Thai Health Ministry urges Bangkok to reduce activities to curb Covid spread
The Ministry of Public Health will meet with Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt today to discuss a new Covid-19 prevention plan and whether public gatherings should be reduced to curb the recent spike in coronavirus cases in the city.
The Public Health Permanent Secretary, Kiattiphum Wongrajit, and Chadchart will meet this afternoon and discuss a strategy to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
A number of different topics will be discussed at the meeting but especially events in Bangkok being promoted by Chadchart like the music in the garden and the open-air film festivals.
Kiattiphum said the Public Health Ministry wants cooperation from City Hall to reduce or cancel activities that could increase the risk of infection and secondly, prepare medical facilities and treatment for patients in Bangkok.
Kiattiphum added that tourist attractions were breeding grounds for Covid and as a consequence, the city’s hospitals will become more crowded.
The Public Health Permanent Secretary revealed there are about 2,000 Covid patients in Thailand’s hospitals, and half of them take up beds in Bangkok.
Kiattiphum believes Bangkok needs to prepare more beds for a predicted Covid peak next month and urged residents to get a booster dose every 4 months to prevent severe symptoms.
A doctor from Thammasart Rangsit Hospital, Chatchai Mingmalai, informed the media that the new cases were increasing from 10 patients per day to 100 cases per day, and sometimes reaching 150 patients.
Chatchai added the increasing number of cases is an obvious concern but so is the lack of medicine. He said many people can’t access Covid medicine and the government should solve this issue.
