COVID-19 - Should you be worried about the Coronavirus in Bangkok, Thailand?

The 2019-nCoV has been on the top of the news for a while. At this point of writing, there are 60,286 confirmed cases, with 1,367 confirmed deaths. These are scary numbers for a virus that was only confirmed on January 31, 2019, and we have been tracking it internationally since January 20, 2020 (24 days ago). This post is written on February 13, 2020.

Right now, there are 33 confirmed cases in Thailand. Of those cases, 9 are local Thais (1 among the evacuated Thais from Wuhan). Thailand hasn't set any travel ban so far and tourists from China are still allowed in without any quarantine measure. So should you be worried if you are living in Bangkok, Thailand?

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Should you be worried in Bangkok?

Bangkok has a population of 10.5 million. Currently, there are 33 confirmed cases in all of Thailand, who all have been confined. As a result, the chances of coming in contact with someone who has the virus is extremely low.

However, Bangkok is the second most visited city in the world. With an estimated 25.8 million visitors in 2019. Hong Kong is still in number 1, and Singapore is in spot number 5. Other Thai cities like Phuket and Pattaya each attract 10 million visitors each year.

Bangkok is an important city for both business and tourism. Which makes it very possible for an asymptomatic (or mild symptomatic) traveler to unknowingly spread the virus to other people, similar to the clusters seen in Singapore.

So should we be worried in Bangkok? Yes and no. There is no need for panic if that’s the question you are asking, but we should be concerned. The chances of getting infected is small. However, we should be alert and maintain proper precautionary measures.

Below are the clusters that are happening in Singapore, could something similar happen to Bangkok?

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Prevention

Prevention is key. We should maintain proper precautionary measures to reduce the chance of spreading. As mentioned above, the chance of an asymptomatic (or mild symptomatic) traveler to spread the novel coronavirus in Bangkok is real. Some sources claim that the virus spread aerosol, but I haven’t seen any concrete evidence of that. What is confirmed, is that the virus can spread through droplets.

When we breathe, talk, cough, and sneeze, droplets leave our body and stay in the air for 10 minutes. These droplets contain the virus and can settle down on surfaces, which can then be picked up by someone else when touching that surface. If a person touches such a surface and then touches his nose, mouth, or eyes he can then get infected. Or if you breathe in those droplets you can also get infected (when in close perimeter to an infected person)

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There are a few things we can do to limit the transmission.

1. Wear a mask

Wearing a mask significantly limits the number of droplets you spew out into the air. At the time of writing, there is no official recommendation from the WHO (World Health Organization) for wearing a mask when asymptomatic. Some reports claim that asymptomatic spread is occurring, but no official studies suggest that this is the case. Mild symptomatic spread, on the other hand, has been confirmed and can be invisible externally.

Wearing a mask prevents you from touching your nose and mouth (mucous membranes), which makes it harder to catch the virus. I personally believe that wearing a mask will greatly reduce the spread of this virus. Free masks are available at the BTS-stations in Bangkok, you can ask for one at the information desk.

2. Wash your hands

Please wash your hands thoroughly. There is hand sanitizer everywhere in Bangkok, every BTS-station and major building have them at the entry/exit. Please use them! Your hands touch all kinds of surfaces without you realizing it. You don’t know who has touched that surface before you and you can now be carrying the virus on your hands.

I don’t see enough people using the hand sanitizers, but they are more effective than wearing a mask! Use them before entering the BTS (don’t take the virus into the train) and when leaving the BTS (don’t take the virus out of the train). Do the same for buildings, don’t bring the virus into a building and don’t take it out of a building. A warm call to everyone: Wash your hands!

3. Wai instead of shaking hands

Your hands are super-spreaders for viruses and bacteria. Shaking hands is a common way to transfer diseases without even realizing it. Using a Thai Wai as a greeting is far more effective to stop this spread.

Symptoms

The novel coronavirus infects the lower respiratory system, which makes it more alike to the previous SARS epidemic. The regular cold, on the other hand, affects the upper respiratory system. The symptoms for the novel coronavirus are:

• Cough
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Sore throat
• Shortness of breath
• Difficulty breathing

In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

If you experience any of these symptoms, you have traveled to an infected area (like Wuhan), or came in contact with someone who has, then please call your health service provider. In Bangkok, you can call the DDC hotline at 1422.

Live map

Below is a screenshot of a live map that counts all confirmed cases. The screenshot is on February 11, 2020. For an update, please visit the live map here.

Conclusion

The novel coronavirus is contagious, which results in the clusters in Singapore. Bangkok is the second most visited city in the world, which makes similar clusters to Singapore possible. There is no need to panic. With only 33 confirmed cases in all of Thailand, the chances of getting infected are still low.

We should be alert and maintain proper precautionary measures, like wearing a mask and washing your hands frequently (when entering the BTS and when leaving the BTS). The coronavirus grew from 300 confirmed cases to 60,000+ in 24 days. It is contagious and we should all do our best not to give it any chance to spread.

If you experience any of the symptoms, you have traveled to an infected area (like Wuhan), or came in contact with someone who has, then please call your health service provider. In Bangkok, you can call the DDC hotline at 1422.