Thread: Provincial hospitals near capacity as Covid patients flood home

Covid patients looking to return to their home province for treatment should check with the intended hospital first as hospital beds are also beginning to fill up in other provinces besides Bangkok, the government said on Wednesday.


“Many provinces in the North and North East are now saying that their capacity is getting full and they may no longer be able to receive patients from the Bangkok and Metropolitan Region anymore,” said Apisamai Srirangson, the assistant spokeswoman of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).


“If you are intended to go back and be treated at your home province, you might have to check with the intended province first,” she added.


The third wave, which started in the capital and five adjacent provinces in April, has now spread to all provinces in Thailand.


Roi Et province, which earlier sent buses to bring Covid patients back to the province for treatment, is now saying that there are reaching their capacity, Apisamai said.


The CCSA advised Covid patients still looking to return home that they must only travel by private vehicle, wear their mask at all times, open the windows for airflow and try not to stop along the way by taking enough water, food, face masks, hand sanitizers and garbage bags.


The CCSA said there were 9,317 confirmed Covid cases and 87 related deaths in the past 24 hours nationwide.


From the total number of new cases, 7,159 were found via walk-in tests at medical facilities, 2,021 via proactive tests at known clusters, 129 via proactive tests in prisons and eight imported cases.


Apisamai said at the moment, at least 17 per cent of people walking in to be tested at medical facilities in Bangkok were found to be infected with the virus, which is “quite high”.


The country has been reporting more than 5,000 cases per day since June 28 and the majority are being found in the Bangkok and Metropolitan Region, leading to shortages of hospital beds in the capital and surrounding provinces.


There are now 99,511 Covid patients in hospitals, up from 41,403 on June 12.


Of those, 56,057 are being treated at public and private hospitals and 43,454 at field hospitals.


Of current patients, 3,201 in were critical condition including 828 on ventilators, up from 1,242 in critical condition and 362 on ventilators on June 12. Most patients in critical condition and on ventilators are being treated in the Bangkok and Metropolitan Region.


From the 9,180 new cases in the general Thai population (excluding cases in prisons and imported) that were found in the past 24 hours, the highest numbers were 2,332 in Bangkok followed by 1,006 in Samut Prakan, 577 in Samut Sakhon, 513 in Chonburi, 398 in Pathum Thani and 347 in Nonthaburi, 339 in Chachoengsao and 202 in Nakhon Pathom.


All 77 provinces in Thailand have reported cases in the past 24 hours. Sixteen have reported more than 100 cases, 21 have reported 51-100 cases, 30 have reported 11-50 cases and 10 have reported 1-10 cases.



Provincial hospitals near capacity as Covid patients flood home - Thai Enquirer

It's like organised spreading, isn't it?

^ Indeed, and it is not "intending to go back for treatment" but "forced to go back for treatment", as I posted in a different thread.

It seems absurd to me that they are allowing infected people to travel back to the country for treatment when there is a 2000 bed facility at Don Muang airport and another 5000 beds being commissioned at Swampy airport.

My guess is the infected will not strictly follow the guidelines and in the coming weeks there will be numerous clusters popping up all over the country.

What is the estimated date for 20.000 cases a day? My guess is mid to late August.

Originally Posted by Grumpy John

It seems absurd to me that they are allowing infected people to travel back to the country for treatment when there is a 2000 bed facility at Don Muang airport and another 5000 beds being commissioned at Swampy airport.

My guess is the infected will not strictly follow the guidelines and in the coming weeks there will be numerous clusters popping up all over the country.

What is the estimated date for 20.000 cases a day? My guess is mid to late August.

I wonder if those 7000 beds come with family support facilities?

Anyone who is obliged to return to their home province could be infected, but as the family represents Thailand’s cheap version of a welfare safety net, it’s probable that they are out of work and have no money, infected or not.

Originally Posted by Grumpy John

It seems absurd to me that they are allowing infected people to travel back to the country

Yes, absurd, not just allowed, pretty much given no other choice.

I am sure the gf here represents local opinion when she says people are thoroughly unhappy at having all these infected people turn up in the villages. There have been relatively few cases in this province, the cases are now growing and every cluster starts with someone returning from Bangkok.

Originally Posted by misskit

Roi Et province, which earlier sent buses to bring Covid patients back to the province for treatment, is now saying that there are reaching their capacity

It's a fucking zoo here. Not only are the infected here but so are many of their families sitting around the waiting area and outside the building.