps. That went to 50% from March. That this slowed down the spread of the virus is real nonsense because hardly anyone wore them. People started drgan the caps more when the outbreak was a fact!!!.
An increase is not yet a sign that you have Corona and the temperature measurement was not systematically carried out at the airport, but only on aircraft that came from China. As if no Chinese can enter the country by land and through another destination such as Singapore.
“I think the story about the effectiveness of face masks in Thailand and about measuring temperature at the airport is nonsense.”
A remarkable statement now that even the WHO has admitted that wearing face masks does indeed reduce the spread of the virus and wearing it has now become mandatory in many countries, including almost all of Germany. Listen less to DT.
If you're going to make a correction, do it right. (99 percent of the mouth caps used in Thailand do not offer any protection against Covid because they do not close properly around the mouth and nose. This is also what the WHO and our own RIVM set. A mouth cap that does not meet the strict requirements of virus protection even give an increased chance of contamination because people then tend to ignore all those other measures (1,5 meters) distance because you still wear a face mask.
In addition, most Thai wear the face mask mainly against the smog (air pollution) in large cities. However, a virus is many times smaller and can therefore easily pass through these standard face masks.
Finally, the places where the virus enters the body are not only limited to the nose and mouth, but also the eyes, so everyone should also wear a face mask to be well protected against infection.
It is true that the face masks do not give you any protection. The face masks, and then they can just be homemade, ensure that you infect others less quickly when you sneeze or cough. You then cough or sneeze into your own face mask and the droplets with a possible virus do not go far.
1 more time then. From January 13 (the first measured Corona infection in Thailand) to mid-March, almost NO ONE wore a cap and the number of infections barely increased in TWO MONTHS. From March 13 (the outbreak) people started wearing more caps (but still not the entire population). You could even argue that the number of infections increases as more people wear masks, based on the numbers alone, combined with the time frame. But that is just as nonsense as saying that there are so few infections in Thailand because EVERYONE wears a cap from the start.
It doesn't change your reasoning, but at the surfaces of China resp. Europe you forgot 3 zeros.
I think it also has something to do with the climate.
You don't really have a winter here and flu hardly exists here.
We have had around 40 degrees here in Isaan for the last few weeks.
A little too warm for a flu virus , I think .
Only 3 dead in the last 1 days (they say),
but somehow I can believe this.
Here in the village there is no one and we don't know anyone either,
who got the virus.
But even here in the village they walk around with the masks.
And also in the big cities people had long before Corona
the masks used because of the dirty air.
Maybe that also helped to spread the virus less.
Here they are not so contemptible (except in traffic)
to hold Corona parties like in some (Netherlands) countries.
Anyway, I'm not worried.
Indonesia has about the same climate as Thailand and you really don't want to be there because of the large number of infections.
There are just under 8000 in an area roughly the size of Europe to somewhere beyond the Urals.
In Indonesia, like Thailand, there are several areas without a single infection. I would just stay away from Jakarta.
Dear Lieke,
In my opinion, Thailand has not received any other information, but there is cheating with the numbers of victims and sick people.
Just like in China, where the numbers of victims have also been tampered with, local journalists who have raised this have been fired or disappeared.
What Thailand and China share in this crisis is that citizens have little to say because the military or the communist party are in power.
Long story short disinformation
Marco, in which hospitals are the, according to you, uncounted patients? You can probably name a few hospitals that are packed.
a nice impression indicates the frequency of infections in relation to the climate.
https://www.maurice.nl/2020/03/27/de-invloed-van-luchtvochtigheid-op-de-verspreiding-van-het-covid-19-virus/
Perhaps no conclusion can be drawn, but it is striking. The reason why is as yet completely unexplained.
It seems that climate has a very important influence.
The virus multiplies and spreads much less under higher temperatures and
at high humidity (tropics!).
Influenza also comes to us in winter.
Furthermore, the amount of vit D in your body would be increased by the sun, which
would benefit the immune system.
It is not true that only Beijing, Shanghai and Hubei were on lockdown. What I know from my Chinese friends in China is that almost all of China was on lockdown, down to the smallest villages. My friend visiting family in a small village outside Chengdu in Sichuan Province but living in Dali in Yunnan Province received calls every day from government agencies and had all her movements and contacts monitored while she was stuck in her parents' village. That took 7 weeks.
Warmer climate, so less transmission of virus
I saw an interesting program on TV last week.
Experts showed that all size corona outbreaks are on the same bandwidth as Huwan.
With the same temperatures 5 to 15 degrees C and low humidity.
Something to think about.
Ed
Many explanations are possible.
The first that many Corona deaths have never been registered as Corona deaths, but registered as, for example, a lung infection.
The second is that the virus is not very resistant to the hot climate.
The third, that the Thai population and Asian population in general, has a somewhat different immune system than the European population.
The appearance of Asians differs from the Europeans - and the Negroids - so why should the immune system be identical?
Furthermore, the Coronavirus did not arise out of nowhere, but is a mutation of an already existing virus.
So it has many nieces and nephews, who also have other nieces and nephews that look like the Coronavirus, but are not identical.
Some of those cousins may be acquainted with the immune system of the Thai population and the immune system is therefore more resistant to the Coronavirus.
The average life expectancy in Thailand is still 10 years shorter than in the Netherlands. Doesn't say everything but it does say a lot about the differences in immune system.
Immune systems don't have to be better or worse, but can have different priorities.
One is more resistant to viruses and the other is more resistant to bacteria.
That is part of natural selection.
If all immune systems do the same, a single mutated disease can wipe out the entire population when that immune system can't handle that pathogen.
I do not think that the immune system has much to do with life expectancy, but that life expectancy has more to do with the limited medical care. (plus the large number of accidents)
If I had been born in Thailand, I would not have survived my childhood.
Now I'm still here.
And although there is an extensive care network, the quality of the care is not much.
The medical knowledge of many doctors is minimal.
In addition, for the ordinary (poor) Thai, many good modern medicines, which could make them better, are simply not available.
No, Chris, the life expectancy is as follows (figures 2018)
Netherlands male 80 -- female 83
Thailand male 73 —— female 81
So not a difference of 10 years, but of 7 (man) and 2 (woman).
Differences in life expectancy (from birth as in these figures) mainly have to do with socio-economic factors and hardly with the immune system. The rate of infant mortality plays the greatest role. Life expectancy, say from the age of 20, is even more similar.
What may also be the case is that people in Thailand do not want to be hospitalized if they are not insured. This seems to be the case in the US.
I think that Asians in general can be said to be more inclined to walk around with face masks. I think those caps hardly help against Covid 19 and also against exhaust fumes in the cities. It may be more a measure of how afraid one is of dying from a virus.
A proof of a cultural difference is that in Thailand they don't care much about the number of road deaths, which is very high compared to other countries. How your head is cracking with logic calculations when you see a pick-up truck tearing down the Sukhumvit with three adults and three children in the back. Half of those passengers are 'protected' with masks, but not with a helmet.
But, like all of you, I love coming to Thailand. As long as you don't get into trouble yourself, it's very nice, fascinating and versatile.
John, that's not the issue. The government pays for hospitalization due to Corona. Has been extensively published here. So there is no threshold.
Dearest Liege,
It is logical that [especially people in the risk group] are concerned about the course of and consequences of the
covid19 virus.
It drives me a bit crazy with all those famous people who suddenly understand it and give their opinions that often come from a crystal ball and so cause unnecessary panic.
Yesterday even Maurice de Hond who also knows about it, a danger to society.
Let's stick to the virologists and people who know about it and don't let all those empty opinions of so-called BN ' ers drive us crazy.
All good health and consider your fellow human beings,
Ralph (risk group)
It is a fact that the numbers in Thailand are deliberately kept low. I would like to simply compare a statistic of the deaths this year in March and April with the number of deaths in the same period in 2019. I think we will then get a completely different picture. I was in Thailand from January to the end of March and saw almost no measures during that period. A lockdown started in the last week of March, why the lockdown if the numbers are actually so low?
If so, can you cite the source? A fact must be proven or not?
I think there are several factors:
a) According to a study by Maurice de Hond, a relationship between corona and air humidity (see with Google). That's why there are far fewer problems in SE Asia?
b) Value of mouth masks: https://twitter.com/i/status/1251336835105726466 difference non and with mask
see 2008 physician-epidemiologist Marianne van der Sande, [email protected], https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18612429, Professional and home-made face masks reduce exposure to respiratory infections among the general …
https://www.humo.be/nieuws/zelfs-een-theedoek-voor-je-mond-kan-echt-al-helpen~b9d9f871/
In 2008, doctor-epidemiologist from the RIVM, Marianne van der Sande, showed that ... washing a face mask such as a tea towel around the mouth at sixty degrees already helps ...
No, will not provide 100% protection, but that 1 1/2 mtr distance does not. With 25% less risk of infection, I am already a very happy person. Just imagine: instead of 1 sick infected 3 sent, back to 1 sick infected 0,3 sent, Then think off another 1/4... Had covid-19 not been so dominant by a long shot.
c) In China + E + SE Asia people are much faster about wearing protective face masks. ditto to measure temperature. Will not give a 100% watertight guarantee, but.. if this solves half of the problems.. the epidemic explosion is much, much less. (European idiosyncrasy)
d) fear of buying something, which later turns out to be unnecessary:
Throughout the Netherlands, the Mascotte filter syndrome is once again rampant (know better, can do better, do better). Have you already forgotten about the swine flu from 11 years ago, where NL had bought a lot of vaccines? Turned out that flu "didn't go through". As usual, all Klompendancers knew that - afterwards - infinitely better and could not understand that the totally insane government had purchased so many vaccine ampoules.
https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/griepvaccin-blijft-misschien-ongebruikt~b36fae89/
26 July 2010 – Minister of Health Ab Klink (CDA) wrongly bought 34 million vaccines against swine flu last year.
e) We really screwed up by not blocking all traffic from China by mid-January, by taking quarantine in Italy as a joke (Slovenian TV team in and out, 22 Feb 19:30 on RTL news) in Austria, just as in JAWS, to consider the tourist money more important, to allow the Bergamo-Valencia match to go ahead with 40.000 spectators, not to stop that church service in Mulhouse (2000 p), not to ban Carnival and not to allow every ski holidaymaker 14 days in to quarantine. The time until mid-March was screwed up, Boris thought everything was a joke, and Trump still does.
Furthermore, many young people still see it as a joke (if you don't stay home for me, I might not be able to save your grandparents anymore). So the ITCH!
f) the quarantine in China has been REALLY HARDLY enforced. First of all, many already closed their street/neighborhood/village from the through roads, and that closure was enforced by force. In the end, the Chinese state enforced the quarantine around Wuhan with firearms. In Europe with some containers on the road (but NOTHING is closed at all between Dinxperlo (NL) and Suedewick (D), nice police officers and eventually a fine.
g) Many statistics are “processed” by measuring and reporting differently. Look at the Belgians with.. 107 dead in the zhsen, 170 in the nursing homes and 2 elsewhere. NL only reports the first group. Ditto to test or not to test. How in other countries..? ?
h) and as “ruud on April 22, 2020 at 12:00” already writes: Perhaps the population in South China and SE Asia already has a natural immunity. When the Plague swept through Europe, 1346-50, the deaths in the Roman countries were far greater than in the Germanic ones. And in Scandinavia… barely. It may also be that THAT is why the virus is much milder than, for example, among the Indians after the Spaniards along the Mississippi around 1525 (90+ % dead). This apart from dietary habits, lots of sun = vitamin D, and who knows what else.
UV radiation, high concentration, good approach at the borders and locomotives, transport shut down, banning gatherings and parties. Suspected infected people in 14 carantine also people who have traveled from province to province, It cannot be better, that is why it is also a militaristic police state when it comes down to it. But it remains nice here as long as you stick to the rules. Then you have quite the freedom to peel a little.
What I still don't understand is that around January 16, during the outbreak of the virus, China itself was not the first to close its own borders.
What I then saw on the news was masses of people crammed together like an anthill at many airports in China on their way to families etc. because of Chinese New Year.
Thailand also did not close its borders, thousands of Chinese came here to celebrate Chinese New Year.
It was Donald Trump who was the first to close the borders of the US to traffic coming from China and later other high-risk countries.
The fact that Thailand has had few fatalities and infections to date is more a matter of luck than of thoughtful and proactive leadership.
Jan Beute.
Reading through all the responses, I can only conclude that Thailand has been more or less protected from serious Corona contamination due to its geographical location. Thailand has this in common with its neighboring countries. Would the Tropic of Cancer indeed have formed some kind of barrier? https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreeftskeerkring
India, with a population of almost 1,3 billion, also has a negligible number of infections so far. Pakistan and Bangladesh are also not included in the Corona top50.
A second conclusion from the reactions may be that it cannot be said that Thailand's government acted slowly, late and/or laxly because no serious matters occurred. She responded because the media reported a current event, which had to be done in front of the people and fatherland.
And thirdly, that current problems facing the Thai population did not occur as a result of Corona, but are due to insufficient or no socio-economic action. But the latter is not only reserved for times of crisis. It is and remains normal.
I personally do not believe a word of official figures from the Thai government. There are still no figures on how many people have actually been tested, and we can wait a long time for a comparison between the expected death toll and the real death toll.
If you look at the Covid 19 World map, you will see in terms of healing: the Netherlands at 0.7%, Germany at 67%, Thailand at 83% and China at 94%.
You could therefore conclude from these figures that neighboring Germany also received information from China, while the Netherlands did not.
I think the NL government should take matters into its own hands.
Strangely enough, RIVM does not measure the number of patients who have been cured of Covid-19. So it remains guessing… and perpetuating fear….