Thailand tracking 200 people as infected returnees skip COVID-19 quarantine

[Rimmer]

A conspiracy troll post has been removed

[soi3eddie]

20 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

 

Great view isn't it?

 

You were alone, in your grey vector camo top and subsequently the BP turned up. Why do you think that happened?

 

555 Maybe they thought I was invading from Laos to seize control of Thailand? 

 

[Thongsaeng]

This is not going 'well'......

[Harry Fingerling]

20 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand has strict measures and border controls to keep the coronavirus at bay

[Burma Bill]

20 hours ago, poohy said:

I live near the border i would imagine Lots!!

Yes indeed, as I can recall when I was a Tourist Police Volunteer based in Chiang Rai. I seem to remember the remote and scary route 1149 up in the mountains and forests between Doi Tung and Mae Sai which runs parallel to, and in several places even crosses, the Burmese border with no fences and an occasional check point . With expert local knowledge, I am sure people could be smuggled across the border. 

 

The map shows this area, the thicker yellow line being Route 1149 and the thinner brighter yellow line route 1149:-

 

[poohy]

3 hours ago, NanLaew said:

That's what is called a vivid imagination.

Hardly I live south of Prachuap   within 14km from my house i could drive a motorbike (actually I would probably fall off so I would walk then) along a rough dirt track and be in the back end of Burma

Imagine if i know of such a route that  just what the "natives" of both sides know

[smew]

Thais infecting Thais and foreigners get the blame... 

[KhaoNiaw]

4 hours ago, Chaichara said:

What  most  farangs don't  know (because they  never looked) is that  it  is extremely  easy  to  get  in  and out  of Thailand without  papers or controls by  using 'natural' borders. For example, every  day just  upstream of the Friendship Bridge in  Nong  Khai people  are rowing  back  and forth across the Meekong at  night. Not necessarily illegal em/immigration, but contraband tobacco which is grown here in  vast  quantities and other products. There are also  many 'natural' land crossing  points -  there is no  Berlin  Wall  or death  strip  here between the neighbouring  countries.

That's how I've been told people are coming back over from Laos, by making a river crossing. There have been some arrests after they've made it over, but the ones in the news have been large groups on a bus or minivan. I've heard more are coming over in ones or twos and are then driven down to Bangkok by car to avoid suspicion. 

There's also an article in the Southeast Asia Globe, which includes mention of Cambodians crossing the border illegally to work in Thailand, going home for a few days every couple of months, then back over the border to work. 
https://southeastasiaglobe.com/covid-19-cambodias-border-city-poipet/

[JusticeGB]

21 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Looks like the contacts with the 3 have travelled themselves and the list of contacts will be growing as well.  Maybe they will report nothing to see, or maybe they will use this as a way to lockdown the provinces again.  Anything can happen I guess, but it can also just stay the same.

I am surprised that the rate so far has been so low and that the majority of Thais have actually been following the guidelines. If only they could do the same with motorcycle helmets! Many more deaths many days from traffic accidents than from covid19 in the past 8 months. 

[Jonathan Swift]

21 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

3 women dodged mandatory quaranten.... how many have done exactly the same thing, not getting caught...? 

Thanks for the happy thoughts. Every country has cheaters. What are the stats for your home country? I've been here long enough and observed the seriousness with which this issue is treated to have confidence in how it's being handled. I have no doubt that the leakage at borders is being treated seriously and with all available resources. At least Thailand has among the best contact tracing in the world. It is also one of the top safest countries in the world according to the WHO. How about yours? Where I'm from, the US, is the absolute god awful worst possible scenario with whining babies refusing to cooperate because of their "rights" and "freedom", neither of which actually lawfully allows anyone to endanger the health of anyone else. 

[Burma Bill]

1 hour ago, Burma Bill said:

Yes indeed, as I can recall when I was a Tourist Police Volunteer based in Chiang Rai. I seem to remember the remote and scary route 1149 up in the mountains and forests between Doi Tung and Mae Sai which runs parallel to, and in several places even crosses, the Burmese border with no fences and an occasional check point . With expert local knowledge, I am sure people could be smuggled across the border. 

 

The map shows this area, the thicker yellow line being Route 1149 and the thinner brighter yellow line route 1149:-

 

 Apologies, the thinner brighter yellow line is the Burma/Thai border.

[AmySeeker]

6 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

You can not stop the porous borders and you can not detect covid if not testing randomly.

 

Eventually everyone crossing a border will have to take a road. In Thailand they have checkpoints. 

 

These checkpoints usually provide a secondary tier security. I've often been stopped at these checkpoints and had to show my passport.

 

The obvious flaw in this check point system is obvious. For example if someone crosses into Mayanmar illegally they won't have any stamp in their passport. Then if anyone on patrol looks at the passport on someone returning to Thailand, it will never show they've left the country.

 

The only solution is to tighten that border. It can be done - just needs alot of resources and intelligence - AND A HUGE DETTERANT TO ANYONE WHO THINKS OF CROSSING OVER LIKE THIS (without quarantine). 

[gamini]

12 hours ago, Robin said:

This is why Thailand has to have strict quarantine.  It is not the dirty farangs who are bringing in the infections, it is Thais who will not follow basic common sense and isolate in quarantine unless forced to do so.  

UK allowed residents back in but insisted on 14 day quarantine in their own homes.  Since most followed the rules, no great surge in infections. 

Thailand is suffering from restrictions because the government knows that Thais cannot be trusted to quarantine unless forced into isolation.  Who to blame?

In spite of the UK quarantine, it has the highest per capita deaths in the world, whilst Thailand has one of the lowest??

[tandor]

22 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

3 women dodged mandatory quaranten.... how many have done exactly the same thing, not getting caught...? 

...a well worn track no doubt...would have to be to haul 1.5 tonnes of ketamine washing powder into Thailand.

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, AmySeeker said:

 

Eventually everyone crossing a border will have to take a road. In Thailand they have checkpoints. 

 

These checkpoints usually provide a secondary tier security. I've often been stopped at these checkpoints and had to show my passport.

 

The obvious flaw in this check point system is obvious. For example if someone crosses into Mayanmar illegally they won't have any stamp in their passport. Then if anyone on patrol looks at the passport on someone returning to Thailand, it will never show they've left the country.

 

The only solution is to tighten that border. It can be done - just needs alot of resources and intelligence - AND A HUGE DETTERANT TO ANYONE WHO THINKS OF CROSSING OVER LIKE THIS (without quarantine). 

Flaw in your thinking. Thais do not need passports to cross the border. Their ID cards are all they need. If stopped at a checkpoint, they are Thai, no biggie, off you go no scrutiny.

[AmySeeker]

22 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Flaw in your thinking. Thais do not need passports to cross the border. Their ID cards are all they need. If stopped at a checkpoint, they are Thai, no biggie, off you go no scrutiny.

 

The next step would be to completely close crossing of that border in any format. Close the roads that lead up to the borders. You can't walk in a jungle for that long. 

[ThailandRyan]

4 minutes ago, AmySeeker said:

 

The next step would be to completely close crossing of that border in any format. Close the roads that lead up to the borders. You can't walk in a jungle for that long. 

You ever hear of the silk road or the HoChiMin trail?.  They can walk forever if they want.

[GroveHillWanderer]

14 hours ago, Robin said:

This is why Thailand has to have strict quarantine.  It is not the dirty farangs who are bringing in the infections, it is Thais who will not follow basic common sense and isolate in quarantine unless forced to do so.  

UK allowed residents back in but insisted on 14 day quarantine in their own homes.  Since most followed the rules, no great surge in infections. 

Thailand is suffering from restrictions because the government knows that Thais cannot be trusted to quarantine unless forced into isolation.  Who to blame?

Actually, most people in the UK didn't follow the rules. I can't find information that pertains specifically to UK residents returning from abroad, but in general, the vast majority of UK population didn't self-isolate when they should have done. According to a survey done in September:

 

Quote

... only 18 per cent of people who developed symptoms between March and August said they had actually self-isolated to stop the spread of the virus.

 

Coronavirus self-isolation rules

[natway09]

They should send these 3 to prison

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, poohy said:

Hardly I live south of Prachuap   within 14km from my house i could drive a motorbike (actually I would probably fall off so I would walk then) along a rough dirt track and be in the back end of Burma

Imagine if i know of such a route that  just what the "natives" of both sides know

Good point. Way back when I was bulletproof and invincible, I joined some of my mates on our motorbikes on a 'covert' run from Pattaya over the natural Cambodian border, maybe a decent 30 km or so inside. We were quite impressed with our derring-do and pitched up at a tiny village where we managed to track down some beer. A bit later, some local lads joined us and despite the language difficulties, hung around. Around 10 pm, the question of, 'Where do we get some girls?" came up. The Cambodian lads huddled and chatted among themselves and said they'd be back in 20 minutes. About an hour later, they arrived with five young lasses riding pillion. We didn't have any language issues as the lads had nipped back over the border and brought back some Thai girls. That momentarily took the edge of our covert mission.

[sitti]

14 hours ago, Robin said:

This is why Thailand has to have strict quarantine.  It is not the dirty farangs who are bringing in the infections, it is Thais who will not follow basic common sense and isolate in quarantine unless forced to do so.  

UK allowed residents back in but insisted on 14 day quarantine in their own homes.  Since most followed the rules, no great surge in infections. 

Thailand is suffering from restrictions because the government knows that Thais cannot be trusted to quarantine unless forced into isolation.  Who to blame?

Are you denying the reality or something? UK just had a lockdown because there was a great surge in infections and a lot of people weren't following rules. 

[ronaldo0]

I thought it was three women and a guy ? 

[Cattleman]

Very selfish act , should be huge fine and jail time ,

why arn't the army patrolling the borders ?

[Ireland32]

Make it Public and Lock Them Up for  Attempted Murder , Example Now 

[jomtienisgood]

16 hours ago, NilSS said:

I also live near the border. It's jungle, what do you suggest Ms Seeker, Agent Orange?

 

 

 

 

I was gonna suggest something, but it will be barred by moderators..... 5555555

[jomtienisgood]

26 minutes ago, Cattleman said:

Very selfish act , should be huge fine and jail time ,

why arn't the army patrolling the borders ?

Who says they don't????? 

[jomtienisgood]

1 hour ago, AmySeeker said:

 

The next step would be to completely close crossing of that border in any format. Close the roads that lead up to the borders. You can't walk in a jungle for that long. 

Maybe you can't, how long did the Viets do it?????? 

[AMFWolfie]

On 11/30/2020 at 8:52 AM, webfact said:

Thailand tracking 200 people as infected returnees skip COVID-19 quarantine

 

FILE PHOTO: Medical personnel perform a nose swab test on a local resident of a community in Bangkok, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Thailand, April 28, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand was racing to track down about 200 people in its northern provinces on Monday to stop a potential coronavirus outbreak, after three Thai nationals entered the country illegally from Myanmar and tested positive days later.

 

Three women bypassed immigration checks and entered via natural border crossings last Tuesday and Friday, skipping the mandatory quarantine for new arrivals, Chiang Rai provincial governor Prachon Pratsakul said.

 

There were 356 people in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces potentially exposed, among them staff and customers of a hotel, shopping mall, cinema, restaurants and passengers in a van and taxi, Prachon told a news conference.

 

Thailand has strict measures and border controls to keep the coronavirus at bay having kept its cases to less than 4,000 and deaths at 60, although its tourism-reliant economy has suffered badly.

 

Most infections in recent months have been imported and found in government quarantine, with only a handful of community-transmitted cases reported, which each saw massive contact-tracing efforts launched.

 

So far more than 150 people in the northern provinces have been found and tested negative, senior health official Sopon Iamsirithaworn said in a separate news conference.

 

The first of the three new cases arrived on Nov. 24 in Chiang Rai and travelled to Chiang Mai, where she later showed coronavirus symptoms and went to hospital.

 

Two others who worked in the same entertainment venue in Myanmar returned on Friday. They stayed at a local hotel and later sought COVID-19 tests, which were positive.

 

Myanmar is currently seeing an average 1,447 new coronavirus cases each day, with nearly 88,000 infections and 1,887 deaths overall.

 

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Martin Petty)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-30

 

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With those numbers of infections in Myanmar and easily accessible, unmonitored border crossings, you would think the Thai government would put more effort in policing those areas to stop this sort of thing happening before they lose their hard earned reputation for keeping Covid under control. Closing airports, state and alternative quarantine for all, albeit totally devastating the tourist industry, has obviously worked and now three infected girls, and probably many more not reported, are looking to jeopardize everything they have achieved. 

[tgw]

10 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

It's not just Thais.  Burmese cross the border daily all up and down the country.  I heard warnings about this months ago when in Koh Samui.  So they are well aware of the dangers.  But how do you monitor the 2,500 KM border?  Most of which is jungle and mountains with no proper roads, just paths.  And the virus is raging in Myanmar.

 

Not an easy job.

 

I think most crossings are known to the authorities. it's time they deploy Saeh Daeng's (RIP) ranger units to patrol the jungle and apprehend illegal border crossers.

 

I also would like to know what happens to these jaycrossers?

penalties should be harsh, as they are jeopardizing the whole country's policy for the pandemic.

[jomtienisgood]

6 hours ago, kevin612 said:

It is gonna be a nightmare if second breakout occurs 

Absolutely, 200% deaths i.e. approx 100 deaths in Th.....