Pattaya Declared Virus Free

Not my girlfriend wearing a mask...

Maybe I should qualify that title…Pattaya is H1N1 free, So says Chonburi Governor  Senee Jittakasem. Apparently he and an entourage of health officials have inspected various venues around Pattaya and they are confident the city is completely virus free.

Alright, it’s bad enough that the WHO and CDC have fallen for their own fear mongering about the swine flu that will obviously kill most of the world population by the end of the year, but I think Governor Jittakasem has taken much too lax a stand.

The swine flu, H1N1 for those paranoid pig farmers out there,  has taken less lives world wide than those taken in Thailand during Songkran 2008, during which 471 people were killed and 4,332 were injured during the 7 days of festivities. That is in 7 days people.

It’s bad enough that the CDC and WHO are fear mongering people around the world into a state of panic, but to declare a city completely free of the virus is swinging to the opposite extreme.

People around the world should be aware that H1N1 exists and if they think they have come into contact with it they should take all precautions. If you are someplace, like Pattaya, and you are being told it is completely virus free then you should realize that stupid people exist everywhere in the world. Obviously there is no way to declare any city virus free in any situation. Although misguided it’s easy to reason out why this statement has been made.

Pattaya relies heavily on tourist dollars and in the midst of the slow season during the worst economic downturn in recent history when the World Health Organization has declared a new pandemic and the virus has made it to your country and city, it only makes sense to tell people it’s all gone. How’s that for a run on sentence!

Thailand has many more serious issues that the WHO and Thai officials should be dealing with. The death rate on Thai roads is atrocious, the over prescription of antibiotics country wide is alarming and there are some really nasty flesh eating diseases running rampant throughout rural Thailand. H1N1 is certainly something to think about but it hardly rates the media attention it has received. Likewise, the virus shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand either.

My favorite quote from the city fathers:

“There was also a call made to the entertainment industry to properly clean their venues, which are vulnerable to spread of the virus

I’ve been in a lot of those venue’s and I’m bettin not much can live in some of those places and in others there is probably stuff growing there that could kill Godzilla!

If tourism is down and you need to do something have a festival or an eating contest…better yet have a wet t-shirt contest, it is Pattaya we’re talking about. Whatever you do don’t be a politician and declare your city to be the only virus free city in the world. It tends to make you look like a shmuck.

One thing is for sure…if my girl finds out I posted that picture of her above I won’t have to worry about any nasty virus’s killing me.

sig1 Pattaya Declared Virus Free

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3 Comments »

Comment by CatherineNo Gravatar
2009-07-16 19:36:46

‘I’ve been in a lot of those venue’s and I’m bettin not much can live in some of those places and in others there is probably stuff growing there that could kill Godzilla!’

I have to take your word for it :-D

‘there are some really nasty flesh eating diseases running rampant throughout rural Thailand.’

That subject would make an excellent post! I knew a guy in Borneo who had one eating into his leg. I believe that it turned out to be a spider bite, but it was gross nonetheless.

(and do let us know if Pookie sees that photo ;-)
Catherine´s last blog ..Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners My ComLuv Profile

Comment by TalenNo Gravatar
2009-07-16 21:51:49

Catherine, If Pookie see’s that photo I probably won’t be letting anyone know much of anything through the tubes the doctors inserted :P

I am working on a post about the virus’s running around in rural Thailand but it’s taking a bit waiting on some doctors opinions. Pookie’s daughter and her Uncle have both had bouts with a less stringent strain of the virus and it wasn’t fun.

 
 
Comment by MikeNo Gravatar
2009-07-16 21:56:09

Talen is Pookie modeling the latest anti-flu mask?

Perhaps this is what the government intend to issue so all Thais and farang can be sanuk while washing anything in sight!
Mike´s last blog ..Swine Flu Thailand: Clean Up My ComLuv Profile

 
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