Thailand Bans Travel From 8 African Countries

[Manforallseasons]

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2222603/thailand-bans-travel-from-8-african-countries


Starting on Dec 1, travel to Thailand from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, will be prohibited, Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Disease Control Department told a news conference.

[cdnmatt]

I don't know why countries all over the world are banning travel from that region. Once they've identified and sequenced the new variant, it's already too late and cat's out of the bag.

[Uranus]

I don't know why countries all over the world are banning travel from that region. Once they've identified and sequenced the new variant, it's already too late and cat's out of the bag.

It is about not letting too many cats out of the bags. Of the 600 passengers arriving at Schiphol from Cape Town and Joburg yesterday – 61 testet positive.

[cdnmatt]

It is about not letting too many cats out of the bags. Of the 600 passengers arriving at Schiphol from Cape Town and Joburg yesterday – 61 testet positive.

Exactly my point. Once they've identified and sequenced a new strain, it's already too late for containment measures.

Geez, between Covid and climate change, not exactly the greatest moment in history to be alive, is it? Now all we need is China to invade Taiwan, Russia to invade Ukraine, and maybe throw in a global financial collapse, and we'll be good to go.

[Uranus]

Once they've identified and sequenced a new strain, it's already too late for containment measures.

Nonsense.

[cdnmatt]

Nonsense.

Right, because containing the delta variant worked so well.

[Blueskytoday]

Right, because containing the delta variant worked so well.

And you got your degree in medicine where and when???

[Nirish guy]

Yep cases already just discovered in the UK this morning. Sounds like the stable door was bolted long after the horse had bolted (again ) :-(

[dinagam]

Nothing to worry about...
They are already tweaking the vaccines to counter the new and any other subsequent mutations.
There is so much money to be made.

[gerefan2]

Yep cases already just discovered in the UK this morning.:-(

Sh1t. Yes. And it’s only 8 miles from where I live.

If this was Thailand the bars would close this second..for at least 8 months.

Thank god it isn’t...

[gerefan2]

It is about not letting too many cats out of the bags. Of the 600 passengers arriving at Schiphol from Cape Town and Joburg yesterday – 61 testet positive.

Why no pre departure tests?

[cdnmatt]

Nothing to worry about...
They are already tweaking the vaccines to counter the new and any other subsequent mutations.
There is so much money to be made.

You make it sound as though Pfizer is intentionally causing the mutations, or something.

Viruses happen, it's part of hanging out on this blue and green globe we call Earth. I'm quite happy companies like Pfizer are around, because we could quite easily be at a technological stage where vaccines are an impossibility.

[StevieWonders]

11917

[arsenal]

Can't we get the delta variant, which we're on quite friendly terms now to fight this new one. A sort of virus turf war..

[Keith]

It seems they all had negative test certificates, which suggests a brisk trade in fake certificates!

[Nirish guy]

Amazingly it seems that same loop hole exists here in the UK, not even using fake certificates but genuine ones ! IF I understand it correctly you can get someone you know to be covid negative to take a PCR or latter flow test then post it off under your name and (assuming it's still a negative result) YOU get back the certificate IN YOUR NAME to say YOU are negative !? Personally I cant believe it's THAT easy to bugger the system and get yourself on a plane or into bars etc, but it seems, if I'm hearing things correctly here, it is absolutely that easy - which if so makes a mockery of the entire process of course.

[goji]

I did the job properly and got another PCR test for this trip. My passport was checked twice before they administered the swab.

However, just for research purposes, I found a website which converted last year's certificate from pdf to Word format without messing up the format at all. So it would have been ridiculously easy to edit the dates and save as a new pdf.

So, now there is a new variant, the Thai test on arrival system actually makes some sense. Particularly with a high risk of fake certificates from some countries.

[sglad]

So, now there is a new variant, the Thai test on arrival system actually makes some sense. Particularly with a high risk of fake certificates from some countries.

Apparently it depends on what test kit they use as some test kits may be unable to detect the Omicron variant as reported below:

https://www.nationthailand.com/life/40009384