Thailand reported its fifth daily record number of coronavirus cases this week on Friday, as authorities set up thousands of field hospitals to accommodate the influx of patients and hotels lined up to provide extra beds for those without symptoms.
All positive cases must be taken into care according to Thai rules, and with 10,461 patients being treated, the medical sector may come under additional pressure.
Authorities also announced the closing of bars, massage parlors and schools for at least two weeks from Sunday to contain the outbreak.
The sale of alcohol in restaurants has been banned, and activities involving more than 50 people have also been banned, said coronavirus task force spokesman Taweesin Wisanuyothin.
Eighteen provinces, including Bangkok, were designated as red zones where restaurants and convenience stores close early, while the rest of the country was categorized as orange zones.
More than 20,000 beds have been set up in field hospitals across the country at community centers and gyms. Hotels and hospitals are also working together to establish “hospitals” to treat asymptomatic patients, the Ministry of Health said.
Five thousand beds in 23 hotels had been prepared, a statement said. About 2,000 beds are occupied and a further 7,000 can be built.
Hotels already receiving travelers to Thailand for quarantine were best positioned for this, Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, president of the Thai Hotels Association, told Reuters.
“They have implemented all processes such as preventing cross-contamination, wearing PPE suits, cleaning and making sure the floors are not carpeted,” she said.
Hotels register through the Ministry of Health and are linked to hospitals that require extra beds.
The hotels range from three to five star facilities and are usually located on the outskirts of Bangkok, the epicenter of the latest outbreak, which saw 312 new infections on Friday.
Thailand has so far managed to control the number of cases compared to other countries, but the new outbreak is because many have traveled in the country this week during the Songkran New Year holidays and because vaccination rates are still low.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the government was in contact regarding the possible purchase of the vaccines Sputnik V and Pfizer (PFE.N). So far, it has had two million doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine and 117,300 injections of AstraZeneca (AZN.L).
Thailand reported 1,582 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the highest number of daily infections since the start of the pandemic.
The new cases brought the total number of infections to 39,038, with deaths at 97.
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