Still enough beds at field hospitals
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published : 10 Jan 2021 at 05:33
7 Beds placed in two warehouses pending the construction of the field hospital at the Watthana Factory project site on Thursay. (Photos by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
The Public Health Ministry and medical-school hospitals are working together to set up at least 1,000 beds at field hospitals nationwide to keep asymptomatic Covid-19 people under observation.
The aim is to keep as many asymptomatic people as possible from passing the virus to others as the number of infections runs into hundreds each day, says the Department of Medical Services (DoMS).
The infected people tend to be diagnosed with the virus when they come to hospital and seek treatment for other illnesses.
52 People operate heavy machinery to clear and drill during the construction of a field hospital at the 100-rai Watthana Factory project site in Samut Sakhon, an epicentre of the new wave of Covid-19 infections. The field hospital, costing five billion baht to build, will be equipped with 1,000 beds for Covid-19 patients.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Thursday urged people to download onto their smartphone a Covid-19 contact-tracing app called Mor Chana . However, there would be no punishments for those who do not download it, so long as they inform officials of their travel plans when crossing provincial borders.
His remark came on Thursday afternoon after an announcement made by Taweesilp Visanuyothin, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman. He said use of the app would be mandatory in the declared maximum-control zones, a statement that was strongly opposed by some critics and sparked uproar online.