As someone who flies from London to Asia at least twice a year for a number of years I can assure you that BA is definitely NOT our favourite airline. Don’t believe their adverts for one minute
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Well, if wearing a face mask doesn't appeal to you, how about the belt and braces approach taken by these passengers . . .
Attachment 9557
it's bubbleboy!
I personally think the Chinese should NOT be traveling to ANY other countries for vacations, at this time..stay home...make your travel plans far in the future after this
virus problem subsides...it is tooooo dangerous to be spreading this all over the world...Sorry,,but no need to take overseas trips RIGHT NOW>..
I am sure this advice will go over as well with the target audience as the advice to the homosexual community that they were all lepers and there was no need for them to have sex RIGHT NOW during the early days of a previous new exotic virus spreading world-wide
Curiouser and curiouser! cried Jellybean . . .
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/30/6000...rus-fears.htmlQuote:
Health and Science
6,000 tourists in lockdown on Italian cruise ship over coronavirus fears
Published Thu, Jan 30 20209:16 AM ESTUpdated 21 min ago
Chloe Taylor@ChloeTaylor141
Key Points
• “Sanitary protocol” has been activated amid concerns over the health of an individual traveling on the ship operated by Italian firm Costa Cruises.
• The ship, the Costa Smeralda, reached the Italian port of Civitavecchia on Thursday morning, where it had sailed from Palma in the Spanish island of Mallorca.
The Costa Smeralda cruise ship docked in the Civitavecchia port on January 30, 2020
Some 6,000 tourists are being held on a cruise ship in Italy over fears that a passenger could be infected with the coronavirus.
“Sanitary protocol” has been activated amid concerns over the health of an individual traveling on the ship operated by Italian firm Costa Cruises. The ship reached the Italian port of Civitavecchia on Thursday morning, where it had sailed from Palma in the Spanish island of Mallorca.
Medics onboard had been alerted to a suspected case of the virus in a 54-year-old Chinese woman, who has been kept in isolation alongside her travel companion since Wednesday evening, Costa Cruises confirmed to CNBC.
“As soon as the suspected case was detected, the medical team on board immediately activated all the relevant health procedures to promptly isolate and manage the clinical condition,” a spokesperson for the company said. “The health authority has been immediately notified and is now on board to conduct all the pertinent measures.”
The woman suffering with symptoms of the illness is from Macao, according to some media reports.
According to The Associated Press, health officials were screening 6,000 passengers and 1,000 crew members aboard the ship, and all were being prevented from leaving until the type of virus infecting the woman was determined.
The cruise ship, the Costa Smeralda, had a seven-day itinerary with several stops planned in ports across the West Mediterranean.
More than 8,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide, with 170 deaths reported by Chinese authorities.
The majority of those cases are in mainland China, where at least 7,801 cases have been confirmed. More than 100 cases have been confirmed outside of China, with the virus reported to have reached a number of countries including the United States, Japan and India.
...i wounder with the lack of chinese customers if the mb rate will be affected...
The baht is falling rapidly.
Chinese tourists are no longer going to Thailand.
The cost of flights is coming down.
Happy days
This Corona is neither deadly nor contagious unless she happens to be a carrier of the virus.
Interestingly I was in Babylon Sauna this afternoon from about 3 pm until 5 pm. The place was deserted.
There were 30 people around the pool and nobody at all in any of the cabins or other sex areas.
I wonder if the virus thing is putting people off attending Gay Saunas?
When I set off for Thailand two weeks ago, Kenny, I'm pretty sure I was getting B38 to the GBP. I've just checked my xe Currency app and it's showing B41.19. Every little helps, as they say at Tesco! :)
Over the last two weeks I’ve noticed that more and more people in Bangkok are wearing face masks. Now, all the staff at my condo are wearing masks, as are staff at supermarkets, restaurants and coffee shops etc.
But how far do you go to protect yourself? I think perhaps I draw the line at the following Cyberwoman (from Doctor Who) type contraption this young woman is wearing.
Although, you never know, if things get much worse, who knows what lengths some of us may be prepared to go?
Attachment 9585
Have holidays booked and paid for next month to Pattaya but may have to cancel if this virus is not controlled.
u best cancel now if it worries uou as these sort of things take many months to subside. Personally I dont care.
The lady in plastic bottle is likely Hongkong-the metro there has those all steel sliding seats, not here in BKK MRT nor BTS. More interesting is that its near empty-its always packed there. Must have hard breathing after a few minutes?
In this main touristy area a bit ar fro silom noone really cares much, yes a few more facemasks as usual but the big majority none but the air remains nearly as bad as last week before this hype flamed.
Gloomy news for tourism in Thailand as reported in today’s Bangkok Post:
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business...urism-industryQuote:
Coronavirus deals severe blow to tourism industry
PUBLISHED : 2 FEB 2020 AT 07:31
NEWSPAPER SECTION: NEWS
WRITER: POST REPORTERS
Vendors complain that their incomes have dropped by up to 70% after China announced bans on group tours.
Thai tour operators are weathering the storm after China imposed travel restrictions on group tours until late next month in a move to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, which the World Health Organisation has declared a global emergency.
China sealed off Hubei's capital Wuhan to stem the epidemic, which is believed to have originated from a local market selling bushmeat, and has extended the measure to other cities nearby. Though independent travellers are allowed to leave, many have cancelled their plans to reduce the risk of contracting or spreading the deadly virus, which is contagious during the incubation period.
Thailand, meanwhile, has suspended flights from Wuhan and other high-risk cities. A commercial flight will leave on Tuesday to bring Thai expats back from Wuhan, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said, adding he will also call on the government to consider scrapping visa-on-arrival for Chinese tourists.
• Thais to be flown home from Wuhan
• Over 300 Phuket tour buses idled
• Pattaya hotels suffer as Chinese stay home
However, Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), lamented that the outbreak has prompted a sharp drop in the number of Chinese tourists. He added he expects the number of Chinese arrivals to drop by as much as 80% to just 2.32 million in the first four months of the year, causing an estimated 98 billion baht in loss of revenue.
Meanwhile, Thanavath Phonvichai, president of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, estimates the outbreak will cost the country 132.8 billion baht in lost tourism revenue and income from imports unless it is brought under control by March.
Absence of Chinese tourists
Lertsak Ponklin, vice-president of the Phang-Nga Tourism Association, said the travel ban has taken away up to 70% Chinese customers from local tour operators. "With direct flights from Wuhan to Phuket being suspended, tour companies catering to Chinese nationals have had to shut down temporarily.
"[However], if the situation persists for too long, I think they might have to lay off some workers. At the moment, there are still tourists from Europe and Scandinavia," he told the Bangkok Post.
Mr Lertsak, who also manages a local tour company, said he has urged the government to step up screening measures at airports.
"We are also monitoring each and every customer. For instance, my company is checking customers' body temperature and handing out surgical face masks at the pier. I think we can work on boosting tourism once the outbreak is brought under control," he said.
With the outbreak fuelling anti-Chinese sentiment in many countries, such as South Korea, Japan and Denmark, Mr Lertsak offered moral support, saying precautionary measures can be taken without discriminating against an entire population. "If the virus had broken out here, we would not be happy carrying the stigma," he added.
Manop Sae-jia, president of Chiang Mai's Rak Lanna Tourist Guides Club, said the ban on outbound tour groups has sharply cut the number of direct flights between China and Chiang Mai.
"More than 700 Chinese-language tour guides in Chiang Mai are now without a job. More than 300 tour buses are on layby. I want the government to help because there is no income," he said.
Meanwhile, the owner of a cosmetic store at Bangkok's Bazaar Hotel Ratchadaphisek spoke to the Bangkok Post about a sharp drop in Chinese customers. "I am thinking about giving my staff a one-month break because there are very few customers. This may extend to three months if this continues," she said.
She also deplored the government's lack of speedy action in addressing the problem, an issue that has given rise to a public backlash on social media. "I wish they would step up screening measures at airports to curb the outbreak, and communicate better to reassure the public," she said.
The 800-room hotel usually accommodates Chinese nationals on group tours, as well as some Taiwanese and Indian travellers.
'Save Our Souls'
Vendors at the Ratchaprasong intersection have also been hit hard, as the iconic Erawan and Trimurti shrines have seen a sharp decline in Chinese tourists.
Florist Nop Phromporn said her income has dropped by 70% since China ordered a lockdown on Wuhan and banned group tours. "The point is they don't allow the uninfected to enter the country either. I think they should step up screening measures at airports rather than impose travel restrictions, otherwise our already stagnant economy will worsen," she said.
Ple Sinsoontornsap, another florist, said the impact of the outbreak has dampened the mood at the shrine -- which is usually a hive of activity during the Lunar New Year period. "My income has dropped by 60%. It is worrying, but I can't do anything but accept it," she said, as she called on the government to start handing out protective gear because stores are running short of them.
"People are hoarding masks and some are reselling them for as much as 90 baht per piece. I think the authorities should look into this matter," she said.
Lek Tarawut, a florist at the Trimurti Shrine, said his sales have dropped by 70% because 90% of Chinese tourists are not around. "I don't know how to solve this problem," he said.
Gloomy mood upcountry
Other cities that rely on tourism, such as Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket and even Pattaya, are also bearing a heavy load as the lack of Chinese travellers is painting a dull picture.
From the Chiang Mai Night Safari and Chiang Rai's Wat Rong Khun (White Temple), to restaurants, souvenir shops and even street stalls, a daily average of 2,000 Chinese visitors has disappeared, Manop Sae-Jia, chairman of Chiang Mai-based Tourist Guides Club, said.
"Chinese group tours to Chiang Mai are now 100% gone," he said, referring to the impact of Beijing's ban on outbound group tours.
According to Mr Manop, though 60% of Chinese visitors in Chiang Mai are free independent travellers, the disappearance of 40% of other travellers who arrive as part of groups is huge enough to deal a severe blow to local businesses.
Hoteliers in Chiang Mai and Pattaya are losing badly due to cancellations, while 2,000 tourist guides in the North are watching to see what happens next.
"These guides have had no jobs since Friday," Mr Manop said, adding a similar impact is also being felt by coach drivers who have had to leave their 250 buses which were one packed with Chinese tourists, stand idle.
If the deadly respiratory virus cannot be tamed or eradicated by March, the tourism industry, which depends largely on Chinese arrivals, will remain bearish in the second quarter, Laiat Bunsithong, chairwoman of the Thai Hotels Association's northern chapter, said.
Her colleague, Kongsak Khuphongsakon, who leads the association's southern chapter, expects the problem will last at least two months, though he says the problem will not end there as restoring tourism mood will take another two months.
Like Chiang Mai, all tourism-related businesses in Phuket are also affected, with a dive in hotel guests and bus drivers left unemployed. More than 300 tour buses in Phuket have been standing idle for more than a week now.
"With no [Chinese] tour groups, we have no jobs and no money," said one tour bus operator who declined be named.
"The coronavirus has had a greater impact on our tour-bus business than the [Phoenix] boat disaster and the tsunami," another Phuket bus operator said.
Chinese tourists in Phuket are also worried about the outbreak, saying the health impact alone is disastrous, not to mention its economic aspect.
"Sichuan faces the most national disasters in China, but they seem less severe when compared to what Wuhan is suffering," said Peng Ziyun, a 50-year-old Chinese traveller from Sichuan province.
Maintaining hospitality
Tourism operators and university scholars admitted that anxiety over the virus may lead some people to avoid interacting with Chinese tourists, but they should not let this affect their friendliness and hospitality.
"Thais should not exaggerate their fear and show a dislike of Chinese tourists," Mr Manop said, adding Thais must not forget they are good hosts.
China allowed its people to start travelling overseas in 1991, and "Thailand is one of their dream destinations," he said.
Zhang Pei, a Chinese-language lecturer at Chiang Mai University, said it was understandable that people want to protect themselves at this time, but they should base their actions on reliable information.
She added she cannot change people if they see her as a person from a "risk group".
Thai doctors say two drug groups effective on patient :
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand...p-cure-patient
...silly boy.....its the eyes they r concerned about...if you walk into a sneeze you can become infected via your eyes....its all connected to your sinus...you can catch the flu or similar sars..corona virus thru the eyes...
Thank you Dr. Poxx.
The generally unhygienic behaviour of the Chinese is a boon for any would be world dominating superbug. However the hospital built in 8 days is awesomely impressive and could certainly be a blueprint for other disaster zones.
https://news.sky.com/story/coronavir...s-362-11925277
That’s the first time I’ve seen the video, arsenal, although I have heard and read about the speed at which they built the hospital. It certainly looks very impressive.
I have heard numerous callers to LBC Radio in the UK suggesting that the Chinese should be given the contract for the HS2 project and even the third runway at Heathrow, i.e. if it ever gets approval.
No. Don't get them to build anything you want to last. Slapdash doesn't even begin to describe their building style.
Some parts of the Chinese Great Wall have stood for about two thousand years.
Perhaps we could let them build retaining walls and study their communist work ethics.
Ask the Thais goji. Swampy's was cracking and requiring repairs within months of being built.
I’m guessing the callers to the radio station were thinking about the speed at which the Chinese appear to get things done rather than the complexity of the project, goji. But I may be wrong.
According to Wikipedia, “In early December 2006, the Department for Transport published a progress report on the strategy which confirmed the original vision of more runway length.[2][3] In November 2007 the government started a public consultation on its proposal for a slightly shorter third runway (2,000 metres (6,560 ft)) and a new passenger terminal.”
And according to the BBC website, Heathrow Airport now expects to complete a third runway between 2028 and 2029 and have finished its full expansion by 2050.
As some one who is not in pattaya right now , i would like to know if ex-pats or farang tourists are wearing face masks or is it just local thais ?
Right. And that was just becse it was built as the names says-on a very big SWAMP (with snakes too). Exactly the way Chinese build without giving a heck to what is under. OTOH indeed you Brits seem to enjoy many years of strife with NIMby´ś and other high heeled hiso own detached villa housed elite for whom hardship means having to leave the 2nd Rolls in the backyard-thats more up to the Chinese to swiftly have them corrected-that is, if they do not belong to the real burocratic elite.
On another subject; INDIA beats China hands down in anything related to hygiene. THere they even still have to have projects going about building enough LOOs.
here in a very touristy part of BKK-big city, not around Silom, so much comparable to Patters, I would say about 40/50% of people on the street wear masks-mostly the said to be quite ineffective ones, i checked just 2-3 hrs ago in the 7 when I ate my toasted sandwith and talked with the lady from the KwaayYa=pharmacy inside (she has a knack on me and I am too softhearted to let her know I am not so much into that), which I do about once/week, there is still a large stack of masks for sale-as she showed me, and for regular price. ALL staff in the 7 however had to wear it now-also other ones. In fact I would say that a slight majority of tourists vs Thai wear them. Its mostly working Thai in customer contact who are now required to wear them.
In a collective show of common sense and non-over-reaction virtually no one is wearing a mask.
...they are effective if u know what the purpose is...
Well in my opinion it is not a hospital as we know it. This “hospital” is being built to cater for one and only ever one illness. It will not cater at all for the Multi disciplines you see in a regular hospital.
It will be more like an isolation unit.
And being made in China it will only last as long as it’s needed ....maybe.
We have been talking about extra runways in the London area since the 1960’s. If they plan to have this runway in use by 2029 then a few more years delay won’t make much difference.
It might actually be achieved in 100 years from the first day it was talked about in 1960!
And Cameron was gonna let em build a fuckin nuclear power station.
From today’s Bangkok Post:
See full story at: https://www.bangkokpost.com/learning...iland#cxrecs_sQuote:
Six new virus cases in Thailand
• 5 Feb 2020 at 09:18 0 comments
• WRITER: GARY BOYLE
• ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: POST REPORTERS
Thai returnees disembark from Thai AirAria flight FD571 from Wuhan in China that arrived at U-Tapao airport in Rayong province on Tuesday night. All 138 returnees will be screened for coronavirus symptoms and quarantined for 14 days.
Thailand reported more cases of human-to-human transmission of coronavirus with six people -- four Thais and two Chinese tourists -- the latest found to be infected, Thai health officials said on Tuesday . . .
British Foreign Secretary urges all Brits to leave China, as reported in the Evening Standard:
See full story at: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/c...-a4353251.htmlQuote:
Coronavirus UK latest: Dominic Raab urges all British nationals to leave China
Brits in China have been urged to leave the country if they can amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak . . .
Just had a comment from a long term Pattaya resident that he is playing careful and limiting himself to head jobs only. I asked does he wear a condom.
His reply no never do.
I believe exchange of saliva is common method of infection.
Am I reading this correctly?
Returning to the glory holes should offer some measure of protection, but try not to swallow, and make liberal use of the hand sanitiser and antiseptic gel. On second thought maybe one should put on a condom.
Presumably:
Probability of transmission from any infected boy in your bed is >99.9%
Unless you wear condom, hazmat suit and a very good mask.
Or condom + glory hole. But where is the fun in that ?
Probability of any boy in your bed having the virus <0.1% ?