Thailand on Friday reported its fifth record of coronavirus cases this week, as authorities set up thousands of field hospitals to cope with the influx of patients and set up hotels to provide extra beds for those without symptoms.
According to Thai rules, all positive cases must be taken into care and with 10,461 patients being treated, the medical sector could be put under stress.
Authorities also announced that the closure of pubs, massage parlors and schools would begin at least two weeks on Sunday to curb the outbreak.
The sale of liquor in restaurants is banned and activities involving more than 50 people are also prohibited, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesperson for the Coronavirus task force.
Eighteen provinces, including Bangkok, have been designated as red zones where restaurants and convenience stores close early, with the rest of the country being orange zones.
More than 20,000 beds have been set up at community centers and gyms in field hospitals across the country. Hotels and hospitals are also working together to set up ‘hospitals’ to treat patients without symptoms, the health ministry said.
Five thousand beds have been made in 23 hotels, according to a statement. About 2,000 beds are occupied and another 7,000 extra can be added.
Hotels that already offer travelers to Thailand for quarantine were the best for this, Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, president of the Thai Hotels Association, told Reuters.
“They have all the processes in place, such as preventing cross-contamination, putting on PPE costumes, cleaning, making sure the floors are not carpeted,” she said.
Hotels are registered by the Ministry of Health and are matched with hospitals that require extra beds.
The hotels range from three- to five-star facilities and are mostly on the outskirts of Bangkok, the center of the latest outbreak, which had 312 new infections on Friday.
Thailand has so far managed to limit the number of cases compared to other countries, but the new outbreak comes because many traveled this week during the new annual holiday in Songkran, and because vaccination rates are still low.
Prayuth Chan-ocha, prime minister, said the government was in contact for the possible acquisition of the Sputnik V and Pfizer (PFE.N) vaccines. To date, it has two million doses of Sinovac vaccine in China and 117,300 shots of AstraZeneca (AZN.L).
Thailand on Friday 1582 reported new cases of coronavirus, which is the highest number of daily infections since the onset of the pandemic.
The new cases increased the total number of infections to 39,038, with deaths at 97.
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