Covid-19

[Thaiwolf]

I certainly hope that you are right Roger but a couple of things trouble me. Blaming Burmese immigrants seems awfully convenient and as for illegal gambling dens causing the spread, what nonsense is this.
The government blaming nasty foreigners and gambling gangsters is a clever ploy that a gullable thai public will lap up with glee - but ask yourself why are the government so worried?

It smacks of cover up to me similar to the Koh Tao murders - as I stated in my last post, things don't quite stack up to me.

[Roger]

Hi TW but it IS the Myanmar immigrants predominantly - in Samut Sakhon sea food market. The evidence is there to see. And it HAS spread through the gambling dens - there's evidence of that even in Siriporn where I live - there's some cases round the corner where 'casino' life goes on.

In 1st wave, don't you remember a large no. of cases coming from a Boxing match in BKK. The Authorities can't lie about where the cases are because they need to trace contacts.

The Govt are worried because, unattended, CV-19 spreads like wildfire !

[Roger]

Figures reported in 'The Nation' - hard to tie together https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30400663?utm_source=bottom_relate&utm_medium=internal_referral

Update on CV-19 - figures from close of play Sunday    745 new cases . . . including 16 in quarantine. Samut Sakhon (505), followed by Rayong (25), Chonburi (22), Chanthaburi (22), two in Trat and one in Chainat. 577 were migrant workers, found positive in proactive testing.

One person died - total now 65.

CCSA update today - thanks to Thaiga . . . English from 28.48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHKyv2hkp6c

[rdrokit]

Just announced. People traveling from a red zone to Korat will have to enter 14 day quarantine.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2045299/korat-quarantining-travellers-from-red-zones

[Roger]

Sticking my neck out on 'Come on in Covid' again 

In the DT this morning - ""Airlines flying into the UK will be required to bar passengers from boarding if they do not have a negative Covid test within 72 hours of departure. Every traveller coming into any UK port or airport will be expected to have a negative PCR test in order to enter the UK as part of a significant toughening of border controls. It will cover all countries, including those with travel corridors under which peoples are currently exempted from quarantine on arrival in the UK."" A step in the right direction at last?

I confess to a 'bee in my bonnet' on this topic all along. I remember at the height of Wave 1, the ruling wisdom was that the levels of infection in the UK were so high that additional infections coming through the airports were insignificant - always a bizarre line of thought IMHO.

On top of a largely 'open borders' policy, I wonder how much summer holidays hastily taken to Spain, Italy and similar at the waning of Wave 1, has now contributed to a hard to control Wave 2. Reports throughout of very low adherence to 'voluntary quarantine' or 'self ISO' are relevant.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/05/exclusive-passengers-banned-boarding-flights-uk-without-negative/

[Roger]

Today's tally for Wednesday was 305.

'The Nation' every day gives a little analysis of the whence and where.

Wednesday :

135 cases contracted from 'known high risk sources' - they list it by Province but it's not clear if the Provinces they list are where infection occurred or where the Patients live ? Any ideas ?

109 cases from testing program at Samut Sakhon

58 cases with source of infection currently not identified - Chantaburi a further 7 (130 now) but no mention of Korat 

3 in quarantines and that adds up to 305 

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30400855?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=internal_referral

[Coolkorat]

I was quite smug about Covid; the island effectively closed the borders at the start with only key workers and patients allowed to travel. They then relaxed this to allow residents to return, and then students at Christmas. Everyone was required to isolate for 14 days and a number of people were jailed for breaching this (notably a group of welders, and the infamous 'jetski romeo').

Fast forward to Monday. It was discovered that a key worker, returned to the island and having done the prescribed 14 days, fell in and tested positive. So the virus had lasted more than the 14 days in their system. In the period after their quarantine (Christmas and New Year) they had visited many places, including very busy bars and restaurants. At this point, no-one is sure if they have the new strain.

So the government was forced to act fast. As of today we are in full lockdown again, all non-essential shops closed and masks required in public. Initially for three weeks, and hopefully this 'firebreak' stops it. The border has been closed again.

Smugness duly quashed....

[Roger]

Get a load of this   

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2021/01/07/man-shot-dead-at-funeral-for-refusing-to-wear-a-mask/

[Coolkorat]

Get a load of this   

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2021/01/07/man-shot-dead-at-funeral-for-refusing-to-wear-a-mask/

The world is going mad. Who goes armed to a funeral?! (who goes out armed at any time! It's Thailand, not Afghanistan!).

[Roger]

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30400933?

"Nationwide Covid-19 vaccination will begin in February and target the five  provinces now under lockdown, the government announced on Friday. The Department of Disease Control (DDC) said residents of Samut Sakhon, Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat would be inoculated from February to April" . . . . "Thailand has so far secured 63 million doses from AstraZeneca and Sinovac Biotech".

Will vaccines be made available to 'Falang' ? Given the choice I'd go for the Oxford/AZ vaccine as I wouldn't be sure of the Chinese version, 'Sinovac' (but there'll be the chance to learn more about it before the occasion arises).

The A-Z vaccine is to be manufactured in Thailand so I'm guessing that the 'Sinovac' will be the first available.

Vaccination in Thailand - might pose a difficult question - the level of infection in Thailand is tiny compared to the UK. Would you go for a vaccine when you get the chance . . . . . ?

[rdrokit]

Weirdest thing happened yesterday. The dogs started barking so I went outside to see what they were barking at. The next thing I saw was something out of a science fiction movies as as group of people walked by in white hazmat suits carrying long brooms. They then came back down the street just as a fire truck came down the block putting out some kind of chemical liquid. The guys in the hazmat suits started brushing the chemicals on the street. Then the came by with a water truck and washed down the street and finally came by with another truck that covered the street with a water/bleach solution. I think this was because a couple one street over came down with Covid. Now I never knew Covid infected the street. The picture in this article is the street I live on.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2047811/health-ministry-gets-additional-b4-66bn-budget-for-covid-19-fight

[Roger]

That's weird RDRO. I've seen spraying clouds of chemicals down drains etc. for mosquitoes and under houses and that's good.

CV-19 is an airborne virus which can transmit via surfaces. As for scrubbing the roads, full marks for trying but surely that's pointless ? 

Better to scrub the people LOL

[Thaiwolf]

Hi vis publicity. Makes people think something is being done to contain the virus. Absolute waste of time and resources.

[Roger]

Yesterday was a year to the day of the first Covid-19 case in Thailand    As for vaccines - in Thailand it seems availability is many months away as yet . . . .

Just seen this in 'Coconuts' . . . . . . "a small, first batch of 200,000 doses is expected from China’s Sinovac Biotech in February. Its vaccine, CoronaVac, has not completed its Phase III trials" and . . . "The majority will have to wait until May when 26 million AstraZeneca/Oxford doses become available, which will cover 13 million people".

The main script - "One year ago today, the first case of a mysterious ailment first found in China was found outside its borders – in Thailand. Though it wasn’t announced until six days later and had no name beyond being called the Wuhan pneumonia for its emergence in the city of that name, it was the virus’ first step in plunging the world into a year of chaos and heartbreak. Three-hundred-sixty-five days later, a second-wave of infections is burning through Thailand, which is expected today to cross the threshold of 10,000 infections. With restrictions on travel and life coming down hard again, many in the capital wonder when they might obtain one of the many vaccines coming on the market. And for Thailand’s foreign residents, that oft-asked question usually comes with a skeptical assessment.

Coconuts Bangkok reached out to those who might know the answer and found out that, while health officials insist plans are not yet set in stone for the vaccine’s free rollout, citizens will likely be first priority.  Disease Control Department representative, who refused to identify himself for fear of upsetting his higher-ups, told Coconuts Bangkok that some of the free doses may become available to some foreigners. “Foreigners who work and pay taxes in Thailand might get it, but I’m pretty sure they will have to wait behind Thai nationals, unless they have changed their nationality,” he said in a phone interview."

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/happy-covid-versary-thailands-expats-at-back-of-line-for-covid-19-vaccine/

[jungle]

Thanks for that Roger

[Roger]

This Friend, a Nurse on CV-19 wards, reports from the UK yesterday . . .

"Guys, vaccination can't come quick enough. In many regions Hospitals can no longer provide mutual support to one another and each day the situation is getting worse with more frightening options being discussed. For the next 3 months simply don't risk your life by going out if not needed. Bulk shop food etc and wipe down with disinfectant anything purchased. Then wipe down the car interior . For the next few months your life is literally in your own hands by the decisions and actions you take .....or choose not to. ...but the safety net of the NHS is fast disintegrating."

I pity the NHS Staff who have these horrendous duties to perform in awful circumstances - they have real courage and fortitude. Thankfully Thailand's 2nd wave is miniscule compared to the numbers in the UK and many other Nations, (in parts of London, 1 person in 30 is now infected). So 'how lucky we are' on that front - moreso because, vaccines here, are some way off !

[Roger]

"As placebo-controlled testing falls out of favour, vaccine developers eye blood markers and challenge trials to assess next-generation candidates" - here it's said that "230 2nd Gen vaccines (are) in development and about 60 being tested in humans".

The first paras - "Global health researchers breathed a collective sigh of relief last month after nations across Europe, North America and elsewhere issued emergency approvals of the first COVID-19 vaccines. But as the shots are rolled out, clinicians are scrambling to work out how to evaluate dozens of other, earlier-stage vaccine candidates. These could be less expensive, have fewer side effects or be easier to administer than those now in use — and they would bolster the world’s supply of COVID-19 immunizations, ensuring more rapid distribution to all countries.

The trouble is that finding would-be participants for placebo-controlled clinical trials has become more of a challenge. In these trials, half the volunteers receive a dummy shot and half the real thing, but neither participants nor researchers know who received which one until after the trial. People are less likely to chance receiving a placebo when they could get one of the various vaccines now authorized, two of which prevent COVID-19 with about 95% efficacy. As it is, many people taking part in placebo-controlled trials have already asked to drop out to ensure that they get immunized."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00015-0?

[Roger]

On Jan 3rd, 745 cases were reported and on Jan 4th, 527 - at that time it would have been fair to wonder if we'd soon see 1,000+ cases daily. However, the 7 day moving average is now 267      (E&OE)

Without putting my rose-tints on, is it possible that this latest surge of infections has been stemmed in Thailand, for now anyway ?   

The daily info. on track, trace and test is helpful -  when numbers are low, 'TTT'can be achieved and seems to really help control of the outbreaks.
 

[Hector]

"A coronavirus vaccine developed by China's Sinovac has been found to be 50.4% effective in Brazilian clinical trials, according to the latest results released by researchers."  (BP Just now.)  I suppose this is the one Thailand will get!
Sorry, BBC Just now!

[Roger]

Ha ha Hector     You could be right - I've just seen a box of Sinovac being unwrapped on Thai TV too.

50% eh ? That's low for vaccines - even the 'flu vaccine is higher than that