A friend who works as a waiter in Jupiter tells me that his earnings have plummeted this month. He says 70% of the bar's customers are usually Chinese and now they have disappeared. He says gogo bars and massage places are also suffering. Working in the sex trade has never struck me as a fun occupation but it must be even worse when you are expected to snuggle up to customers who could be carriers of a dangerous new virus.
Jupiter money boys get premium tips . It's up to them to get premium health insurance cover.
From today’s Bangkok Post:
Coronavirus 05.jpgVirus control push ratchets up
Military medics help screening at airports
published : 29 Jan 2020 at 04:01
newspaper section: News
writer: Post Reporters
Military medical personnel have been sent to help with the screening of passengers at international airports as another six Chinese nationals entering Thailand were found to be infected with the Wuhan coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases detected in the country to 14.
Col Sirichan Ngathong, deputy spokeswoman for the Royal Thai Army, said on Tuesday that Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed the army, navy and air force to send mobile medical units to help public health officials screen arrivals at 10 international airports across the country as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.
Permanent secretary for public health Sukhum Kanchanapimai said on Tuesday there had been six new cases reported.
All were Chinese nationals, and five were members of a family, aged 6-70 years old, visiting from Wuhan, Dr Sukhum said.
The new cases brought the number of coronavirus infection detected in Thailand to 14, he said.
• Plane evacuating Japanese nationals departs from virus-hit Wuhan
• Thai navy team left Wuhan before it was sealed off
• Foreigners prepare to flee as China virus toll tops 100
The six new patients were being treated at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute in Nonthaburi province, Dr Sukhum said.
The premier on Tuesday appointed a national committee to prevent the spread of the virus. The committee comprises 59 experts and officials from relevant agencies and is to be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul.
Gen Prayut said that evacuation plans are already in place to bring Thais in China back home straight away once China gives permission.
Addressing the evacuation plans, Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai said that the ministry was closely coordinating with Thais living in China.
"To my knowledge, there are 64 Thais residing in Wuhan and all are healthy.
"So far, no countries have sent planes to evacuate their people from China. We have to cooperate with China. Some countries wanted to evacuate their citizens but they must receive permission from China first. Now, all countries, including Thailand, have prepared for evacuation," said Mr Don.
However, Reuters reported that on Tuesday Japan sent a chartered Boeing 767 to retrieve a number of its nationals in Wuhan.
Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said he had asked the Corrections Department chief to order prisons across the country to closely monitor the health of prisoners, particularly 14 Chinese inmates imprisoned this month.
To control the spread of the virus by sea, the Port Authority of Thailand has designated a pier in front of Samut Prakan's provincial hall as a checkpoint to monitor and screen crew members of boats and ships coming from China.
Sopon Iamsirithaworn, director of general communicable diseases at the Department of Disease Control, said that medical teams have been sent to closely monitor the health of 13 Thai students who returned from studying in Hubei province on Sunday.
"After an initial examination, the students, who all live in the deep South, are in good health," Dr Sopon said.
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovations is now advising Chinese students studying in Thailand who returned to China during Chinese New Year and university students who have visited countries with confirmed coronavirus cases to stay away from classes for at least 14 days.
"This is a new virus and its specific nature is currently unclear. However, it appears that you can contract the virus at an early stage and not show any symptoms," the ministry's deputy secretary-general Pathom Sawanpanyalert said on Tuesday.
"This incubation period is currently considered to be 14 days.
"If a student still attends their classes while showing symptoms, universities can exclude them if they believe with reasonable grounds they may have a communicable disease," he said.
According to the ministry, there are 11,738 Chinese students studying at 87 universities in Thailand at present, while the number of Thai students studying in China is estimated to be over 1,000, with 58 in Wuhan.
Workers disinfect the cabin of a Thai Airways International jet at Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus. (Photo by Varuth Hirunyatheb)
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https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand...sh-ratchets-up
And from The Times newspaper in London as it is believed the death total rises to over 130:
Coronavirus: Thousands of Britons warned against travelling to China
Chris Smyth, Whitehall Editor | Ben Clatworthy, Assistant Travel Editor | Neil Johnston, Midlands Correspondent
Wednesday January 29 2020, 12.01am GMT, The Times
Britons have been told not to travel to mainland China as unprecedented restrictions are imposed to control the spread of coronavirus.
Travel companies have begun urgently contacting holidaymakers, offering refunds or deferrals. About 600,000 Britons visit China each year and the warning is likely to be hugely disruptive for business and tourism.
Travelling in defiance of the advice, which is normally applied only to war zones or countries affected by terrorism, will void most insurance.
As Germany yesterday became the fourth country where the virus has passed from person to person, President Xi of China promised to defeat the “devil” virus which has killed at least 131 people. Seventeen Chinese cities, with a total population of about 50 million, have imposed quarantine rules.
China said that more than 5,300 people were known to be infected. The steep rise has alarmed British officials and contributed to the decision to broaden recommendations that previously advised against traavel only to the worst-affected Hubei province.
The White House was last night considering suspending all flights to China.
Models run by US researchers calculated that the true number of infections was likely to be 25,000 in China. The World Health Organisation promised to send experts there. Britain is sending public health teams to other affected countries.
About 200 Britons stranded in China are due to be evacuated from tomorrow. Footage emerged yesterday of a British holidaymaker who returned from Wuhan with flu-like symptoms being taken to hospital by medics in protective suits.
Q&A: Is this a rare move by the FCO?
Yes, very. For the government to effectively blacklist a country is extremely unusual and normally only happens with war zones. For travellers the change in policy has widescale ramifications. Travelling against the advice is unwise.
What does the ban cover?
The FCO has banned “all but essential travel” to mainland China, which excludes Hong Kong and Macau. It advises against all travel to Hubei province — the same as with Syria.
What is “essential travel”?
The definition is murky. “You may have urgent family or business commitments to attend to . . . Only you can make an informed decision based on the risks,” the FCO states.
What if I am booked to travel to China?
In the case of a package holiday that is due to depart imminently, the tour operator is required to offer three options: a deferral of travel in the hope that the ban is lifted; an alternative holiday to another destination; a full refund.
What if I am an independent traveller?
Travelling to a country that the FCO advises against visiting will void most travel insurance policies. Check your cover. Specialist policies that cover areas blacklisted by the FCO, such as war zones, are available at a cost. Cover for business travellers depends on the company’s policy.
What if I want to cancel?
British Airways and Virgin are letting passengers defer free of charge. But airlines tend to be reluctant to offer refunds. If you cancel, you can try claiming on your travel insurance.
Will consequential losses apply?
Hotels, car hire and excursion companies have a range of different cancellation policies, and you may well be left out of pocket. Many basic travel insurance policies do not cover so-called consequential losses, although the more expensive comprehensive policies do.
Will the FCO change its advice?
It is impossible to predict how long the travel advice will remain in place. Holiday companies typically stagger the contacting of package holiday customers to offer alternative travel arrangements or refunds, depending on when they are due to depart. Typically they deal with passengers due to travel in the next month on a rolling basis. Airlines tend to offer passengers due to fly within a month free changes on a rolling basis.
Some promising news from Australia . . .
https://www.businessinsider.com/aust...edium=referralAustralian scientists have successfully grown a Wuhan coronavirus sample from a sick patient, giving way to the possibility of a cure
Sharon Masige, Business Insider Australia
Scientists in Melbourne, Australia have successfully grown the Wuhan coronavirus from a patient sample, which could help provide international experts with crucial information to beat the virus. It's the first time the virus has been grown in a cell culture outside of China.
The scientists come from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity – a joint venture between the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the University of Melbourne.
Dr. Julian Druce, Virus Identification Laboratory Head at the Doherty Institute said the lab-grown coronavirus was a major breakthrough as it would allow accurate investigation and diagnosis of the virus around the world.
"Chinese officials released the genome sequence of this novel coronavirus, which is helpful for diagnosis, however, having the real virus means we now have the ability to actually validate and verify all test methods, and compare their sensitivities and specificities – it will be a game-changer for diagnosis," Druce said in a statement.
"The virus will be used as positive control material for the Australian network of public health laboratories, and also shipped to expert laboratories working closely with the World Health Organisation in Europe."
The virus was grown from a patient sample that arrived on Friday at the Royal Melbourne Hospital's Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, at the Doherty Institute. "We've planned for an incident like this for many, many years and that's really why we were able to get an answer so quickly," Doherty Institute Deputy Director Dr. Mike Catton said in a statement.
It is set to be used to create an antibody test, to detect the virus in patients who haven't shown symptoms of coronavirus and weren't aware they had it.
"An antibody test will enable us to retrospectively test suspected patients so we can gather a more accurate picture of how widespread the virus is, and consequently, among other things, the true mortality rate," Catton said, adding that it will also help assess the effectiveness of trial vaccines.
The Institute posted a video showing the lab-grown virus in culture:
More than 4,500 people have been infected with the coronavirus and more than 100 people have died as a result. In Australia, there are five confirmed cases of the coronavirus – four in Sydney and one in Victoria, the ABC reported.
One thai minister says they cant stop the virus spreading,,, One thing they can do , is shut the border, and not allow any chinese to enter , but like the thais its all about money
A friend sent me the following, purporting to come from the W.H.O.
I am not sure if it is genuine, but the advice is, what shall I say, ah yes . . . certainly worth adhering to, especially the last point, which I make no comment on and leave that to others.
WHO.jpg
No point in closing the barn door after the horse has bolted.Originally Posted by aot871
Masks are everywhere these days!
Jellybean (January 30th, 2020)
But then just those masks are as useless for this as can be. But then, I know, people want be REASSURED-without giving a blink as what this would mean in real effect. Brits cannot even go to China anymore, as their own favorite airline, BA has halted all flights to there. Who said it was all about the money? BA cares about its customers! But then yes, it does seem to have a potential nice side-effect: many of those large groups of uncouth mainland CNese are gone.
And the MBs with dwindling income can just do what any Thai according to expatora will do raise the price! And forget to lower it once its all over.
Did you note how all that hullaballoo about the bad air has also suddenly disappeared?
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