News Forum - Thailand drops outdoor face mask requirement

[Vigo]

On 6/24/2022 at 4:00 PM, THETRUTH said:

Complete nonsense, false information. The mask will purify the air you breathe, nothing else. You can still get the virus everywhere by either hand contact or a spill into your eyes.

A single mask is also effective only for a few hours. After that the effectiveness goes down and you start inhaling all the smut that has accumulated on the mask itself...

 If you leave the mask somewhere lying around, the inside will become contaminated and wearing it will be more harmful than going without.

Your comment indicates that you are not knowledgeable on respiratory illnesses nor on the mechanism of infection of the SARS Cov-2 virus. As has been said many times, it is all about the load of contagion provided, both in its volume and in its robustness. In the environment I referred to, the likelihood of my encountering a heavy load of potent virus is low. If I was a hospital worker exposed, I would have proper PPE wardrobe including eye shield and garments. I will not be ventilating patients, nor touching them on a regular basis. I will not be in close proximity to anyone who will spit in my eye.  nor will I be ingesting  gobs of mucous of the amounts that you appear to be afraid of.

You do not know how long I wear my N-95 for so don't assume. My N95 is reusable and I rotate them to achieve maximum use.  I follow the manufacturer instructions and know that the mask lasts a relatively long time. Dessicated virus particles are not a threat.  I do not leave my masks lying around.  I am confident that my N-95 will give the protection sufficient to allow people to carry on as they wish and I do not support forcing everyone else to wear a mask in all locales.

[Bill_Koomers]

I see this is very upsetting to some.

[Stevejm]

8 hours ago, Bill_Koomers said:

I see this is very upsetting to some.

Yes it’s hard to imagine how a positive news story could be viewed negatively by some isn’t it? But bear in mind that some people have been saying for weeks that it would never happen

[JJJ]

On 6/24/2022 at 8:17 PM, Stevejm said:

I agree with you 100%

Does anyone know the position the malls are taking? I wore a mask at Central Lad Prao yesterday as everyone had a mask on but I think it wasn’t required.

Today my large office building has about 99% of people still wearing a mask but they don’t require it nor does Tops.

At this point I guess I’m going to just start assuming I don’t need it unless the store has specifically put up a new sign to wear a mask.  

Also I thought the government said they could stop the pointless temperature checks—though if it’s hand scan I don’t even bother to do it anymore. 
 

 

[rc1]

16 minutes ago, JJJ said:

Does anyone know the position the malls are taking? I wore a mask at Central Lad Prao yesterday as everyone had a mask on but I think it wasn’t required.

Today my large office building has about 99% of people still wearing a mask but they don’t require it nor does Tops.

At this point I guess I’m going to just start assuming I don’t need it unless the store has specifically put up a new sign to wear a mask.  

Also I thought the government said they could stop the pointless temperature checks—though if it’s hand scan I don’t even bother to do it anymore. 
 

Temperature checking is no longer required, was specifically mentioned by the CCSA. It should be stopped almost everywhere,  but they just haven't removed them many places yet.

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/breaking-ccsa-cancels-thailand-pass-change-entertainment-venue-restrictions

Malls shouldn't be making their own rules on masks,  when public health no longer mandates them in those settings. 

The way to change this is time,  and people making personal decisions to live life without a face covering........which is much more pleasant in case people have forgotten....

[Highlandman]

On 6/25/2022 at 4:10 AM, astro said:

Hmm...., I have often seen people wearing masks, not only in Thailand, but also other SE Asian countries.

In health clinics, wet markets, random shops for no apparent reason, occasionally in the streets.

Up to them, don't understand what the objection to it could be?

Depends on the country, they're not all the same.

Japan, South Korea, parts of China (mainly large east coast cities), Hong Kong, Macau = definitely mask wearers pre-Covid, with up to 15-20% of the population in some larger cities wearing them during cold/flu season on public transport and some other settings where lots of people gather. In Japan, the mask fetish was definitely the greatest, with China having fewer mask wearers but depends where you were (in Beijing you would see some due to dust pollution from winds blowing in fine dust from nearby deserts).

Vietnam = mask wearing while riding motorcycles in large cities was a common thing pre-Covid, but not to the extent of Tokyo or Seoul in winter. Also, once motorcyclists arrived at their destination, they would take off their masks. Vietnamese wouldn't roam the streets wearing them, unlike the Japanese.

Thailand = uncommon.

Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar = very uncommon pre-Covid.

Malaysia and Singapore = very uncommon pre-Covid.

Indonesia = very uncommon pre-Covid.

Very uncommon = 1 in 1000 to 1 in 500 people

Uncommon = Between 1 in 500 to 1 in 250 people

Common = 10-20% of the population in the aforementioned settings

Something like that.

Edited June 27, 2022 by Highlandman

[Highlandman]

4 hours ago, JJJ said:

Does anyone know the position the malls are taking? I wore a mask at Central Lad Prao yesterday as everyone had a mask on but I think it wasn’t required.

Today my large office building has about 99% of people still wearing a mask but they don’t require it nor does Tops.

At this point I guess I’m going to just start assuming I don’t need it unless the store has specifically put up a new sign to wear a mask.  

Also I thought the government said they could stop the pointless temperature checks—though if it’s hand scan I don’t even bother to do it anymore. 
 

You can generally just stop wearing one but carry one in your pocket just in case if you're worried.

According to reports, you should fare fine not wearing one at Central malls like the one at Ladprao and Tops. 7-11 depends. Some still require them, others have removed mask signage. Seems pretty random as to which ones have removed signage and which ones haven't. Downtown Bangkok, say Siam Square/MBK is probably OK, whereas a heavily Thai area might not be.

Makro remains the strictest in the land. With no mask on, they might give you one to wear but insist you put it on before letting you in. This may change in the days and weeks to come, but so far, it seems that Central/Tops/Emporium etc. are more likely to be lenient than Makro, Big C and certain 7-11 stores based on reports I've received. Suvarnabhumi airport is also OK when it comes to not wearing a mask. On board flights, it will depend on the carrier and whether it's domestic or international. European airlines flying back to Europe = mostly OK not to wear a mask. THAI = theoretically you need one, in practice I'm hearing they no longer enforce them on certain routes, primarily to Europe, but they might still be strict with domestic flights and regional flights within SE Asia.

Temperature checks might only be removed on July 1, though it depends on the business. A few have already removed them, while Suvarnabhumi airport will only follow suit on July 1 according to my understanding but they've already stopped checking the thermal screens of people entering the terminal. Perhaps they still are, when it comes to incoming international arrivals though I'm not sure as I haven't flown into Thailand recently.

[Rookiescot]

Seems the anti maskers are upset because people are still wearing masks.

[Rookiescot]

1 hour ago, Highlandman said:

You can generally just stop wearing one but carry one in your pocket just in case if you're worried.

According to reports, you should fare fine not wearing one at Central malls like the one at Ladprao and Tops. 7-11 depends. Some still require them, others have removed mask signage. Seems pretty random as to which ones have removed signage and which ones haven't. Downtown Bangkok, say Siam Square/MBK is probably OK, whereas a heavily Thai area might not be.

Makro remains the strictest in the land. With no mask on, they might give you one to wear but insist you put it on before letting you in. This may change in the days and weeks to come, but so far, it seems that Central/Tops/Emporium etc. are more likely to be lenient than Makro, Big C and certain 7-11 stores based on reports I've received. Suvarnabhumi airport is also OK when it comes to not wearing a mask. On board flights, it will depend on the carrier and whether it's domestic or international. European airlines flying back to Europe = mostly OK not to wear a mask. THAI = theoretically you need one, in practice I'm hearing they no longer enforce them on certain routes, primarily to Europe, but they might still be strict with domestic flights and regional flights within SE Asia.

Temperature checks might only be removed on July 1, though it depends on the business. A few have already removed them, while Suvarnabhumi airport will only follow suit on July 1 according to my understanding but they've already stopped checking the thermal screens of people entering the terminal. Perhaps they still are, when it comes to incoming international arrivals though I'm not sure as I haven't flown into Thailand recently.

How come ALL your posts are about "what you are hearing" and "from what I can gather" and "from my understanding"?

Then you come out with a statement like "I'm not sure as I haven't flown into Thailand recently".

[Stevejm]

14 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

Seems the anti maskers are upset because people are still wearing masks.

Exactly. What happened to freedom of choice? . Covid is still around so some people might still want to take any precautions they can to avoid getting it even if they have been vaccinated and especially if they haven’t had their jabs. It doesn’t mean they are sheep!

[vlad]

7 minutes ago, Stevejm said:

Exactly. What happened to freedom of choice? . Covid is still around so some people might still want to take any precautions they can to avoid getting it even if they have been vaccinated and especially if they haven’t had their jabs. It doesn’t mean they are sheep!

In one Stevejm you now have the freedom to wear a mask or not your choice no one else's.

[Stevejm]

3 hours ago, vlad said:

In one Stevejm you now have the freedom to wear a mask or not your choice no one else's.

I found it interesting that Ireland is running TV ads requesting that people continue to take precautions on a voluntary basis to help protect vulnerable members of the community. In UK the advice is that vulnerable people should stay at home.

https://t.co/Wgrun2Rzhc