News Forum - Thailand plans to declare Covid-19 endemic earlier than expected

[Thaiger]

Thailand’s Covid-19 situation is continually improving and is expected to be declared an endemic disease more than half a month earlier than expected, according to the Ministry of Public Health. The ministry originally planned to declare Covid-19 an an endemic disease on July 1 this year. Yesterday, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Kiatiphum Wongrajit announced that Thailand now plans to declare the disease as endemic more than two weeks earlier than expected, sometime in mid-June. The ministry said the Covid-19 situation in Thailand is continually improving. The Omicron strain is less virulent that the common flu, most infected people have no […]

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[mjwalker]

why are they obsessed with masks ??

[Ivo_Shandor]

35 minutes ago, mjwalker said:

why are they obsessed with masks ??

I don't think Anutin deserves pluralis maiestatis

[Faraday]

17 minutes ago, Transam said:

If you ever have to go into hospital here, every 2 hours they take your blood pressure, day and night, why, I do not understand. 

I had that for an overnight stay after a cataract op. 

At a different hozzy up country I had a serious eye operation, after the op I was told to lay face down for 14 days, as you can imagine it was very hard to get to sleep, but guess what happened every 2 hours....

They're called "2 hourly OBS" & done mostly in older people (us), but also in major surgery.

It's to chart the BP & look at trends, therefore being able to see changes & treat quickly.

If you'd had a sudden rise in BP & it wasn't detected, it could have had some serious consequences for your peeper.

 

[Smithydog]

33 minutes ago, mjwalker said:

why are they obsessed with masks ??

As I have said before the mandates are not enforceable and it should be left to individual decision.  But thinking it as an obsession, often from the perspective and context that western cultures may do, is equally wrong to do.

Different cultures, different manners, different historical contexts. You can see easily how the reluctance flows on from the different attitudes that exist to mask wearing in some Asian cultures when compared to the west.  

What I have learnt from local Thai people and my family is that mask wearing by the public existed long before Covid-19 and people often wear them when ill or for other reasons. They see it loosely aligned to a different sense of civic responsibility, generated in their culture over a long time .

It is a much smaller step for Asian nations to adopt policies including mask wearing and for them to not see any issues with doing so. You see far less resistance to it in Asia than you see in countries not used to the practice, as well as substantially less false labelling of those wearing them and far, far less silly displays of stigmatising people for their decisions. Sure you hear of the odd one or two cases, often for not wearing one, but nothing on the scale as reported in Western countries.

https://www.voanews.com/a/science-health_coronavirus-outbreak_face-mask-culture-common-east-new-west/6186770.html

A return to no mask mandate at all in the future may occur and allow the free choice for all, locals and visitors alike. Until then, as a guest, I respect their right to make their determinations for their own country and not at the speed desired by outsiders, despite the negative impact it may have.

[brownronin]

1 hour ago, Smithydog said:

As I have said before the mandates are not enforceable and it should be left to individual decision.  But thinking it as an obsession, often from the perspective and context that western cultures may do, is equally wrong to do.

Different cultures, different manners, different historical contexts. You can see easily how the reluctance flows on from the different attitudes that exist to mask wearing in some Asian cultures when compared to the west.  

What I have learnt from local Thai people and my family is that mask wearing by the public existed long before Covid-19 and people often wear them when ill or for other reasons. They see it loosely aligned to a different sense of civic responsibility, generated in their culture over a long time .

It is a much smaller step for Asian nations to adopt policies including mask wearing and for them to not see any issues with doing so. You see far less resistance to it in Asia than you see in countries not used to the practice, as well as substantially less false labelling of those wearing them and far, far less silly displays of stigmatising people for their decisions. Sure you hear of the odd one or two cases, often for not wearing one, but nothing on the scale as reported in Western countries.

https://www.voanews.com/a/science-health_coronavirus-outbreak_face-mask-culture-common-east-new-west/6186770.html

A return to no mask mandate at all in the future may occur and allow the free choice for all, locals and visitors alike. Until then, as a guest, I respect their right to make their determinations for their own country and not at the speed desired by outsiders, despite the negative impact it may have.

 

Well-said mate. In North Asian countries like Japan and S.Korea, mask-wearing is pretty normal, especially during smog seasons, and like you said as part of civic responsibility when you are sick.

[Highlandman]

1 hour ago, Smithydog said:

As I have said before the mandates are not enforceable and it should be left to individual decision.  But thinking it as an obsession, often from the perspective and context that western cultures may do, is equally wrong to do.

Different cultures, different manners, different historical contexts. You can see easily how the reluctance flows on from the different attitudes that exist to mask wearing in some Asian cultures when compared to the west.  

What I have learnt from local Thai people and my family is that mask wearing by the public existed long before Covid-19 and people often wear them when ill or for other reasons. They see it loosely aligned to a different sense of civic responsibility, generated in their culture over a long time .

It is a much smaller step for Asian nations to adopt policies including mask wearing and for them to not see any issues with doing so. You see far less resistance to it in Asia than you see in countries not used to the practice, as well as substantially less false labelling of those wearing them and far, far less silly displays of stigmatising people for their decisions. Sure you hear of the odd one or two cases, often for not wearing one, but nothing on the scale as reported in Western countries.

https://www.voanews.com/a/science-health_coronavirus-outbreak_face-mask-culture-common-east-new-west/6186770.html

A return to no mask mandate at all in the future may occur and allow the free choice for all, locals and visitors alike. Until then, as a guest, I respect their right to make their determinations for their own country and not at the speed desired by outsiders, despite the negative impact it may have.

Very few Thai people wore masks pre Covid.

More importantly, those that did, did so voluntarily.

This forced mask wearing is the same as forced vaccination or forced anything. It's not consistent with a free society and of course Thailand isn't a free society.

Asians follow government orders with little resistance, because they're frightened and obedient. It's been conditioned into them. In Japan it's more of a cultural thing, as mandates aren't as strict as they are here in more authoritarian SE Asia.

I don't think the mask mandate will be lifted entirely, ever. Anutin has made this clear and I think whenever the next "pandemic" comes around, which will be fairly soon, make no mistake, Thais will already have their masks on.

[Highlandman]

3 hours ago, mjwalker said:

why are they obsessed with masks ??

Thai version of virtue signaling.

[Highlandman]

So the only good news here is that the country's borders could fully reopen, with no testing or vaccination requirement and hopefully no insurance either, on June 15. Otherwise, "endemic" means = permanent mask wearing and other petty restrictions on daily life (even if they're more minimal than over the past 2.5 years).

[Smithydog]

13 minutes ago, Highlandman said:

Very few Thai people wore masks pre Covid.

More importantly, those that did, did so voluntarily.

This forced mask wearing is the same as forced vaccination or forced anything. It's not consistent with a free society and of course Thailand isn't a free society.

Asians follow government orders with little resistance, because they're frightened and obedient. It's been conditioned into them. In Japan it's more of a cultural thing, as mandates aren't as strict as they are here in more authoritarian SE Asia.

I don't think the mask mandate will be lifted entirely, ever. Anutin has made this clear and I think whenever the next "pandemic" comes around, which will be fairly soon, make no mistake, Thais will already have their masks on.

My reply is simple. You obviously didn't read what I had written so I'll repeat this part for you:

"What I have learnt from local Thai people" Are you suggesting they have lied or embellished the statements given? 

But then I did also observe it with my own eyes. Or are you suggesting I didn't see this as well?

Seems our experiences are significantly different.

[DiJoDavO]

'Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has stated that even when Covid-19 is declared as endemic, people will still be required to wear a mask in public places as before.'

 

Required? It has never been like that. Didn't he mean it's recommended or advised? 

Indoors, yeah, but wasn't that up to who owned the place actually?