News Forum - Thailand drops outdoor face mask requirement

[Stevejm]

20 hours ago, Highlandman said:

Vietnam, after strictly enforcing masks before even Thailand did beginning in February 2020 and especially between March and May, by June nearly everyone stopped wearing masks, even in some hospitals! This same pattern has played out whenever the authorities stop strictly enforcing them following each wave. The longest period of strict adherence to mask wearing began between February and April 2021 and ended around April of this year, when the Vietnamese quickly started ditching masks, despite the mandate still being in force

I don’t know where you get your information from but as of yesterday my friend who lives and works in HCMC informed me that 90%+of people of people are wearing masks on the street and in shops and shopping centers are turning away maskless people despite there being no official mandate in place.

[JJJ]

21 hours ago, Highlandman said:

Anutin stated recently that news readers were never forced to wear their muzzles on screen. Within hours of that, most news stations promptly removed them.

Obviously it was about virtue signaling, but probably a decision made by TV stations not the government.

There is one guy with a segment on Voice TV who never wore a mask on screen (nor did his guests) and he was the only one who openly questioned all of this.

I hadn’t seen that. It just shows how dictators — erm I mean rulers under an emergency decree — can just make up rules and change them at their will and then just claim oh it wasn’t really a rule. 

[JJJ]

21 hours ago, Highlandman said:

Anutin stated recently that news readers were never forced to wear their muzzles on screen. Within hours of that, most news stations promptly removed them.

Obviously it was about virtue signaling, but probably a decision made by TV stations not the government.

There is one guy with a segment on Voice TV who never wore a mask on screen (nor did his guests) and he was the only one who openly questioned all of this.

Anutin and Joe Biden have a lot in common. Anutin says experts praised his-oh I mean Thailand’s-covid response just like Joe Biden says the expert economists tell him there’s no recession coming.  Both are fairytales. 

[Stevejm]

3 hours ago, JJJ said:

Anutin and Joe Biden have a lot in common. Anutin says experts praised his-oh I mean Thailand’s-covid response just like Joe Biden says the expert economists tell him there’s no recession coming.  Both are fairytales. 

Didn’t Trump say it was just like a cold and nothing to worry about? How did that work out for Americans?

[THETRUTH]

On 6/18/2022 at 2:53 AM, Vigo said:

My N95 mask will offer me 99.98% protection against exposure to the virus which is more than enough protection against the type of exposure I will encounter in public spaces. 

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.

Edited June 24, 2022 by THETRUTH

[Faz]

Lots of facts being inferred without valid links to support them.
Read the FG's please.

Further, unsupported claims  will be removed.

Moderator.

[vlad]

Its not about what the mask is or what quality it is or the use the statement read was " Masks to be dropped in Thailand "  what part of this do you not understand? you don't have to wear a mask from now on, however, if you feel safer, carry on wearing it outside. it's not a debate on using a mask you are free to stroll about maskless.

[Manu]

On 6/22/2022 at 9:45 AM, Stevejm said:

Many people in SE Asia wore masks pre pandemic if they had to go out when they had a cold. Is that blindly following or consideration for others?

Well it would indeed be "considerations" if it was true, but it is not, is it? Not sure why some keep saying that. Apart in extremely rare occasions when I saw some individuals wearing one in BKK due to pollution (not because of having a cold), I have never ever seen a mask in Thailand nor in ANY SE Asian country. NEVER. I think some are confusing with Japan, a nation obsessed with microbes and bacteria, or China, again because of extreme pollution. Or simply imagine things that never happened cause it suits their thoughts/beliefs on the subject.

[rc1]

Unsure why they haven't posted one of the stories from  today here yet? 

This is rather big news, masks now voluntary, no more government mandate, yet no articles posted here? 

[Stevejm]

1 hour ago, Manu said:

Well it would indeed be "considerations" if it was true, but it is not, is it? Not sure why some keep saying that. Apart in extremely rare occasions when I saw some individuals wearing one in BKK due to pollution (not because of having a cold), I have never ever seen a mask in Thailand nor in ANY SE Asian country. NEVER. I think some are confusing with Japan, a nation obsessed with microbes and bacteria, or China, again because of extreme pollution. Or simply imagine things that never happened cause it suits their thoughts/beliefs on the subject.

I can tell you for a fact that I have seen people wearing masks in the office at work pre pandemic and asked them why and they said because they had a cold and didn’t want to spread it to others. Friends in Korea tell me it’s common there when people have to go into the office when they are infectious too. And my friend in HCMC tells me that many bike riders wore them pre pandemic. WHAT is up with the use of caps? Is that how you talk to people?

Edited June 24, 2022 by Stevejm

[Highlandman]

1 hour ago, Stevejm said:

I can tell you for a fact that I have seen people wearing masks in the office at work pre pandemic and asked them why and they said because they had a cold and didn’t want to spread it to others. Friends in Korea tell me it’s common there when people have to go into the office when they are infectious too. And my friend in HCMC tells me that many bike riders wore them pre pandemic. WHAT is up with the use of caps? Is that how you talk to people?

I can tell you for a fact that your claims are rare exceptions, they weren't common.

Edited June 24, 2022 by Highlandman

[Highlandman]

On 6/23/2022 at 10:42 AM, Stevejm said:

I don’t know where you get your information from but as of yesterday my friend who lives and works in HCMC informed me that 90%+of people of people are wearing masks on the street and in shops and shopping centers are turning away maskless people despite there being no official mandate in place.

Nonsense. I get my information from my friends over there and watching footage out of Vietnam.

Vietnam still has an official mandate in place BUT it's not enforced any longer.

Maybe 50-60% of locals are still wearing them on the streets, a little higher indoors (in Saigon) and only a few convenience stores are insisting they're worn.

In Mui Ne, NO ONE wears a mask, indoors or out.

[Highlandman]

On 6/22/2022 at 5:32 PM, Stevejm said:

Didn’t you used to complain about the outdoor mask mandate and now it’s been dropped you are complaining about the historical compliance with it. Surely it’s time to move on with life and forget about the past. Mask mandate, TP, insurance, pre flight tests and test and go have all been dropped now which are all positive steps so I think it’s time to move on and look to the future.

Yet Thais didn't seem to get the memo with over 80% of people walking outdoors still wearing them today AND the Skytrain (which I don't use as I drive everywhere, but members of my Thai family do use) is still insisting on mask usage.

It's not over yet, even if there is an improvement. I am reading conflicting reports including one guy who in the BP comments section claimed he was harassed by a Big C security guard for not wearing a mask. I assume this happened today but his report doesn't mention when it happened.

He also said that the Vietnamese tourists aren't wearing them anymore, which confirms what I said earlier, which is that a lot of Vietnamese have ditched them. International media such as Nikkei Asia are saying this - reporters in Vietnam are noticing how mask wearing prevalence has gone way down in recent weeks.

 

[Highlandman]

On 6/22/2022 at 3:45 PM, Stevejm said:

Socialist? You must be American. Americans don’t seem to be able to distinguish between countries which enact social policies ( like universal health care) and communism.. I’ve heard stories from UK where people have refused to wear masks on a train because there is no point if everyone else is wearing them. Is that individual rights or selfishness. The later being apparent in spades in the west. Many people in SE Asia wore masks pre pandemic if they had to go out when they had a cold. Is that blindly following or consideration for others?

I don't think you understand what socialism is, but I won't go any further here as that is off-topic.

It's blind conditioning but the reality is, unless you're referring to Japan or South Korea (and maybe sometimes northern China, Hong Kong and Taiwan during winter) mask wearing was NOT a thing pre-Covid in any other country including Thailand. Yes, 1 in 1000 Thais might have worn a mask pre-Covid at various times, but in general, a Thai with a cold would either stay home, go to hospital (without a mask) or if they felt their symptoms weren't too bad, go to work but with no mask.

You're definitely confusing Thailand with Japan and these other north-east Asian countries.

Also if you may recall bird flu in 2004 - there was no mandatory mask wearing in Thailand and in fact, no one even wore a mask then, except vets and health officials inspecting bird farms. There appeared to be mandatory mask wearing in Hong Kong for about 6 months and similarly in Guangdong, China, for a period of time but not Thailand. I also traveled extensively throughout SE Asia at the time and noticed no measures, no mask wearing beyond the occasional motorcyclist in HCMC traffic and no mask wearing at all in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia or Singapore, all countries I visited during the bird flu period.

Now of course, going forward, Thais will probably wear masks much more often than in the pre-Covid past as mask wearing has taken on a religious dimension, which almost rivals Japan at this point (something that was not the case at all, pre-Covid as I've pointed out).

[Stevejm]

2 hours ago, Manu said:

Well it would indeed be "considerations" if it was true, but it is not, is it? Not sure why some keep saying that. Apart in extremely rare occasions when I saw some individuals wearing one in BKK due to pollution (not because of having a cold), I have never ever seen a mask in Thailand nor in ANY SE Asian country. NEVER. I think some are confusing with Japan, a nation obsessed with microbes and bacteria, or China, again because of extreme pollution. Or simply imagine things that never happened cause it suits their thoughts/beliefs on the subject.

You might find this interesting.

https://www.voanews.com/a/science-health_coronavirus-outbreak_not-just-coronavirus-asians-have-worn-face-masks-decades/6185597.html

[Manu]

23 minutes ago, Stevejm said:

You might find this interesting.

https://www.voanews.com/a/science-health_coronavirus-outbreak_not-just-coronavirus-asians-have-worn-face-masks-decades/6185597.html

Here mate, you post the link to an article that proves my point, not yours at all. Let me remind you what I said "I have never ever seen a mask in Thailand nor in ANY SE Asian country". Did you read this article at all? They talk about Japan and China exactly as I did in my response to you, and then a little bit of Taiwan - note that at that stage, no mention at all that they wear masks "when they have a cold in consideration to others" like you said (in fact, it even says that during SARS in 2002, people in Taiwan did not adhere at all with mask wearing - there is your argument "consideration to others" going further down the drain). And then the article goes on how since covid they went mad for masks in Taiwan and Singapore, bla bla bla (so irrelevant to our argument there). Well, none of these countries are in South East (SE) Asia. So I repeat "I have never ever seen a mask in Thailand nor in ANY SE Asian country".

Now, before making a statement, make sure you know for sure it is true, or that you know what you are talking about, or at least make some research BEFORE you get challenged to prove the point that you want it to be true so bad for some strange reason. Do not do the research AFTER you got challenged and take the first article coming up on Google (I checked, it is indeed) that, apart from being a very bad article, is actually proving the point of the person that challenged you. Wearing the mask "in consideration to others" in Asia? Apart from Japan maybe, it is just a legend! It does not exist and never have...

[Stevejm]

1 hour ago, Highlandman said:

It's not over yet, even if there is an improvement

I agree with you 100%

[Stevejm]

1 minute ago, Manu said:

Wearing the mask "in consideration to others" in Asia? Apart from Japan maybe, it is just a legend! It does not exist and never have...

I have experienced that in the workplace in Thailand. I’m not saying it’s common because obviously most people who are sick stay at home but I have seen people who wear masks at work in Thailand out of consideration for others so that’s a statement of fact not a legend. I have also heard of that practice in Korea which is in Asia and is not Japan.

[Marc26]

It is mind blowing how much time you people spend on getting your panties in a bunch over masks........

[Manu]

9 minutes ago, Stevejm said:

I have experienced that in the workplace in Thailand. I’m not saying it’s common because obviously most people who are sick stay at home but I have seen people who wear masks at work in Thailand out of consideration for others so that’s a statement of fact not a legend. I have also heard of that practice in Korea which is in Asia and is not Japan.

Then you must be the only one experiencing this with the only ones in Thailand doing that (How many? 1? 3? 5?...).

You said:

"Many people in SE Asia wore masks pre pandemic if they had to go out when they had a cold."

So let's put it down now to a couple of guys you met at the workplace in Thailand, rather than many people in SE Asia. And of course, I have to take your word for it cause after all these years in Thailand and SE Asia, I have personally never heard nor seen anything like that. Not once (yes you have to take my word for it too).

Quote

I have also heard of that practice in Korea which is in Asia and is not Japan.

I hear a lot of things, does not make them true. And S. Korea is not is SE Asia, which was my point.

 

[Manu]

8 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

It is mind blowing how much time you people spend on getting your panties in a bunch over masks........

I guess as long it took you to read them...

 

[vlad]

Its not Rocket Science of why or not if you don't want to wear a mask don't wear it simply you won't get a pull for it. Who cares if they wear masks in Tokyo or Saigon were talking about Thailand.

[Highlandman]

2 hours ago, Manu said:

Here mate, you post the link to an article that proves my point, not yours at all. Let me remind you what I said "I have never ever seen a mask in Thailand nor in ANY SE Asian country". Did you read this article at all? They talk about Japan and China exactly as I did in my response to you, and then a little bit of Taiwan - note that at that stage, no mention at all that they wear masks "when they have a cold in consideration to others" like you said (in fact, it even says that during SARS in 2002, people in Taiwan did not adhere at all with mask wearing - there is your argument "consideration to others" going further down the drain). And then the article goes on how since covid they went mad for masks in Taiwan and Singapore, bla bla bla (so irrelevant to our argument there). Well, none of these countries are in South East (SE) Asia. So I repeat "I have never ever seen a mask in Thailand nor in ANY SE Asian country".

Now, before making a statement, make sure you know for sure it is true, or that you know what you are talking about, or at least make some research BEFORE you get challenged to prove the point that you want it to be true so bad for some strange reason. Do not do the research AFTER you got challenged and take the first article coming up on Google (I checked, it is indeed) that, apart from being a very bad article, is actually proving the point of the person that challenged you. Wearing the mask "in consideration to others" in Asia? Apart from Japan maybe, it is just a legend! It does not exist and never have...

Well stated.

I brought up the countries you mentioned and the example of SARS/Bird flu because I happened to be in SE Asia for about half a year at the time. I didn't go to China or Hong Kong, because it wasn't part of my travel plans. I vaguely recall some sort of travel restrictions pertaining to entering those regions, but as I wasn't planning on visiting anyway I didn't pay attention to what they were. Needless to say, I doubt they were particularly cumbersome compared with now. It might have involved "health monitoring" or "screening for symptoms" similar to what Thailand did to Chinese arrivals in January 2020 but nothing more. Definitely no forced testing, quarantines etc. like China and Hong Kong are doing now. Masks were mandatory in Hong Kong for about 6 months and possibly in Guangdong as well, perhaps not for as long though - Hong Kong tends to be stricter with mask wearing than mainland China.

Anyway, like the article Steve linked to mentioned, Taiwan didn't adhere to mask wearing during SARS and neither did Vietnam, a country which recorded some cases. Vietnam is notable during Covid as having an on/off attitude towards mask wearing.

Whenever the authorities have been strict, compliance would be very high (similar to Thailand). As soon as the authorities ease off, even in the absence of an official end to the mandate, Vietnamese locals would start taking off their masks, unlike in Thailand, where this only appears to be happening on a few touristy southern islands and in hill tribe areas, where locals generally don't wear masks.

Thailand never had a mask culture before Covid. They have a propensity towards following authority more than some other parts of the world, but mask wearing has not really been a thing, with the very rare exception of a few people wearing them to protect against pollution, although even then, it was uncommon.

[rc1]

4 hours ago, Highlandman said:

Thailand never had a mask culture before Covid. They have a propensity towards following authority more than some other parts of the world, but mask wearing has not really been a thing, with the very rare exception of a few people wearing them to protect against pollution, although even then, it was uncommon.

Spot on. A number of people persist in the false narrative that there was a mask wearing culture in Thailand pre Covid.

No, there wasn't. It's false, patently untrue, completely inaccurate. 

For me, I am looking forward to Thailand slowly peeling off the masks over the coming weeks and months.

It's now legally voluntary, and while businesses can make their own rules and some will initially, it is the beginning of the end of mass mask wearing in Thailand.

 

[astro]

11 hours ago, Manu said:

Apart in extremely rare occasions when I saw some individuals wearing one in BKK due to pollution (not because of having a cold), I have never ever seen a mask in Thailand nor in ANY SE Asian country. NEVER.

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?