PM orders 1,500 more beds for Bussarakham Field Hospital
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the Public Health Ministry to add 1,500 beds to the Bussarakham Field Hospital in Nonthaburi’s Impact Muang Thong Thani for patients in the red and yellow groups to cope with rising daily infections, Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday.
Patients in the red group are those with severe symptoms that require respirators, while yellow group patients are those who display moderate symptoms but have underlying health problems that require close monitoring.
“Of the 1,500 beds to be added, 125 will be for the red group patients with severe symptoms,” Anutin said. “This addition will increase the field hospital’s capacity to 3,700 beds and reduce crowding at hospitals in metropolitan areas.”
Anutin also said Prayut would visit Phuket today (July 1) to inspect the reopening of the province on the first day of its tourism sandbox programme, which will allow vaccinated foreigners to fly into Phuket and move around freely in the province without having to quarantine.
“The prime minister is concerned about a piece of fake news that five new infections have been found in Phuket just before the reopening,” Anutin said.
“The province’s public health chief has clarified that the new patients are persons who travelled from Bangkok and not Phuket locals. They have been quarantined and transported to hospitals for treatment under the province’s patient screening system,” he added.