Port Authority warehouse eyed to accommodate Klong Toei cluster
The authorities are considering turning a warehouse in the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) stadium complex into a field hospital to accommodate the rising number of Covid cases in Bangkok’s Klong Toei area.
On Monday, Deputy Transport Minister Athirat Rattanaset joined officials from Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) to check the area’s suitability as a field hospital.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reported on Sunday that 304 people residing in or near the Klong Toei slums had tested positive for Covid-19 in April.
“Of them, 193 are residents of the 12 slums in Klong Toei, while 111 patients reside in condominiums or apartments near these slums,” CCSA said.
According to Klong Toei's public health office, some 90,000 people are residing in these slums.
“The Port Authority is willing to provide the 4,200 square metre warehouse covering 15 rai of land in Bangkok’s Klong Toei district as a base,” Athirat said. “The Defence Ministry will be responsible for setting up a 160-bed field hospital as well as providing other necessary facilities. King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital will provide medical staff and equipment.”
Athirat added that the Public Health Ministry has, so far, only set up one field hospital in Klong Toei district’s Wat Saphan Temple.
“This field hospital only has 100 beds, and we hope the new one at PAT Stadium will help alleviate crowding should the number of cases in Klong Toei rise,” he said.
