News Forum - Omicron Covid-19 cases double, now 205 confirmed in Thailand

[Thaiger]

Just 2 days after Covid-19 infections with the Omicron variant passed 100 in Thailand, Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul has announced that the total has doubled and there are 205 confirmed cases in the country. Several clusters have been identified, with one originating in Kalasin being the cause for most concern. That cluster started when a husband and wife returned from Belgium with their initial Covid-19 tests on arrival in Thailand coming back negative. They then return freely to their hometown and later continued to Udon Thani in order to visit their children. Despite the couple initially testing negative […]

The story Omicron Covid-19 cases double, now 205 confirmed in Thailand as seen on Thaiger News.

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[HolyCowCm]

Being assured by Anutin is like...

1. Seeing the sunrise for the first time

2. Eating a nice warm freshly baked pie

3. Being able to crawl back into your mother's womb.

4. Better off jumping off a building.

5. Making cyanide taste better than candy.

6. Knowing that he is more professional than Doctor Fauci

7. None of the above

[vlad]

Get ready for the blame game and blame a farang couple who brought Omicron into Thailand. All Tourists are tested Pre flight and if clear there allowed to board without a test your simply refused to leave your country of Origin. How are these 2 going to be looked on now by locals in there area. 205 cases today it will be 500 cases in the next few days the speed this Omicron spreads. By new years eve there will be 1000 + yet Prayut refuses to cancel New years Celebrations. You don't have to be a Scientist or a Virologist to see whats going to happen in January. But hey remember Prayut telling all we will not allow Omicron to enter the Kingdom.

[HolyCowCm]

3 minutes ago, vlad said:

Get ready for the blame game and blame a farang couple who brought Omicron into Thailand. All Tourists are tested Pre flight and if clear there allowed to board without a test your simply refused to leave your country of Origin. How are these 2 going to be looked on now by locals in there area. 205 cases today it will be 500 cases in the next few days the speed this Omicron spreads. By new years eve there will be 1000 + yet Prayut refuses to cancel New years Celebrations. You don't have to be a Scientist or a Virologist to see whats going to happen in January. But hey remember Prayut telling all we will not allow Omicron to enter the Kingdom.

Are they foreingers or Thai? I thought they were Thai.

[Stonker]

15 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

Are they foreingers or Thai? I thought they were Thai.

Correct - both Thais.

[Rain]

How do they know it's Omicron infections? 

[vlad]

9 minutes ago, Stonker said:

Correct - both Thais.

MM looking at the report i thought they were Belgium Nationals might have been better reporting that they were Thai nationals.

[Rain]

35 minutes ago, Rain said:

How do they know it's Omicron infections? 

They don't.

Just guess work - repeated loud and often enough. 

[vlad]

Its called testing Rain.

[js89]

The Guardian is reporting that "Both had tested negative for infections before travelling and after arrival in Thailand in early December. By 15 December, they started having symptoms and tested positive and were later confirmed to have the Omicron variant".

The thing is, Omicron is reported to have a very short incubation time, on the order of 3 days. If this couple brought it with them, they should have tested positive long before the 15th if they arrived "early December". Why are they so sure this couple is patient zero and that they didn't acquire it locally from someone else?

[Easterneye]

They need to full lockdown like yesterday ,, that will spread like wildfire like it has now in the uk.

Thats doubled day on day here it’s mega infectious we’ve gone from two cases a week or so ago to now 120000 yesterday 

The idiots allowing this to multiply without lockdown want to give their heads a shake , the uk is geared up to take the onslaught Thailand isn’t 

[titanyak]

11 minutes ago, Easterneye said:

They need to full lockdown like yesterday ,, that will spread like wildfire like it has now in the uk.

Thats doubled day on day here it’s mega infectious we’ve gone from two cases a week or so ago to now 120000 yesterday 

The idiots allowing this to multiply without lockdown want to give their heads a shake , the uk is geared up to take the onslaught Thailand isn’t 

Its been proven to be less deadly than a cold. We need everyone to catch it to immunise the world. Vaccines dont work, there are more infections in vaxed than not.

Also lockdowns dont work, espicialy with a virus as contagious as this one. You just love to pain and suffering of the people. I'm guessing you are part of the 70 + year olds, most greedy generation

[NCC1701A]

4 hours ago, HolyCowCm said:

6. Knowing that he is more professional than Doctor Fauci

my cat is more professional than Fauci. 

[Rain]

3 hours ago, vlad said:

Its called testing Rain.

Like most....not getting it.

[Jason]

They would know it's Omicron because the genomic sequence has been shared around the world now among researchers and medical professionals. So this time, as a global community, this aspect was shared with lightning speed. The first outbreak was a little over a month ago. Compare that to the slowness in the previous strain outbreaks.

Omicron spreads like wildfire, but early signs are that it is about a fifth of the seriousness of Delta. If this proves to be consistent, then it will become endemic and overtake Delta as the predominant strain. 

[Naja]

The biggest problem is that one, you will never stop or contain Omicron anywhere.  Just like you can't stop the flu from being in any country.  Good news is that it's mild in its symptoms, more so if you are vaccinated.  While the vaccinations won't keep you from getting it, it will keep you from dying except maybe someone with very, very serious health issues. 

But that aside, I still do not understand why everyone but Thai nationals have to have a negative covid test 72 hours before they fly back to Thailand.  You can never ever contain a virus if only Farangs have to test before flying.  And it's been that way since they started letting repatriation flights coming back in.  Thais are not required to test before flying, therefore any number can be infected and infect others on the planes.  Just another stupid rule set by the government.  And letting people travel all over for New Year is going to do exactly what happened with Delta for Songkran....it will double, triple or much more by the middle of January.  The government should just go back to the Thailandpass and require you to go to a clinic or hospital when you take your ATK test and if it shows positive you are detained there for further tests and isolation or whatever needs to be done.  But they are blind to doing anything in a reasonable way.

Edited December 24, 2021 by Naja
Corrections

[JJJ]

5 hours ago, js89 said:

The Guardian is reporting that "Both had tested negative for infections before travelling and after arrival in Thailand in early December. By 15 December, they started having symptoms and tested positive and were later confirmed to have the Omicron variant".

The thing is, Omicron is reported to have a very short incubation time, on the order of 3 days. If this couple brought it with them, they should have tested positive long before the 15th if they arrived "early December". Why are they so sure this couple is patient zero and that they didn't acquire it locally from someone else?

This analysis is logical.

Also the timing for the pilot returning from Nigeria made little logical sense in terms of timing. Getting sick and testing positive after others in your social circle tends to suggest you’re probably not the source. 
 

Not saying it’s impossible - but drawing false conclusions for a better narrative doesn’t help anyone. 
 

Aiding to the speed of transmissions is the fact that the infection happens faster and once infected you begin infectious shedding.  Thus it preliminarily seems the peak happens faster but is shorter in time frame. The time lines described in the cases don’t fit that observation and need to have a plausible justification for determining patient 0. 

[Stonker]

5 hours ago, js89 said:

The Guardian is reporting that "Both had tested negative for infections before travelling and after arrival in Thailand in early December. By 15 December, they started having symptoms and tested positive and were later confirmed to have the Omicron variant".

The thing is, Omicron is reported to have a very short incubation time, on the order of 3 days. If this couple brought it with them, they should have tested positive long before the 15th if they arrived "early December". Why are they so sure this couple is patient zero and that they didn't acquire it locally from someone else?

There are conflicting reports on this. According to Thai news media a son-in-law was also working in Belgium and he returned in November, and he and his brother tested positive first then the father-in-law (who'd also been in Belgium, returning in early December) tested positive.

This ties in with the English language reports of the family testing positive first, but the English language media doesn't mention that the son-in-law had also been working in Belgium and recently returned.

[Stonker]

2 hours ago, Naja said:

But that aside, I still do not understand why everyone but Thai nationals have to have a negative covid test 72 hours before they fly back to Thailand.  You can never ever contain a virus if only Farangs have to test before flying.  And it's been that way since they started letting repatriation flights coming back in.  Thais are not required to test before flying, therefore any number can be infected and infect others on the planes.  Just another stupid rule set by the government

Sorry, but that's not correct.

It used to be for Thais coming back on Thai Air, along with free SQ, but it hasn't been that way for a long time and Thais and foreigners have to do the exact same tests and quarantine.

[think-and-ask]

most people in world, for many years,
1. not trust, experts from institution of government, ( who talk most in country ).
2. also not care much about any health.
-
3. since much fake news are on internet, many people not trust any experts from any page.
4. and after corona /delta, most people not know what to think, about its danger,
5. also about, safe and working vaccine.
-
6. WHO boss said, vaccine /booster kill children, what was a slip, as written on bbc news,
7. and pfizer boss said, pseudo /not real virus is used, to make vaccine.
not help to get trust.
-
8. most news, almost never talk about great reset.
9. solutions are, wait for social credit system ?

[Freeduhdumb]

13 hours ago, Thaiger said:

there are 205 confirmed cases in the country

"Cases" and not a single report of illness. Has ANYONE become sick to this?

[JMJM]

Seems it spreads too fast to contain, absent a China-style lockdown.  Hope it's milder that Delta, as some have reported.

[Faz]

7 hours ago, Stonker said:

It used to be for Thais coming back on Thai Air, along with free SQ, but it hasn't been that way for a long time and Thais and foreigners have to do the exact same tests and quarantine.

Partly correct.

Returning Thais staying in AQ are not required to be vaccinated or have an RT-PCR test prior to departure.

[Alavan]

8 hours ago, Faz said:

Partly correct.

Returning Thais staying in AQ are not required to be vaccinated or have an RT-PCR test prior to departure.

So they can infect other people on the flight?

[Alavan]

VAR airlines, Singapore and some others fly daily to Phuket.
Thai fly only from London, Frankfurt, Paris and I think Zurich directly to Phuket once or twice a week. If you can't catch such a flight you have to pass through BKK and quarantaine there, no Phuket sandbox hotel.
Personally, I think Thai is stupid not to concentrate more direct flights on Phuket.