News Forum - Thailand News Today | Thailand no longer considers Covid “dangerous infectious disease”

[DesperateOldHand]

  On 8/13/2022 at 2:34 AM, Stevejm said:

Who said it’s permanently indefinitely ? Don’t be so dramatic making up non facts! My mother still wears a mask when she goes out to places where she is likely to be in close proximity to other people as do many older people in the UK. When she was walking around carrying a gas mask in 1941 she might well have thought it was going to be forever but that wasn’t the case was it? When people feel comfortable about not wearing a mask they will stop. Taking precautions against catching Covid is not wrong but it’s down to personal choice now not government mandate so that is good enough for me for the time being.

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Asians have been instinctively wearing masks for decades - common colds, flus and whatnot. 

[palooka]

  On 8/13/2022 at 12:52 PM, ronnie666 said:

Pooyings? What is that? No translations for that

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thai females

[Stevejm]

  On 8/13/2022 at 3:14 PM, Marc26 said:

Sorry but I don't think saying that, in general, Thais like to avoid confrontation is making an unfounded generalization 

It's the substance of who they are as a people and culture 

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I don’t disagree with that statement but I do disagree with the general claim that that you or anyone else thinks and acts like Thais do.

[Stevejm]

  On 8/13/2022 at 11:10 PM, DesperateOldHand said:

Asians have been instinctively wearing masks for decades - common colds, flus and whatnot. 

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Yes correct but out of consideration for others in many cases. If someone has a cold/ flu and needs to interact with other people they may wear a mask to help prevent passing it to others.It’s a concept that seems to be alien to many people in western countries 

[Stevejm]

  On 8/10/2022 at 6:33 AM, brian60221 said:

You're not getting it. The statistics collection process is rigged to say that people died "of" COVID even when this has not been shown. Now, how many of those who died were above the average life expectancy?

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Every country has a different definition. I believe that UK defines a covid related death as one where Covid is mentioned on the death certificate as a contributing factor. You can argue about the way stats are presented all you like but when you know someone who had underlying health problems but wasn’t in danger of imminent death then they got sick from Covid and died unexpectedly I am not inclined to play down the seriousness of the illness.

[Stevejm]

  On 8/13/2022 at 10:57 AM, rc1 said:

The government and media need to actively make the Thai people more comfortable and less fearful of Covid

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Isn’t that exactly what the OP was about? The government declaration about not considering Covid a dangerous infectious disease is exactly what you are calling for except they said it before you

[Marc26]

  On 8/14/2022 at 12:59 AM, Stevejm said:

I don’t disagree with that statement but I do disagree with the general claim that that you or anyone else thinks and acts like Thais do.

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I never said I think or act like Thais do

Far from it

[Marc26]

  On 8/14/2022 at 1:02 AM, Stevejm said:

Yes correct but out of consideration for others in many cases. If someone has a cold/ flu and needs to interact with other people they may wear a mask to help prevent passing it to others.It’s a concept that seems to be alien to many people in western countries 

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I am hoping they we do adopt mask wearing when sick

And also, here in North America, coming into work sick used to be looked at as sort of a badge of honor

That you are dedicated to your job

Which is so foolish and hope that has changed 

[Vigo]

The government statement is common sense: The availability of vaccines has tamed the worst of Covid.

Is this any different then when we used to have  severe influenza, measles, mumps, smallpox, polio, rubella epidemics? Vaccines tamed those deadly diseases. Now with vaccines we may become ill, but most will survive.

[Stevejm]

  On 8/14/2022 at 4:37 AM, Marc26 said:

I never said I think or act like Thais do

Far from it

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Actually I was replying to @ronnie666 with my previous comment but you jumped in on it. Crossed wires!

[Stevejm]

  On 8/14/2022 at 4:52 AM, Vigo said:

The government statement is common sense: The availability of vaccines has tamed the worst of Covid.

Is this any different then when we used to have  severe influenza, measles, mumps, smallpox, polio, rubella epidemics? Vaccines tamed those deadly diseases. Now with vaccines we may become ill, but most will survive.

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That’s true until the anti vaxxers started creating fear and people people started refusing to get their kids vaccinated which is messing with the collective immunity of communities allowing the diseases to re-emerge. I think Covid may be more comparable to something like the Spanish flu virus which killed millions then disappeared from prominence as people developed immunity. UK now estimates that > 95% of the population have Covid 19 antibodies

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19latestinsights/antibodies

[PhuketExpat]

Hi all, I’m new around here. The tone here seems to be quite combative, the “Pick-a-Side” skit by JP Sears comes to mind. (See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXM6RMissmI )

The search for truth should be an ongoing endeavor and being skeptical these days is more important than ever. Whether it is covid or politics, it seems like the lines have already been well drawn in the sand here in these forums, maybe this will help refine it further.

A short Quiz:

1)      Do you believe what elected officials, government spokespersons, or three letter agency experts tell you is true all of, or even most of the time?

2)      Do you get most of the information you use to make judgements concerning current world situations from the MSM (Mainstream Media)?

3)      Do you believe that scientific trials conducted by pharmaceutical companies are conducted fairly and without bias?

4)      Do you believe that agencies such as the FDA, CDC, or NIH (or most similar  non-US based agencies) are working in the public’s interest and are to be trusted?

5)      Do you believe that the vaccines used in the recent pandemic are “safe and effective”?

If you answered YES to all of the above questions, take heart, you are in the majority, and this will no doubt make you feel warm all over. If you answered NO to all of the questions, congratulations, you have a working brain. Unfortunately you will also be trolled and vilified, called an anti-vaxxer, or much worse. If you answered NO to some of the questions, perhaps you should think more about the others. Just a thought

[longwood50]

I said right from the beginning that this should have been the response.  What exactly has changed since the beginning of the pandemic.  We have more cases of Covid now than two years ago and yet somehow now the sky is not falling.  

At least we are not getting the daily body count of people who die and blaming all of them on Covid. 

[Stevejm]

  On 8/14/2022 at 8:02 AM, PhuketExpat said:

Hi all, I’m new around here. The tone here seems to be quite combative, the “Pick-a-Side” skit by JP Sears comes to mind. (See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXM6RMissmI )

The search for truth should be an ongoing endeavor and being skeptical these days is more important than ever. Whether it is covid or politics, it seems like the lines have already been well drawn in the sand here in these forums, maybe this will help refine it further.

A short Quiz:

1)      Do you believe what elected officials, government spokespersons, or three letter agency experts tell you is true all of, or even most of the time?

2)      Do you get most of the information you use to make judgements concerning current world situations from the MSM (Mainstream Media)?

3)      Do you believe that scientific trials conducted by pharmaceutical companies are conducted fairly and without bias?

4)      Do you believe that agencies such as the FDA, CDC, or NIH (or most similar  non-US based agencies) are working in the public’s interest and are to be trusted?

5)      Do you believe that the vaccines used in the recent pandemic are “safe and effective”?

If you answered YES to all of the above questions, take heart, you are in the majority, and this will no doubt make you feel warm all over. If you answered NO to all of the questions, congratulations, you have a working brain. Unfortunately you will also be trolled and vilified, called an anti-vaxxer, or much worse. If you answered NO to some of the questions, perhaps you should think more about the others. Just a thought

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Interesting! For question 2) you could also ask if you get most most of your news from unqualified people who publish on YouTube and Facebook. I thought that the definition of anti vaxxers was quite clear as being someone against vaccinations of some or all types. Do you think the polio vaccine worked? Nothing wrong with questioning the official view but you should always try to use sources that have credibility rather than just those that follow the narrative that you choose to believe in.

It’s also interesting to note that beliefs about Covid in USA seemed to be divided along party political lines which I find to be very odd

[Stevejm]

  On 8/14/2022 at 8:14 AM, longwood50 said:

We have more cases of Covid now than two years ago and yet somehow now the sky is not falling.  

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Do you think that vaccination and improved treatment might have helped?

[DesperateOldHand]

  On 8/14/2022 at 4:52 AM, Vigo said:

The government statement is common sense: The availability of vaccines has tamed the worst of Covid.

Is this any different then when we used to have  severe influenza, measles, mumps, smallpox, polio, rubella epidemics? Vaccines tamed those deadly diseases. Now with vaccines we may become ill, but most will survive.

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Yet, the historic ailments listed above were befit of real vaccines. 

Not the case with with the ever-enigmatic and manufactured COVID. 

[Stevejm]

  On 8/14/2022 at 9:06 AM, DesperateOldHand said:

Yet, the historic ailments listed above were befit of real vaccines. 

Not the case with with the ever-enigmatic and manufactured COVID. 

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What about polio?

[DesperateOldHand]

  On 8/14/2022 at 9:17 AM, Stevejm said:

What about polio?

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I understand that a polio strain is making a comeback. 

Already been identified in NYC - this week. 

Never know about nature and what she might have up her sleeve. 

[Stevejm]

  On 8/14/2022 at 9:23 AM, DesperateOldHand said:

I understand that a polio strain is making a comeback. 

Already been identified in NYC - this week. 

Never know about nature and what she might have up her sleeve. 

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Yes also in London where they are vaccinating under 10s urgently.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-62492784

Anyway polio vaccines have certainly improved things for many years both my grandfather and his sister caught it pre WW2 and they were both severely affected for the rest of their lives 

[rc1]

  On 8/13/2022 at 11:10 PM, DesperateOldHand said:

Asians have been instinctively wearing masks for decades - common colds, flus and whatnot. 

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Rubbish.

1/100 Asians, who were too scared to stay home from work when sick wore a mask pre Covid.

2019 - you could spend days in BKK without seeing more than a handful of masked Thai.

This current situation is ludicrous. 

[DesperateOldHand]

  On 8/14/2022 at 10:08 AM, rc1 said:

Rubbish.

1/100 Asians, who were too scared to stay home from work when sick wore a mask pre Covid.

2019 - you could spend days in BKK without seeing more than a handful of masked Thai.

This current situation is ludicrous. 

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Why the angst from the predictable Farang perspective? 

[Smithydog]

  On 8/14/2022 at 10:08 AM, rc1 said:

Rubbish.

1/100 Asians, who were too scared to stay home from work when sick wore a mask pre Covid.

2019 - you could spend days in BKK without seeing more than a handful of masked Thai.

This current situation is ludicrous. 

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So you acknowledge mask wearing occurred in Asia before Covid-19. Why should it then stop now just to satisfy your desire?

In a country of 70 million, by your calculations 700,000 expressed a right to wear a mask in Thailand. And that is only the ones your limited vision saw. Did you personally do a census pre-covid to calculate your numbers to share with us all?

If we choose to have a discussion on mask wearing, then at least let it be on levels of personal choice, the challenges of enforcement of a mandate if one exists, and the scientific benefit of wearing one or not, rather than some ludicrous numbers seemingly pulled out of a part of the human anatomy where the sun doesn't shine!

[DesperateOldHand]

  On 8/14/2022 at 10:21 AM, Smithydog said:

So you acknowledge mask wearing occurred in Asia before Covid-19. Why should it then stop now just to satisfy your desire?

In a country of 78 million, by your calculations 780,000 expressed a right to wear a mask in Thailand. And that is only the ones your limited vision saw. Did you personally do a census pre-covid to calculate your numbers to share with us all?

If we choose to have a discussion on mask wearing, then at least let it be on levels of personal choice, the challenges of enforcement of a mandate if one exists, and the scientific benefit of wearing one or not, rather than some ludicrous numbers pulled out of where the sun doesn't shine!

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Beyond these sensible realms, what are the political/social issues among some [always Westerners] that require anguished discussions as to who is/isn't wearing face coverings - anytime, anywhere, any era.....?? 

It's so trivial beyond nuttery. 

[Stevejm]

  On 8/14/2022 at 10:08 AM, rc1 said:

This current situation is ludicrous. 

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What’s the problem? The government is making announcements to try to reduce concerns about Covid dangers and masks are not mandatory anymore. If people want to continue wearing masks because they think it will help them reduce their risk of catching Covid it’s up to them isn’t it? I call the change in government position a positive step and together with removal of most border restrictions things are a lot better than they were a year ago. Last August I still wasn’t sure if I could go to UK for Xmas. As it happened I went with a lot of imposed requirements/ costs like PCR tests, test and go, Thailand Pass and insurance. This year they have all gone. I am well pleased about that. Voluntary mask  wearing doesn’t affect me and most others. You should relax and let it go. You do agree that people have the right to decide whether to wear a mask or not don’t you? If it really bothers you that much you might consider not going out then you don’t have to look at masked people

[Metoo]

After 100 years of military rule, and the threat of 112, the Thais are naturally a frightened bunch.

The general education level is woeful.

They are too scared to remove them, also in the belief that covid will disappear eventually.....unfortunately for them.....