Thailand’s Health Ministry is seeking to increase beds to serve COVID-19 pandemic patients, especially those in the group that have severe symptoms and require ventilators.

The head of the portfolio’s medical management session, Korakrit Limsommut, said hospitals in Bangkok have a capacity of about 1,000 beds for severe cases, adding that only 10 percent of them are available.

While some 400 beds remain free for those infected who have moderate symptoms and underlying illnesses and need close follow-up, he added.

For asymptomatic patients, 500 beds are available in field hospitals, along with another 4,200 in hotel-hospitals.

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In response to this problem, the ministry has accelerated home isolation measures for those infected with mild symptoms with a view to saving beds for others in more critical situations, as well as installing more oxygen cylinders.

According to Korakrit, the Ministry of Health plans to buy 21 million more vials of the antiviral drug Favipiravir to cope with the growing spread of the disease. The first batch of 16 million is expected to arrive in the country this month.

-Thailand News (TN)