Thailand's COVID-19 crisis intensifies, authorities send patients to hometown by train

As the COVID-19 pandemic has tightened its grip across the globe, Thailand’s coronavirus crisis has further intensified with the rising cases and overwhelmed hospitals. The COVID-19 situation in Thailand has pushed the country’s healthcare system to the brink after the southeast Asian country was hailed for its COVID-19 control last year. However, now, Thailand is under severe pressure from the third wave of COVID-19 with hospitals in Bangkok running out of beds. 

The grim situation has prompted the doctors in the country to treat patients in car parks and several other reports have also stated that patients were seen succumbing to the disease on the roads while still waiting for the treatment. As per the Independent report, on Monday, Bangkok’s medical authorities said that the ICU beds for all COVID-19 patients at public hospitals were full. Some of the sick people were even being treated in emergency rooms. 

As per the reports, the hospital authorities have asked the COVID-19 patients to isolate at home or in the community isolation centres. Meanwhile, the Thai government has even started returning the patients to their respective hometowns by train for isolation and treatment and lightening the burden on the city hospitals. Reportedly, especially in the recent past, several people have died in their homes, on roads due to the unavailability of medical beds in Bangkok’s hospitals, as per medical volunteers quoted by local media outlets. 

Train carrying over 100 patients left Bangkok

As the government ramped up its measures to lift some burden off the city hospitals, as per The Associated Press report, a train carrying over 100 patients and medical workers in full personal protective equipment (PPE) left the city for the northeast. The train is destined to drop off the patients in at least seven provinces where they will be received by health officers and taken to other hospitals.

“These are patients from Bangkok who haven’t received treatment in hospitals. We want to bring them to doctors in their hometowns. And the travelling process is controlled all through the journey,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who was on hand to watch the operation.

 “We will continue this service until no COVID-19 patients who cannot get beds in Bangkok are left,” he said while adding that buses, vans, and even aircraft might also be deployed to send people back to the less severely affected areas in the country.

(IMAGE: AP/Unsplash)