Medical workers conduct swab tests on passengers at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing facility outside a hospital in Nonthaburi, Thailand, on April 10. (AP Photo)
BANGKOK Thailand plans to install 10,000 field-hospital beds in Bangkok, a health official said on Saturday, as the country strains to cope with a third wave of COVID-19 infections.
At least a dozen hospitals in the capital said they had stopped testing for the coronavirus as of Friday due to a lack of kits or capacity. Hospitals are reluctant to test because they must admit people if they test positive, authorities say. We aim to increase (field) hospital beds to 10,000 in no time, which should give the public confidence that we can still contain this round of outbreak, Suksan Kittisupakorn, director-general of Thailand s Medical Service Department, told reporters.
A Nepalese elderly patient waits for his eye patch to be removed at the Tilganga Eye Center in Kathmandu on March 26. (AP Photo)
LUMBINI, Nepal Just next to the Mayadevi temple where Buddha was born more than 2,600 years ago, hundreds of people lined up outside a makeshift hospital on a recent hazy day, hoping their fading eyesight could be restored.
A day later, these saffron-robed Buddhist monks, old farmers and housewives were able to see the world again because the nation s renowned eye surgeon Dr. Sanduk Ruit was there with his innovative and inexpensive cataract surgery that has earned him many awards.
In this image taken from video, Lee Yi-hsiang, the driver of the truck that caused the train accident on April 2, offers a public apology as he is led by police on April 4 in Hualien, Taiwan. (EBC via AP)
TAIPEI The owner of a construction truck that caused Taiwan s worst rail accident in decades, killing 48 people, apologized in tears while being led away from his home by police on Sunday. The unmanned truck’s emergency brake was not properly engaged, according to the government’s disaster relief center.
An investigation is underway as to how exactly Lee Yi-Hsiang s vehicle slid down onto the tracks Friday from a nearby construction site on the mountainous coast of eastern Hualien county. The truck was hit by a passenger train carrying 494 people, which derailed just before entering a tunnel, crushing many passengers inside the mangled train carriages.
Residents inspect the damage at a village hit by flash flood in East Flores, Indonesia, on April 4. (AP Photo)
JAKARTA Landslides and flash floods from torrential rains in eastern Indonesia killed at least 41 people and displaced thousands, the country s disaster relief agency said Sunday. More than two dozen others were still missing.
Mud tumbled down from surrounding hills onto dozens of homes in Lamenele village shortly after midnight on Adonara island in East Nusa Tenggara province. Rescuers recovered 35 bodies and at least five injured, said Lenny Ola, who heads the local disaster agency.
Flash flooding killed at least six people elsewhere, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Relief efforts were hampered by power cuts, blocked roads covered in thick mud and debris as well as the remoteness of the area surrounded by choppy seas and high waves, said the agency s spokesperson, Raditya Jati.