News Forum - Phuket officials order schools to close, hotels to prepare isolation services as Covid cases rise

[Thaiger]

Schools in Phuket are closed until January 14 due to the uptick in Covid-19 cases in the province. And with more cases anticipated, Phuket officials announced that 66 hotels on the island are preparing rooms and procedures for isolating those who are infected. Schools, universities, and other study centres are urged to offer online courses. Public schools will hold classes online for the next two weeks to prevent the spread of the virus. Some schools will be allowed to offer classes on-site, but all of the students must have a negative result from a rapid antigen test. Phuket’s Public Health […]

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[vlad]

Another keyboard Doctor.

[dingdong]

35 minutes ago, vlad said:

Another keyboard Doctor.

hope u understand german:

here some no BS...https://youtu.be/xEU7Hb8KrpM

 

 

[Jason]

I don't think this will change anything. Omicron is just too infectious. One person will infect 7to 10 others. So unless you intend everyone to isolate on their own for the next year, it won't work. My country is already being swamped with cases (surpassing the total cases last year in a matter of weeks). The next thing will be a shortage of PCR and then Rapid antigen tests in Thailand. 

[Stonker]

2 hours ago, Jason said:

I don't think this will change anything. Omicron is just too infectious. One person will infect 7to 10 others. So unless you intend everyone to isolate on their own for the next year, it won't work. My country is already being swamped with cases (surpassing the total cases last year in a matter of weeks). The next thing will be a shortage of PCR and then Rapid antigen tests in Thailand. 

Agreed, but either you act or you ignore it.

Even a few weeks gives more time for a lot more people to have a second jab, and second jabs for a lot of Thais that had Pfizer are due this month.

There aren't that many left for a first jab who want one, but this month there are a lot of second jabs due and a lot of people become eligible for a third, three months after the second.

A few weeks or even a few days minimising the spread now could be key.

[Stonker]

4 hours ago, Thaiger said:

Schools in Phuket are closed until January 14 due to the uptick in Covid-19 cases in the province

I was very surprised to see even the schools in Loei closed from today for a fortnight as we've had comparatively few cases recently.

Understandable, though - people are worried.

 

[Jason]

48 minutes ago, Stonker said:

Agreed, but either you act or you ignore it.

Even a few weeks gives more time for a lot more people to have a second jab, and second jabs for a lot of Thais that had Pfizer are due this month.

There aren't that many left for a first jab who want one, but this month there are a lot of second jabs due and a lot of people become eligible for a third, three months after the second.

A few weeks or even a few days minimising the spread now could be key.

Vaccination as we both know doesn't stop someone getting the virus and with the virulence of this strain as I see in my own country right now, it makes little difference to the rapid spread. If the time off school was devoted to getting vaccinated, it would be time well spent. And that means boosters too. Phuket, if it hopes to remain a sandbox better go into overdrive on vaccination. It won't stop people getting the virus, but it will prevent severe illness and death. I just wouldn't want people to think that getting vaccinated stops the spread, because in a country with over 90% of those over 12, it hasn't stopped the spread. 

[Stonker]

51 minutes ago, Jason said:

Vaccination as we both know doesn't stop someone getting the virus and with the virulence of this strain as I see in my own country right now, it makes little difference to the rapid spread.

Yes, but "as we both know" vaccinations aren't meant to "stop someone getting the virus" or to "stop the spread" but are to protect the vaccinated - and that takes two doses, possibly three, and that's if they're mRNA vaccines - or mRNA boosters if they're not.

This month and next are when most of those doses are to be / can be administered.

It's the closures  that may slow the spread, buying time for more people to be fully and better vaccinated before they're infected.

That's probably not clear from the vaccination figures and if you're not here, but to anyone here following what jabs were given when this month is when most second doses of Pfizer or Moderna are due (last week and this, mainly), with another fortnight for them to be effective, with a lot of mRNA third / booster doses due this month or next too.

A few days or weeks now could make all the difference.

51 minutes ago, Jason said:

Phuket, if it hopes to remain a sandbox better go into overdrive on vaccination.

How? You have to have 3 months between the second dose, whatever it was, and a booster - you can't speed that up, at least as long as you follow current practice - and Thais are worried about a lot more than Phuket and it's blasted Sandbox!

51 minutes ago, Jason said:

I just wouldn't want people to think that getting vaccinated stops the spread, ...  

Until now I don't think anyone did !

[Rookiescot]

12 minutes ago, Stonker said:

Yes, but "as we both know" vaccinations aren't meant to "stop someone getting the virus" or to "stop the spread" but are to protect the vaccinated - and that takes two doses, possibly three, and that's if they're mRNA vaccines - or mRNA boosters if they're not.

This month and next are when most of those doses are to be / can be administered.

It's the closures  that may slow the spread, buying time for more people to be fully and better vaccinated before they're infected.

That's probably not clear from the vaccination figures and if you're not here, but to anyone here following what jabs were given when this month is when most second doses of Pfizer or Moderna are due (last week and this, mainly), with another fortnight for them to be effective, with a lot of mRNA third / booster doses due this month or next too.

A few days or weeks now could make all the difference.

How? You have to have 3 months between the second dose, whatever it was, and a booster - you can't speed that up, at least as long as you follow current practice - and Thais are worried about a lot more than Phuket and it's blasted Sandbox!

Until now I don't think anyone did !

This is the straw man constantly posted by anti vaxxers. "The vaccine does not stop you getting covid!". Yes we all know that. The vaccines were designed for the alpha variant. 

The thing is our own immune system does not stop us getting infected. People caught the Alpha variant. Then they caught the Beta variant. Then the delta and now the omicron. What the vaccines do is reduce your chances of becoming hospitalised thus swamping already overstretched health care systems. 

[Stonker]

35 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

What the vaccines do is reduce your chances of becoming hospitalised thus swamping already overstretched health care systems. 

... and the chances of becoming seriously ill or dying from Covid too, which they also seem to forget ...

 

[Marko]

Are walk-in vaccination centres available for visitors on tourist stamps that have extended stay here due to covid?

[JamesR]

On 1/4/2022 at 3:27 PM, Stonker said:

... and the chances of becoming seriously ill or dying from Covid too, which they also seem to forget ...

Thanks for saving me a lot of typing time on many occasions as I see a comment and am about to reply when I see you have already said what I want to say, I owe you a beer.

In addition what is happening here in the UK as you probably know is there are around 180,000 infections a day, this is also affecting staff numbers at hospitals and so affects people who need to be in hospital for other none covid related treatment but are having their treatment postponed, this of course will/is happen(ing) in Thailand too.

[Stonker]

4 hours ago, JamesR said:

Thanks for saving me a lot of typing time on many occasions as I see a comment and am about to reply when I see you have already said what I want to say, I owe you a beer.

On many occasions we also disagree, but at least we can be civil about it - most of the time !

[JamesR]

7 hours ago, Stonker said:

On many occasions we also disagree, but at least we can be civil about it - most of the time !

Bollocks!