I want to share some of the thoughts and ideas I’ve had on Covid-19.
To begin, while it may seem like a conspiracy theory that Covid-19 might have been a bio-weapon or released from a lab in China, I am revising my thoughts on the issue and starting to lean more towards that reality being the most logical one. A year or two ago I listened to an incredible series by Josh Clark, called The End of the World with Josh Clark, in which he examines and explores different ideas for how humans might one day cease to exist. Episode 6 on Biotechnology stuck out in my mind then by how frightening it was, and because history was littered with countless examples of diseases and viruses spreading and almost wiping out humanity. This was recorded years ago however Josh Clark reminds us of the countless examples of viruses being studied in laboratories and escaping into the general population and how several times our reality now almost came into existence. He literally names the corona virus family as the deadliest threat to our long term survival and explains how labs in the United States, Russia, Canada and China have modified H1N1 and H1N5 to make already existing avian flu’s and viruses MORE deadly and contagious. I highly highly highly recommend you listen to the episode, it is eye opening, terrifying and incredibly informative. This episode will give everyone an incredible refresher into the world of biotechnology and most importantly, what the global and scientific community have been doing for the past 50 years, which has been basically playing Russian roulette with the health and well being of the globe.
My Experience in Bangkok
I’ve had a few friends and family ask how life has been here on the other side of the globe. It’s an interesting question considering everything going on and in reality, I don’t even know how different or similar it is to life back in Canada or other countries. To some of my friends, Asia, being the original epicenter and source of the Covid-19 outbreak, was seen as an incredibly dangerous and scary place to be. Early on in January, people feared for my safety and health. However since the outbreak and global pandemic, things in Asia and Thailand specifically haven’t been that strange. For a long time we had public warnings and information about the dangers of Covid-19, but very little real life changes.
All through January and February, our school was fully functioning and students and staff were simply asked to wear masks at all times. I know face masks are a big source of controversy back in North America and Europe, but in Asia they really are common place. We would routinely see staff or students wearing a face mask anytime they had a cold or were feeling ill, and many people wear face masks to deal with the horrendous pollution in larger cities. I had been wearing a face mask on all my commutes since November last year. So in many ways, life was fairly normal.
While the virus was spreading to South Korea, Singapore and Japan, Thailand seemed to somehow remain largely untouched. Even until our vacation season in March, we were allowed to travel within the country without any restrictions or fears. It was only international travel to certain countries which forced you to quarantine afterwards.
Once we did return on March 16th, that’s when life here started to change. The infection rates here were slowly rising and the government was being forced to take the matter more seriously. Strong state recommendations started to take effect with people being urged to stay at home, social distance and not go to bars or restaurants. My school kept insisting we attend work everyday if we were able, and I was still at the office full time, despite there being no students or classes, until the end of March. Eventually the government forced the closure of restaurants, bars, and even the sale of alcohol. There was one larger source of outbreak, a boxing event, which seemed to force the issue into the media and the public eye.
April is also an incredibly important time in Thailand as it is their largest holiday, Songkran. Traditionally a time to return home and celebrate for a week long holiday, the government was incredibly worried about this raising infection rates and then instituted strict travel bans, alcohol bans and also a 10 pm to 4 am curfew country wide. Provinces became locked down and traveling became impossible. That’s where things stand as of today, although the bans on domestic travel, alcohol, and restaurants and shopping malls being closed is lifting this Sunday, March 3rd.
So while the rest of the world has been on full lock down for weeks and seeing serious disruptions to normal life, Thailand has had relatively lax measures in place and life hasn’t changed that much.
To be honest, the open air markets and local stores and shops really didn’t close at all. A 5 minute walk from my house last Tuesday, April 28th, shows that the local vendors were all open, markets were busy, and people don’t really practice social distancing. At my school, the cafeteria sees tables of 6-8 teachers all eating shoulder to shoulder, and also working together, sometimes 15 to 20 teachers, in one office or room. With the growing information on how effectively Covid-19 can spread, its clear that most of Thailand isn’t taking the spread very seriously.
If you follow some of the online websites which track the global spread of Covid-19, (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/) you’ll see that Thailand has been reporting double and single digit rises of new infections for quite some time. It sounds, for the intents and purposes, like the Thai government and healthcare system has been incredibly effective and practically shut down all cases of Covid-19. While it’s only my personal opinion, I am incredibly skeptical and doubtful of these claims and numbers. The Thai government has been publicly stating that they are limited their testing to a “strategic testing” approach. This sounds like they are trying to make the best use of their resources, but in reality sounds more like a ploy to keep numbers drastically low. I know people who have shown systems and gone to hospitals and private clinics and asked to be tested. They have been denied access to a test, and told to simply go home and self quarantine. This means they don’t have to report potential new cases, and if the person is infected, hopefully the quarantine will stop the transmission.
This sounds like the kind of strategy you use when you have work your’e trying to avoid, and you simply close your eyes or hide it, and hope it goes away. People working in the aviation industry, who have been on flights with CONFIRMED cases of Covid-19, have been told by their employers NOT to get tested and to simply stay at home. I can only assume the incredible cost and brand damage of having to inform customers they may have been exposed and infected is driving these kinds of policies. All of this is quite consistent with a government which has been repeatedly accused of hiding information and lying.
A lot of people do not know that Thailand had a military coup in 2014 and has since only had 1 election, where the military backed party “won” after months of delaying ballot counting and widespread accusations of cheating, corruption and election tampering. I have heard local Thai’s describe the relationship between public information in Thailand and the government like a frog stuck inside a coconut shell. The frog is the general population and media sources, and the coconut shell is the corruption and military control which blocks out the outside and real world.
So do I believe the official numbers being reported in Thailand? Not at all. Every single country which has increased testing has shown a dramatic rise in the infection rates of the general population. It seems that only 1 other country is able to boast of the “amazing” results being reported here in Thailand, and that is China. If you believe China’s official numbers, then maybe you can believe Thailands. However news being reported on China, and critiques from prominent members of its community like Ai Weiwei casts serious doubts about how healthy China really is in the face of this epidemic and how it is reporting its true effects. Shocking stories of funerals and cremations being censored and denied by government officials, or videos of apartment complexes being welded shut to force quarantine in China do not boost my confidence.
A country like Thailand, which relies on tourism and travel, and had the first reported case outside of China, should be one of the most infected countries. Especially when compared with countries with better health care and tighter social controls, like Singapore and Japan.
General thoughts on Covid-19
While I’m incredibly skeptical about what is going on here in Thailand, I am generally optimistic about the overall outcomes and projected future for the world dealing with Covid-19. In a kind of coincidence, I had been intrigued and curious about the Spanish Flu outbreaks following WW1 for quite a few years now and the reality of that situation and what the world survived through gives me a lot of hope. If you are unfamiliar with the Spanish Flu and how devastating it was, infecting roughly 25% of the worlds population and instigating almost 2 years of continual quarantines in the early 20th century, I highly recommend you research it a little. It will blow your mind and show how resilient humans and societies can be.
I am quite skeptical though on the response of the WHO and I’m fascinated by the evolving story and timeline of information and misinformation. It seems clear now that a lot of governments and international organizations lied, mislead people and downplayed information purposefully and that the spread of this virus could have been handled much better. The political ties and influence is also staggering, and videos such as this, showing the clear influence and dominance by China of the WHO is quite alarming.
If you are unaware of why this is so alarming, simply ask any of your friends from Taiwan, or even China, and they will explain how politically charged this issue is and how damning it looks when an official from the WHO refuses to acknowledge Taiwan as a country.
Furthermore when some of the podcasters and public intellectuals I follow, like Eric Weinstein, start to worry and reflect on the corruption of the WHO it seems like we have real cause for concern. However there is some silver lining and I would like to leave on a positive note. As Eric Weinstein pointed out on one of his more recent podcasts, there is a real cause for concern. Covid-19 may have provided the engine and impetus to end so many problems plaguing our morally bankrupt and deficient society. Things like the Me Too movement, our obsession with travel and pollution, general lack of dealing with global level issues and problems (like climate change), are all being forced on us now whether we like it or not. Universities and public education have been forced to acknowledge that the institutional system is broken and can’t sustain itself and that online learning at a fraction of the cost is a viable option. People are learning to occupy their time with more meaningful pursuits because their rat race lifestyle has become obsolete. Forced quarantine and time with your loved ones might end up with real relationships being formed and people communicating in meaningful ways again.
There is a lot of good that can come from this crisis and the world might wake up. Being able to eat out or visit the shopping mall reality isn’t a priority nor should we feel cheated or victimized if we can’t have that, especially when hundreds of millions of people will be faced with starvation and famine because of this crisis. Hopefully the world actually pulls together and does something meaningful in the aftermath of Covid-19. What would be the most disastrous result and the saddest outcome for me is if the world really did return to “normal” after this pandemic. Because normal wasn’t working and normal isn’t good.