travel to thailand during current health crisis

[knobbiewon]

long time lurker here, first time posting. I've searched the web for info specific to whether the corvid-19 crisis is affecting the TG scene in bangkok and other places we like to play. i've been there twice before so i know the scene. Are there any board members with any recent info related to how thing are being affected if any. I've delayed booking but i can't wait too much longer. of course i could chose to go to South america where there have been no reported cases but my lack of knowledge(specific to areas to visit, hotels, etc.) of that area deters me from going that route. booking thailand is just mentally easier for me at this point for my 60yr old brain. thanks for any help provided.

[terryw]

The number of confirmed cases for Thailand is suspiciously low - less than 40. Last week the Thai government admitted that there were still more than 100,000 Chinese citizens stranded in the country as they did not want to return to their infected home towns. That said, there is as yet, no evidence of an epidemic here.

[filghy2]

The number of confirmed cases is Thailand is in line with other countries in South East Asia, so I don't think it looks suspiciously low. There's enough misinformation and conspiracy theories around on this subject already - people should not be adding to it.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports

I know the spread of the disease is a bit scary, but you need to keep the risk in perspective. More than 20,000 people die in road accidents in Thailand every year - it has one of the worst death rates relative to its population. You have far more risk of being killed that way than from the coronavirus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate

[collector171]

long time lurker here, first time posting. I've searched the web for info specific to whether the corvid-19 crisis is affecting the TG scene in bangkok and other places we like to play. i've been there twice before so i know the scene. Are there any board members with any recent info related to how thing are being affected if any. I've delayed booking but i can't wait too much longer. of course i could chose to go to South america where there have been no reported cases but my lack of knowledge(specific to areas to visit, hotels, etc.) of that area deters me from going that route. booking thailand is just mentally easier for me at this point for my 60yr old brain. thanks for any help provided.

The biggest potential problem I see is if you get infected, you may have to wait 14+ days to get back. If you can live with that possible delay then enjoy it. Lots of people that are cruising have landed in Japan to have cruises canceled, not as many flights, although some of the theories of why Japan is closing down so hard is they don't want to have an epidemic when the Olympics start.

[mildcigar_2001]

You would have to be crazy to visit Asia at this time.

I was considering a two week trip to Thailand in September, but decided to put that on hold. I enjoy visiting Pattaya and its adult venues. However it seems that this virus is especially easy to catch, i.e. if one person in the bar has the virus then most patrons are likely to catch it.

A tourist destination such as Bangkok or Pattaya would be especially problematic (large numbers of foreigners from all over the globe and one infected person suddenly turns into many). Plus you have to travel to and from asia on an airplane (even thinking about breathing the recycled air makes my skin crawl).

This is a good link describing transmission rates, death rates, and possible treatments: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/02/14/wuhan-coronavirus-wuwt-update/

It seems to me that it would be best to postpone any trips to asia until this epidemic burns itself out.

[Nikka]

idiots....

[gaysian71]

I'm pretty sure more people have died from corona beer than the corona virus. I wouldn't worry about it

[filghy2]

People are very irrational about health risks - obsessing about cases like this even though they routinely accept much greater risks without much thought. Apart from the road accident example I mentioned above, it's estimated that up to 650,000 people die from influenza each year, yet nobody would suggest that people stay home and avoid others during the flu season.
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/14-12-2017-up-to-650-000-people-die-of-respiratory-diseases-linked-to-seasonal-flu-each-year

That's not so say that the authorities should not take measures to limit the spread of the virus, but avoiding travel to all of Asia (apart from China) seems over the top. I don't think any government is actually advising that.