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So, Thailand has declared 9 countries and 2 territories "at risk" and put out an announcement asking all government employees to submit their travel there to authorization and put themselves in quarantine for 14 days upon coming back.
That's expected.
Then the Health Minister (who looks like a racist, extremist fuck), put out an announcement telling that all tourists for the aforementioned countries would have to quarantine 14days upon arrival in Thailand. Then he deleted the announcement minutes later.
I am due there next month for 3 weeks to visit my in-laws and the country. That would suck. I'm not sure what to expect. If they put this kind of law, they effectively stop 75% of their tourism industry, I believe there's no way there is a blanket ban on the countries ? Not sure what to do...
The nine countries are Japan, Germany, South Korea, China, Taiwan, France, Singapore, Italy and Iran. The two territories are Hong Kong and Macau
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1870669/11-risk-zones-defined-to-facilitate-measures
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United States44220 Posts
Strangest thing in there is that it looks like Thailand just recognized Taiwan as a sovereign state rather than a Chinese territory.
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On March 04 2020 03:24 KwarK wrote:
Strangest thing in there is that it looks like Thailand just recognized Taiwan as a sovereign state rather than a Chinese territory.
I got the latest announcement from the Royal Gazette (not the public health ministry they talk about in the article), it seems you're right, since "Republic of China" is the official name of Taiwan... :
Countries or territories at risk of coronavirus infection 2019
Diseases 2019, COVID
-19) under paragraph one consist of
(1) South Korea
)
(2) Republic of China (Taiwan)
)
(3) People's Republic of China
(4) Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
(5) Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
(6) Japan
(7) Malaysia
(8) The Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(9) Republic of Singapore
(10) Italian Republic
(11) Iran Islamic Republic
(12) other countries or territories as announced by the President of the Supreme Administrative Court.
edit : contradictory news : the tourism authority for Thailand reminds people that there are no travel restrictions, per current WHO regulations. Tourists must be cautious though.
https://www.tatnews.org/2020/03/tats-recommendations-thailands-ministry-of-public-healths-travel-advisory-for-covid-19/
A bit better, but the wife is still really worried for our trip 
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On March 02 2020 13:49 Danglars wrote:
I’ve definitely been hearing a lot of worries at work in Southern California. We do a lot of business with Chinese raw materials suppliers, and are expecting much less volume. The 6 week cryptic transmission mentioned earlier in this thread is also worrying. I’m checking in with people I know from Iran and their families, because news reports suggest their government downplayed impact for the election and to save face ... and that it’s very widespread already.
Iran would be comical if it wasn’t so worrying. Health minister doing a news conference on the Coronavirus looked sick and later tested positive for it.
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Singapore here.
We received quite negative attention regarding this virus, mainly because we were one of the earliest country that had multiple cases outside of China. Moreover, a company hosted a conference here involving multiple nationalities including attendees from wuhan, which led to the virus being spread to other attendees and them bringing back home. Malaysia, South Korea and brit attendees were affected.
What have we done?
1. Banned any travellers or short term visas with history of visiting China from entering. Recently we extended to skorea, Japan Italy and Iran I think.
2. We restricted the number of foreign work pass holders returning from China skorea etc. Currently to gain entry, they have to agree to undergo 14d self quarantine at home.
3. Singaporeans or permanent residents returning from the affected countries also have to undergo 14d self quarantine.
4. The self quarantine is actually quite strictly enforced. Multiple checks are done either via calls or in person randomly. Those found flouting the quarantine faces criminal charges (jail/fine) under our Infectious Disease Act. Permanent Residents may lose their residency, foreign workers may be sent back and permanently barred from working or visiting here, employers may face fines and reduced access to foreign labour (our construction industry is primarily done by foreign labourers from China, Bangladesh etc). Our government is very strict about this and has already punished several flouters as such already.
5. All those tested positive with the disease are immediately isolated and VERY extensive contact tracing is conducted. Those who are deemed to be close contacts (spent 30+min in close proximity) are sent to quarantine facilities for 14d.
6. Our quarantine facilities are basically youth camps, school hostels and chalets. When you're quarantined, you're confined to something like a hotel room for the entire period. Meals will be provided to you and periodic testing for the virus is conducted. You are able to get your friends/family members to bring you things (clothes, PlayStation, laptop, books etc) and even deliveroo, which can be dropped off at a reception and brought to you by a staff.
7. Government has a stockpile of masks. Every household in Singapore was given 4 masks for free. About 1500 members of our army packed 5.2 million masks round the clock. We have a conscription here for all males for 2 years at around 19-20 yo, so when our government urgently needs people to do basic labour, non essential peace time army training stuff can get shelved for this.
8. There's an official WhatsApp from the government which you can subscribed to that gives a daily update in the evening regarding the virus. About new cases, discharge, new measures etc. No need for heresay or fake news, there's always an update from the government every evening.
9. In the event that you go to a random clinic and are suspected of having a virus, medical personnel donned in full PPE will be activated to escort you from the clinic to the hospital for further tests, with routes planned to minimise exposure to the public when moving from clinic to ambulance.
How effective have we been? Initially we were one of the highest outside of China. Now, we are not, just about 110?Now almost every day we still see about 2-3 new cases, but pretty much all of them can be traced to a source. Be it having recently travelled to wuhan, or close contact with a previous case (family member, colleague etc). I don't think we have any (maybe just 1 or 2) case that we don't know how they got the virus.
70% of the cases have recovered and discharged. 0 deaths here.
Most companies here are adopting WFH policies or splitting into teams. On the ground, I and majority of Singaporeans walk around without mask because I think the risk of community spread is very low. People are encouraged to wear masks only if they are sick.
I'm actually quite proud of what my government has done. International relations isn't damaged because we only act based on expert opinions (WHO), so we don't just ban travellers out of panic and fear. The government is transparent with what they do.
We're also probably fortunate because 1) we have money, 2) our government has the power to make swift decisions (because most elected comes from same party), 3) we're a small country so it's easier to contain. That said, I don't think other countries or cities can replicate what we do, so this is a feat itself.
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I am glad to hear your country took it so seriously, it looks like Singapore may be able to manage it even in the longterm.
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This may be a stupid question but why isnt death rate just calculated by putting recovered cases vs deaths? It would seem like active cases would be unresolved.
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On March 04 2020 12:57 travis wrote:
I am glad to hear your country took it so seriously, it looks like Singapore may be able to manage it even in the longterm.
Globally there's definitely going to be a recession which will affect us. The focus of the government has always been not just containing the virus, but what happens after. That is why we don't strain our relations with other countries by reacting in a panic manner. We comply with international guidelines.
We have shit loads of money to cushion the impact. Basically we have been saving money for the rainy day and the day has come. Government announced that they have set aside about 3 billion usd basically to help cofund wages for companies to some extent for all Singaporeans. The idea is so that businesses can stay afloat without cutting staff, which if so may cause a downward spiral to our economy.
Property tax rebates have also been announced to sectors that are affected, eg. retail and tourism. Landlords are encouraged to pass on these savings to tenants to help them out. Still in preliminary stages though.
Government is asking businesses to make use of this cushion to restructure and diversify during this period. Have more supply lines from other countries, reinvent the business to cope with new environment etc.
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Netherlands45349 Posts
Jesus Singapore does not mess around, thats some impressive shit even taking into account you are a very small rich country.
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Zurich15366 Posts
Singapore just gets shit done, it's impressive.
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It's a similar thing in the U.S.A. There are tons of stories of people or facilities refusing to test and then they just send them away to go wherever.
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Czech Republic12132 Posts
On March 04 2020 22:10 travis wrote:
It's a similar thing in the U.S.A. There are tons of stories of people or facilities refusing to test and then they just send them away to go wherever.
Yeah, but I bet she had an insurence(since she was a student in EU) so a medical transport would be fully covered. And it's not liek they're sending her to Tokyo, it is a 10 minute ride to another hospital. It just blows my mind, because the last fortnite all I hear from news is 'stay home, don't use public transportation' and then this happens from a medical profession.
Not sure how her insurance works for students in the EU (being a Cze student means you're insured by the Czech republic).
It's just sad to see this in a country which has all this serious messages, all this things about being careful while it wouldn't be an issue to cover the travelling from anyone's insurance(I bet there were some Czechs with her and EVERYONE in Cze is insured by law)
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On March 04 2020 22:10 travis wrote:
It's a similar thing in the U.S.A. There are tons of stories of people or facilities refusing to test and then they just send them away to go wherever. The additional problem in the US is financial dependancy. Are sick people even going to go to the hospital to get tested when it costs them 3k+ dollars to do so? Are they going to do it when you risk getting fired while unable to work due to quarantine?
I'd say there is significant risk of people simply not reporting themselves.
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By the way, in Singapore all Singaporean/permanent residents suspected of the virus will have their medical bill fully covered by the government in public hospitals. So there's really no excuse for not seeking treatment if you suspect having the virus. Even if you get tested negative but are forced to be warded in isolation, you need not worry about bills.
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Had a break-in at the hospital. They stole masks and disinfectants. No medication or equipment. People are dumb as shit. Shortage at the hospital could actually end up being an issue - I am continuously surprised by how low people can sink for the dumbest reasons.
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Person that died locally wasn't diagnosed until after he died. Have to assume anyone that's interacted with other humans on the west side of the state could have been exposed at this point.
None of the people I organize with can afford to seek medical care sick or not, not just because of the cost of care, but unpredictable wait times and lack of appointment access means they can't afford to risk missing work where they will inevitably cough on/around people's food, dining ware, faces/hands (cosmetic services), kids (tutors/assistants and other kids with parents that can't afford child care), hotel towels, beds, folding clothes in stores, on and on and on.
So I hope folks in the US don't mind a little Corona virus coming along with anything they let poor people touch.
Just to be clear, they aren't sick because they are poor and dirty or something, they simply have to spread the virus uncontrollably because they can't afford not to.
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On March 04 2020 23:33 DucK- wrote:
By the way, in Singapore all Singaporean/permanent residents suspected of the virus will have their medical bill fully covered by the government in public hospitals. So there's really no excuse for not seeking treatment if you suspect having the virus. Even if you get tested negative but are forced to be warded in isolation, you need not worry about bills.
same thing in south korea. testing is available to all residents and is free. if it turns out that you have the virus then youre also paid an allowance to cover for your absence from work
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On March 05 2020 00:20 Ghostcom wrote:
Had a break-in at the hospital. They stole masks and disinfectants. No medication or equipment. People are dumb as shit. Shortage at the hospital could actually end up being an issue - I am continuously surprised by how low people can sink for the dumbest reasons. Netherlands has also had reports of theft from hospitals.
People are stupid and nothing gets the stupid flowing quite like a bit of blind hysteria.
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On March 05 2020 00:37 evilfatsh1t wrote:Show nested quote +On March 04 2020 23:33 DucK- wrote:
By the way, in Singapore all Singaporean/permanent residents suspected of the virus will have their medical bill fully covered by the government in public hospitals. So there's really no excuse for not seeking treatment if you suspect having the virus. Even if you get tested negative but are forced to be warded in isolation, you need not worry about bills. same thing in south korea. testing is available to all residents and is free. if it turns out that you have the virus then youre also paid an allowance to cover for your absence from work
In the US, this would make people frustrated hearing about all this "undeserved" care. It's just sad.
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EPT
