At least 2,700 Covid-19 patients in Bangkok waiting to be admitted

The director of Bangkok’s Erawan Centre says there are at least 2,700 Covid-19 patients waiting to be sent to pre-admission centres. According to Pornthep Saeheng, the centre’s main role is to have all patients, whether seriously ill, asymptomatic, or experiencing mild symptoms, sent to 25 pre-admission centres across the capital.

Patients who are moderately or seriously ill will be admitted to hospitals in the case of serious illness and to field hospitals for those with less severe symptoms. People who are asymptomatic or who have only mild symptoms are permitted to self-isolate at home, with thousands now doing so, according to Pornthep.

However, Thai PBS World reports that the centre is currently inundated with daily calls from Covid-19 patients in need of hospital beds. Pornthep says that 1,800 calls were received in just 1 day this week. In the central province of Saraburi, an image was posted on social media of Covid-19 patients lying on stretchers outside a hospital, with all 700 beds at the facility full.

Speaking to Thai PBS World, a healthcare worker at the hospital says some of the patients pictured had mild symptoms and were being kept outside the emergency ward to prevent infection from spreading. It’s understood nearly all have now been moved inside and a new field hospital is being built to take around 500 people currently waiting for treatment.

Meanwhile, Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital in Bangkok has urged people to call the 1471 hotline before arriving with patients as Covid-19 wards and intensive care beds are now full.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World