Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand’s Ministry ofPublic Health plans to engage private hotels financially hurt by the COVID-19pandemic in a scheme to provide isolation space for people at risk ofinfection.
Local media on April 3 quoted Deputy Public HealthMinister Satit Pitutecha as saying that the ministry is in the process ofdrafting criteria for hotels to provide space to people required to undergo quarantine,such as returnees from COVID-19-affected areas or patients discharged from hospitalwho need to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Somsak Akkslip, Chief of Medical Services, said thatthese so-called “hospitels” are designed to reduce the number of patients at regularhospitals during the outbreak. A medical team stationed at hotels would be incharge of up to 100 patients.
CCTV systems and telecommunication lines will be setup to allow for remote contact between patients and medical staff in the hotel.A thermometer and oxygen equipment will also be set up in each room so that themedical team can monitor updated reports, he added.
The concept is designed to cater to patientsexhibiting mild COVID-19 symptoms that require they stay at a hospital for atleast a week. After this period, they must be able to take care of themselvesand agree to stay at a hospitel. Patients must remain there for at least 14days after the date of their discharge from hospital.
Tares Krassanairawiwong, Head of the Department ofHealth Service Support, explained that for a hotel to join the scheme, it musthave over 30 rooms, a hotel license, a safe building structure, no carpets,isolated air conditioners, a waste management system, and a friendly community.
There are 85 hotels with 10,700 rooms that meetthese criteria in Bangkok, leading to a total of 16,000 rooms nationwide.
Thailand reported 103 new cases on April 3, raising itstotal to 1,978, with four more fatalities taking its death toll to 19.
Four new infections in Cambodia have brought the country’stotal cases to 114, of which 35 have fully recovered. The World Bank hasapproved a 20 million USD credit from the International Development Association(IDA) for Cambodia’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Project./.
Local media on April 3 quoted Deputy Public HealthMinister Satit Pitutecha as saying that the ministry is in the process ofdrafting criteria for hotels to provide space to people required to undergo quarantine,such as returnees from COVID-19-affected areas or patients discharged from hospitalwho need to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Somsak Akkslip, Chief of Medical Services, said thatthese so-called “hospitels” are designed to reduce the number of patients at regularhospitals during the outbreak. A medical team stationed at hotels would be incharge of up to 100 patients.
CCTV systems and telecommunication lines will be setup to allow for remote contact between patients and medical staff in the hotel.A thermometer and oxygen equipment will also be set up in each room so that themedical team can monitor updated reports, he added.
The concept is designed to cater to patientsexhibiting mild COVID-19 symptoms that require they stay at a hospital for atleast a week. After this period, they must be able to take care of themselvesand agree to stay at a hospitel. Patients must remain there for at least 14days after the date of their discharge from hospital.
Tares Krassanairawiwong, Head of the Department ofHealth Service Support, explained that for a hotel to join the scheme, it musthave over 30 rooms, a hotel license, a safe building structure, no carpets,isolated air conditioners, a waste management system, and a friendly community.
There are 85 hotels with 10,700 rooms that meetthese criteria in Bangkok, leading to a total of 16,000 rooms nationwide.
Thailand reported 103 new cases on April 3, raising itstotal to 1,978, with four more fatalities taking its death toll to 19.
Four new infections in Cambodia have brought the country’stotal cases to 114, of which 35 have fully recovered. The World Bank hasapproved a 20 million USD credit from the International Development Association(IDA) for Cambodia’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Project./.
VNA
