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| People queue at the Central Vaccination Center as Thailand begins offering first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to at-risk groups amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand, Jul 26, 2021. (File photo by= Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] BANGKOK: As the capacity in healthcare facilities struggles due to high cases driven by the Delta variant of the virus, Thailand will increase the number of people required for home isolation with COVID-19 up to 100,000, health officials said on Monday (Aug 2), Reuters reported.
Previously, all COVID-19 patients in Thailand were admitted to hospitals, but last month authorities introduced home isolation for more than 30,000 people with minor or no symptoms for Bangkok and surrounding provinces. "There are currently 60,000 patients in home isolation and we expect to expand that capacity to 100,000," health official Natthapong Wongwiwat told a news briefing. Patients isolating at home will receive medical equipment, medicine, meals, and phone consultations with doctors, he added. "If their conditions worsen, they will be transferred to a field hospital or hospital," he said.
The country's coronavirus taskforce on Monday reported 17,970 new cases, bringing its total caseload to 633,284 infections, with 5,074 deaths. The jump in infections has increased pressure on the government to boost its sluggish pace of vaccinations, with only around 6 percent of Thailand's more than 66 million people fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the Delta variant has been rattling Asia, including in countries like Thailand and Vietnam which had been relatively successful at containing the virus.
