Special train takes Covid patients home to northeastern Thailand

Today, “Special” train No. 971 took 137 Covid patients to various northeastern Thai provinces. The Special train left from the Rangsit railway station.

A cabinet resolution earlier in the month decreed that the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public health were to arrange transportation to bring Covid patients back to their home provinces. Both ministries were ordered to cooperate with the National Health Security Office and the National Institute of Emergency Medicine.

The Special train is supposed to let patients off at Nakhon Ratchasima around 1:30 pm. Then, it will stop at the Buri Ram station an hour and half-ish later. Next, it will drop more patients off at the Lam Chi station in Surin about 40 minutes later. Then, it is on to the Nong Waeng station in Si Sa Ket about 20 minutes after 5 pm. Finally, it is scheduled to arrive at the Warin Chamrap station in Ubon Ratchathani around 6 pm.

The Covid patients are to be collected at the station by local health officials. From the station, they will be taken to hospitals.

A different, but still Special train, was supposed to depart from Bangkok yesterday with nearly 1,500 Covid patients bound for home. However, the train was cancelled when officials discovered Sunday that the patients had made other transportation arrangements. Today’s train took the Covid patients that were unable to secure a non-special form of transportation. Officials cited insufficient passengers to make yesterday’s train practical…

SOURCE: Bangkok Post