Coronavirus - Thailand

[goji]

So as being discussed above re Vietnam and the UK / Thailand not perhaps using the same intense efforts re the tracing of individuals on a Country wide basis etc just so much, so DOES anyone know why is there is SUCH a difference in the UK Covid death rate ( 26000 and counting) compared to Thailand (54 - and counting ?) - its such a massive gap between those two numbers, anyone care to speculate why ?

Here's my speculation:

1 Case numbers are possibly understated in Thailand due to lack of testing. As for deaths, does Thailand have a robust mechanism for recording the causes of death and counting all the Covid deaths ? Also, even in western countries, reporting standards and ways of counting deaths vary. Some count everyone who dies WITH Covid-19 as a Covid-19 death, even if they may have died from something else and/or been about to keel over anyway.


2 It's possible that transmission of the virus is reduced in higher temperature situations. Although, I believe that's NOT the case for other coronaviruses.

3 Wearing of face masks has been more common in Thailand. Now WHO and medical advice on this seem mixed, but:
(i) Our authorities insist on mask wearing in hospital, so that implies masks have a benefit against airborne transmission.
(ii) The UK has a 2m social distancing recommendation. Now, if you think about that, it HAS to be for airborne transmission, as if there was no airborne transmission, the advice would just be not to touch people etc.
(iii) One by one, more countries are recommending masks. Even Singapore was late to that one.
(iv) There are scientific papers covering the subject of the virus lingering in the air on other particles.

4 I've seen reports of many different strains of the virus, some of which are more severe than others. This could influence country to country results.

[gerefan2]

Nirish, just look at any other hot countries. Thailand’s neighbours Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam have had zero deaths.
Then look at the time of year that this started. Right in the middle of the European winter.

Australia and New .zealand have had relatively few cases, again right in the middle of their summer and the height of the tourist season. So plenty of people to transport it to them. Few cases.

Should Thailand be congratulated? Some on the other board think so, I’m not so sure. They are lucky with their climate.

Now look at the UK. What was the advice? If you thought you had symptoms stay indoors for a week. Didn’t get better have another week. Anyone else in the house gets it...same same.

Didn’t do Boris any good did it? He stayed in for a week then 2 or 3 days later found himself in intensive care and nearly died. Prime fucking example wasn’t it?

It really fucking annoys me. We were all totally ignored by the National Health. No tests, not allowed to go to a hospital. Instructed not to go to your GP. No real help at all. Any other illness you are ALWAYS instructed to get EARLY treatment.

No wonder we are headed to the highest death rate in Europe.

Rant over ...

[Oliver2]

You need also to consider the percentage of the population that lives in urban communities where the spread of the virus is easier. Public travel (such as underground trains) must be particularly dangerous.
Much of Thailand is rural and, in these areas, shopping is mainly done in the open, in markets. Shopping in confined spaces, particularly with the sealing that a/c requires, means that one cough is more likely to spread droplets to more people..
For obvious reasons, I've been anxiously following reports from the Kamphaeng Phaet area and they are reassuring. Nevertheless, everyone is wearing masks, I'm told, and the rural community I'm most concerned about is very isolated. It's a long way to the nearest Big C.
The number of deaths in US and UK care homes and in Singapore's overcrowded foreign worker hostels are instructive in this respect.

[Brad the Impala]

Wai-ing is healthier than shaking hands!

[Jellybean]

Wai-ing is healthier than shaking hands!

Perhaps someone should have told Boris Johnson that.

[Surfcrest]

One of the big problems with accurate reporting, no matter which country you’re talking about, is with how infectious this disease is and the risks tied to testing infected people. It made more sense in many cases simply to tell people to stay home and isolate if they had non severe symptoms or, as with the case with many long term care facilities, that it was already too late to test. In the initial stages, people’s deaths were being attributed to natural causes or other things...especially in areas where health care was sparse or nonexistent.

Surfcrest

[Smiles]

Alex Jones seems to have taken over many a gay guy's thinking that rimming was "ours" and nothing but "ours".
The virus has taken over every cell of the man's brain ... as little there was.
Ahhh America

[cdnmatt]

heh, Alex Jones? He thinks there's a government conspiracy to turn the frogs gay. Take a look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tVrntKgdN0

[dab69]

I was not aware of any Thai nasal cleaning besides nose-picking:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/hea...OJi?li=BBnb7Kz

Nettle pots? They use a nose-hose much like a bum gun?

[dinagam]

Several Pattaya gay bars in Jomtian and Boyztown are still doing their bit to help feed hungry people in the community as can be seen in their latest Facebook posts. It seems that the effects of this pandemic will be seen for many months to come. I wish them well.