News Forum - Tourists not wearing masks face tough talk from Phuket authorities

[Noble_Design]

1 hour ago, Ttalk said:

Good to see the UK is dropping  the nonsense, including the wearing of masks.  

https://globalnews.ca/video/8523725/u-k-drops-covid-19-restrictions-scraps-mandatory-face-masks

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the easing of COVID-19 restrictions on Wednesday, saying that face masks will no longer be mandatory in public places and schools in England and COVID-19 passports will be dropped in large parts of the country starting next Thursday.

Could it be that Boris is doing it for political mileage? I mean his public approval ratings are probably at an all time low following last week's revelation of his involvement in the party during lockdown. So maybe this is his way of salvaging the situation and extend his political life.

[Cabra]

5 hours ago, Vince said:

"Caning" not canning (see video) Tourists usually pickle themselves, so that's out. Freeze drying ... Hmmm...

I've always admired Singapore's approach to scofflaws, deadbeats and drug offenders.

[Ttalk]

1 hour ago, Noble_Design said:

Could it be that Boris is doing it for political mileage? I mean his public approval ratings are probably at an all time low following last week's revelation of his involvement in the party during lockdown. So maybe this is his way of salvaging the situation and extend his political life.

Well that and the fact that masks don't work.  Even the CDC in the US now say so, as have multitudes of tests.  

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/47-studies-confirm-inefectiveness-of-masks-for-covid-and-32-more-confirm-their-negative-health-effects/

[Poolie]

2 minutes ago, Ttalk said:

Well that and the fact that masks don't work.  Even the CDC in the US now say so, as have multitudes of tests.  

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/47-studies-confirm-inefectiveness-of-masks-for-covid-and-32-more-confirm-their-negative-health-effects/

Oh well, as long as the American CDC say so..............

[Rain]

2 hours ago, Poolie said:

Oh well, as long as the American CDC say so..............

As long as you don't look behind the curtain, as there's nothing to see there.

Move along now..

[DiJoDavO]

14 hours ago, Guest1 said:

I believe it, when I see it.

Right now, there is no such enforcement. Every day, there are more people walking even in 7/11s without masks over mouth and nose. And only few staff is saying something. They worry the thermometer beep, yes. Which is useless, since most convenient stores have the hand alcohol desinfection  bottle before the thermo measuring. Desinfect your hands gets them 1-2 degree down, easily!

And my thought about this anouncement is, that the pictures, videos, from Phuket, showing people not wearing masks, say in Bangla, are driving this orders.

Face 

Just that doesn't neccessary mean, real action will follow. Since they wanna have the money, but did not find a effective way, to make the tourist just send it, without showing up.

Classic "wash me, but don't make me wet" situation. 

This is why I love Thailand. 

Government: Makes numerous of ridiculous rules.

People: Ok, but just for a while. After a while... Nope. 

Government: ok

 

I actually wonder if this mask thing will stay forever. I guess it will. Around me, I don't hear or see much that people are against it. 

I do hope it'll be over soon, because those masks give me more physical problems compared to if I actually would get Covid. 

[Guest1]

21 minutes ago, DiJoDavO said:

because those masks give me more physical problems compared to if I actually would get Covid

Aside, that you will find out about that only AFTER you got covid:

Ever thought about, that your physical problems are perhaps psychosomatic? 

[BeerIsLife]

10 hours ago, Stonker said:

Simply not correct.

It's the law, in a foreign country you've chosen to come to and where the locals are overwhelmingly in favour of it.

If you don't like it, go elsewhere - the locals don't have that option.

No need to get your panties in a wad there my friend. Never said I wouldn't wear one, just that it doesn't actually work.  Wearing a mask when walking on the beach is like wearing a condom on your finger to prevent unwanted pregnancy. 

 

Interestingly, where I live now (Japan) there are no mandates, no fines, no lockdowns. And very little spread of the dread virus.  Very surprising, considering the population density here and the number of seniors.

[Noble_Design]

2 hours ago, Ttalk said:

Well that and the fact that masks don't work.  Even the CDC in the US now say so, as have multitudes of tests.  

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/47-studies-confirm-inefectiveness-of-masks-for-covid-and-32-more-confirm-their-negative-health-effects/

Before going to that website Life Site News that you have conveniently provided, I did some checking since I have never heard about that site and this is what I found:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LifeSiteNews

Quote

LifeSiteNews (or simply LifeSite) is a Canadian Catholic far-right anti-abortion advocacy website and news publication. LifeSiteNews has published misleading information and conspiracy theories, and in 2021, was banned from some social media platforms for spreading COVID-19 misinformation.

We're off to a good start!

Let's see what else from them: https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/facebook-ban-lifesite-covid/2021/05/07/638a4768-af48-11eb-acd3-24b44a57093a_story.html

Quote

The ultraconservative website LifeSiteNews has been removed from Facebook, with the tech giant accusing the group of violating policies regarding the coronavirus.

LifeSiteNews, an often faith-themed website that Snopes.com describes as “a known purveyor of misleading information,” announced the Facebook ban on its own website Tuesday.

Well good luck to anyone not intelligent enough to be using their website as a source of trustworthy info.

Anyway to give you and that website the benefit of the doubt I went and read it anyway expecting maybe just a little shred of unbiased, fact based and objective news reporting. Boy was I disappointed:

Quote

No studies were needed to justify this practice since most understood viruses were far too small to be stopped by the wearing of most masks, other than sophisticated ones designed for that task and which were too costly and complicated for the general public to properly wear and keep changing or cleaning. It was also understood that long mask wearing was unhealthy for wearers for common sense and basic science reasons.

The writer claimed no studies were needed and yet gave links to 47 studies to allegedly debunk the usefulness of mask wearing, isn't that like contradicting yourself in your own writing? And also using terms - common sense and basic science reasons as justification? I have never seen such shoddy news reporting, definitely not from the likes of reputable outlets such as the BBC.

Quote

It has also continued long after it was discovered that Covid was not nearly as dangerous as we were led to believe, that many of the mitigation policies caused serious damage of all kinds, including many deaths, and long after prevention and treatment protocols were discovered and used with great success, and the very best ones often criminally suppressed by government and health authorities.

Lines after lines of lies and false accusations.

Quote

There have been numerous lies fed to the public by the WHO, national and regional government leaders and health bureaucrats and the media and many other institutions – all certainly for the purpose of maintaining fear until the large majority of the public has been injected with the poorly tested, unnecessary and dangerous Covid vaccines for which we have no evidence of their long-term safety. 

Toxic and unfounded allegations that the WHO perpetrated numerous lies, I wonder is the writer one of those protestors who stormed the Capitol last year?

To further dissect this "news" site for what it's worth I just looked at the first link of their so-called 47 studies confirm ineffectiveness of masks for COVID:

Quote

 

1.  Surgical mask / cloth face mask studies
Community and Close Contact Exposures Associated with COVID-19 Among Symptomatic Adults ≥18 Years in 11 Outpatient Health Care Facilities — United States, July 2020

The US Centre for Disease Control performed a study which showed that 85 percent of those who contracted Covid-19 during July 2020 were mask wearers. Just 3.9 percent of the study participants never wore a mask.
Original: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/pdfs/mm6936a5-H.pdf

 

And this is the fact check by Reuters : https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-cdc-study-exposure-idUSKBN2741WF

Read all about it in the Reuters link which shows that the LifeSiteNews can't even make use the first of their 47 studies to justify eliminating mask use.  

[Noble_Design]

4 minutes ago, BeerIsLife said:

No need to get your panties in a wad there my friend. Never said I wouldn't wear one, just that it doesn't actually work.  Wearing a mask when walking on the beach is like wearing a condom on your finger to prevent unwanted pregnancy. 

Interestingly, where I live now (Japan) there are no mandates, no fines, no lockdowns. And very little spread of the dread virus.  Very surprising, considering the population density here and the number of seniors.

Japanese people are very disciplined hence they don't need any mandates to force them to wear mask. Even before the pandemic almost any Japanese who are down with the flu would wear a mask to protect others. They are just so considerate when it comes the the wellbeing and needs of others that they would feel deeply ashamed if they were to inconvenience others by spreading disease to them.

[DiJoDavO]

3 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

Aside, that you will find out about that only AFTER you got covid:

Ever thought about, that your physical problems are perhaps psychosomatic? 

I think I'll be able to beat it. I'd look down on me in shame of myself if I died from Omicron or Covid

The health problems are probably caused by not being able to breathe completely. We might not think about it a lot, but the way you breathe is very important. Most people lack of breathing healthily. With a mask, this could give problems to some people after wearing it for days. 

I actually could only talk about myself. I feel overly tired and dizzy and sometimes nearly hyperventilating. Only when I wear a mask over long periods of time. This is all without thinking or anything. It's not that I have claustrophobia. If it was anything psychosomatic, I'd probably know.

[Guest1]

25 minutes ago, DiJoDavO said:

If it was anything psychosomatic, I'd probably know.

Of course you would! All the doctors, usually needed, to help a patient to understand that his / hers "physical problems" are related to being psychosomatic, that is just show and money making. Right?

If you can't breath under a mask, try a tube scarf. Or in case you drive motorcycle, with helmet, get a Balaclava. (Can you drive longer times with a full face helmet?) That stuff is not really difficult to breath trough. So in case that works the same, like a mask, .... ;-)

Aside, if you are certain, it is not your "But I don't wanna have to wear a mask": Try to find the mask with the littlest resistant. Which should be the KF94, because they get tested for that. For normal walking, outdoors or in the mall, own experience, that thing is not gettin' me out of breath. Also: If you aware of problems with a mask, just breath every now and then deep in and deep out! Can help with  psychosomatic and physical reasons.

No offense, just trying to help!

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

42 minutes ago, Noble_Design said:

They are just so considerate when it comes the the wellbeing and needs of others that they would feel deeply ashamed if they were to inconvenience others by spreading disease to them.

The #%#@ of Nanking comes to mind of Japanese wellbeing and spreading of disease. They aren’t that considerate. 

[DiJoDavO]

8 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

Of course you would! All the doctors, usually needed, to help a patient to understand that his / hers "physical problems" are related to being psychosomatic, that is just show and money making. Right?

If you can't breath under a mask, try a tube scarf. Or in case you drive motorcycle, with helmet, get a Balaclava. (Can you drive longer times with a full face helmet?) That stuff is not really difficult to breath trough. So in case that works the same, like a mask, .... ;-)

Aside, if you are certain, it is not your "But I don't wanna have to wear a mask": Try to find the mask with the littlest resistant. Which should be the KF94, because they get tested for that. For normal walking, outdoors or in the mall, own experience, that thing is not gettin' me out of breath. Also: If you aware of problems with a mask, just breath every now and then deep in and deep out! Can help with  psychosomatic and physical reasons.

No offense, just trying to help!

Unfortunately nowadays it's worse because I either must wear a bit tighter one for Pm2.5, or breathe in Pm2.5, which also has many health risks. 

But thanks for the tips

[BeerIsLife]

1 hour ago, Noble_Design said:

Japanese people are very disciplined hence they don't need any mandates to force them to wear mask. Even before the pandemic almost any Japanese who are down with the flu would wear a mask to protect others. They are just so considerate when it comes the the wellbeing and needs of others that they would feel deeply ashamed if they were to inconvenience others by spreading disease to them.

Possibly. Also the government here doesn't have the legal authority to force a mask mandate.  Life goes on as normal.

 

As for mask wearing, it is a thing here with notable caveats. People wear them and go to work sick instead of staying home and recovering- not  a great idea IMHO. Plus any bar or restaurant I go to there isn't a mask in sight.  Especially when booze is involved. 

[jaymi]

1 hour ago, Noble_Design said:

And very little spread of the dread virus

If you only do a tiny amount of testing you have very few reported cases.  As you must know, a stigma has built up in Japan around covid, no one wants to be tested, symptoms or not.  The amount of cases and spread is totally unknown.

[Guest1]

1 hour ago, DiJoDavO said:

Unfortunately nowadays it's worse because I either must wear a bit tighter one for Pm2.5, or breathe in Pm2.5, which also has many health risks. 

But thanks for the tips

Not sure, that you getting me:

KF94 is equivalent to the N95 in US, just from South Korea. So a bit  better as a "PM2.5" 

https://nymag.com/strategist/article/whats-the-difference-between-kn95-and-kf94-masks.html

Unlucky, most KF94s, to get here in Thailand, are made in China. Like all the other masks, too. Some are really thin, you can even feel the difference between two different colored packs (white is usually a bit flimsy) , but if you find some good ones, "bookmark" the shop for the next order.

And in case you get the good ones, a KN95 mask delivers 85 l/minute, should at least, a KF94, however, should get you 95l/minute. Like FFP2 masks (European  "KN95 standard"

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/difference-between-n95-and-kf94-masks/

 

Happy to help! 

[Vince]

10 hours ago, Noble_Design said:

Could it be that Boris is doing it for political mileage? I mean his public approval ratings are probably at an all time low following last week's revelation of his involvement in the party during lockdown. So maybe this is his way of salvaging the situation and extend his political life.

Absolutely possible mate! These policies are touted as "hard science" and "following the numbers" but public opinion, elections, tourism, and riots seem to somehow get factored in to all this "objective policy"

[Fundok]

On 1/20/2022 at 9:19 AM, BongoBongo said:

Has it occurred to anyone that it's too hot in Thailand for foreign people from cold climates to have an unnatural face covering. Put simply หายใจไม่ออก I can't breath. The fact that everyone follows this law (only in public, they often disappear indoors out of the public view), just shows it's driven by irrational fear. 

No doubt, wearing a face mask in the climate of Thailand is no fun - not for farang, not for Thais.

But for those Farang (like me) who travel to TH out of their own volition for holidays this cannot be an excuse. Everyone knows it's hot here and that wearing masks is mandatory. So if you are not prepared to wear a mask here: stay at home, don't come to Thailand.

Just for the record: I am 3x vaccinated and I question the risk mitigation effect of a general mask wearing obligation in the public. But rules are rules so one needs to comply. 

[Fundok]

On 1/20/2022 at 9:43 AM, BeerIsLife said:

I think  a lot of people have an exaggerated idea of how easily Covid transmits. You can't get it simply by walking past someone who is COvid positive, or if they cough near you, etc. You need to be explosed for a lengh of time ( at least 15 minutes is the general rule) before you are in danger. So no, a quick trip into a shop is not enough to be a danger to anyone. 

For me, if a shop wants me to wear a mask to enter, I will comply. It is their private operation, so they can set the rules. But in public? Outdoors? Completely useless. 100% virtue theatre.

I wish the Thai authorities would administer a risk-based approach aporeciating the fact that spreading the virus outside is limited and only occurs if larger numbers of people flock together. Hence I agree in principle with your comment.

[Guest1]

18 minutes ago, Fundok said:

that spreading the virus outside is limited and only occurs if larger numbers of people flock together.

You mean like on motorcycles, "parking" in the front rows of traffic lights with some minutes till green?

Or passing buy a bunch of grab, foodpanda, ....., delivery guys, sitting on the roadside?

Or running into a group of (other) ignorant holidayers?

 

[Fundok]

3 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

You mean like on motorcycles, "parking" in the front rows of traffic lights with some minutes till green?

Or passing buy a bunch of grab, foodpanda, ....., delivery guys, sitting on the roadside?

Or running into a group of (other) ignorant holidayers?

If you are fully vaccinated (and all foreign tourists must be) you may become infected, but it requires a larger amount of viruses to do the job. In the outside, the virus which floats in aerosols is disbursed easily, so when having say 1,5m distance the chance to catch a sufficient "load" of viruses is neglible.

The rest is common sense. If you see a group of people w/o masks, don't join and don't go in their vicinity.

The real dangers loom indoors and of course in restaurants and bars where people w/o masks sit close, with less than 1,5m distance.

[Guest1]

31 minutes ago, Fundok said:

If you are fully vaccinated (and all foreign tourists must be) you may become infected, but it requires a larger amount of viruses to do the job. In the outside, the virus which floats in aerosols is disbursed easily, so when having say 1,5m distance the chance to catch a sufficient "load" of viruses is neglible.

The rest is common sense. If you see a group of people w/o masks, don't join and don't go in their vicinity.

The real dangers loom indoors and of course in restaurants and bars where people w/o masks sit close, with less than 1,5m distance.

You know, where this 1.5 meter rule came from? In the 1930, Scientists found that droplets of liquid released by coughs or sneezes evaporate quickly in the air or fall to the ground. Mostly within 1-2m = 1.5m.  Mostly

Aerosols, however,  can be "blown by the wind". As smaller, as further.

I totally agree, indoors, aircon flow, fan's everywhere, is the real danger. And of course, one non-masker in a 7/11, just walking in, getting reminded, walking out or putting a mask on, can create a aerosol loop for quite some time

Just outside there is a risk, that a non masker not too far away is transmitting, and the non masker "just passing by", is receiving. 

And: It is still an government requirement for being outside your own flat, house, ground.

Why have ignorant people just so many problem's with following rules? Ah, of course, they ignore a lot of them!

 

 

 

[JackIsAGoodBoy]

On 1/20/2022 at 7:11 AM, HiuMak said:

Just follow the law. Period

Which laws the military....unfriendly takeover followed?