Unused Thai schools to be transformed into field hospitals as infections surge

Empty or unused school buildings across Thailand are to be converted into field hospitals as Covid-19 cases surge and the hospital bed crisis continues. Amporn Pinasa from the Office of the Basic Education Commission has issued an order for all unused buildings to be repurposed as makeshift field hospitals to increase the number of treatment facilities available.

With hospitals in Covid-19 hotspots struggling to accommodate patients, even existing field hospitals, used for patients with only mild symptoms, are running out of beds. The Bangkok Post reports that education bosses have been asked to report back to OBEC on their progress in converting empty school buildings into treatment facilities.

An example of the type of building that can serve as a field hospital are those that were once used by schools but are left vacant when 2 schools merge due to low student numbers. Other buildings to be transformed into field hospitals include those that are currently unused due to schools being closed and teaching being done online.

According to the Bangkok Post report, in the last 2 months, the Thai military has opened an additional 3 field hospitals each in the southern province of Songkhla, the central province of Saraburi, and the north-eastern province of Roi Et. The military has now had to create 19 field hospitals since Thailand’s worst wave of Covid-19 began in April.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post