Thailand adds over 14,000 Covid-19 cases as health crisis deepens

Bangkok, July 27 (EFE).- Thailand on Tuesday reported more than 14,000 coronavirus infections and nearly 120 deaths due to the virus as pressure on hospitals intensifies amid the country’s worst so far Covid-19 outbreak.

Authorities have sounded an alert that hospitals in Bangkok were at a critical point with 100 percent occupancy.

The health data showed that the country, the first to detect the virus outside China in January 2020, added 14,150 new cases and 118 deaths over the last 24 hours.

The overall Covid-19 tally since the pandemic began in the country stands at 526,828, including 4,264 deaths.

Bangkok and 12 other provinces are under a partial lockdown.

The government has imposed a night-time curfew, limited gatherings to five people, and ordered the closure of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.

The health authorities warned over the weekend that patients had filled all 36,977 beds set up for Covid-19 patients at various health centers in the capital and nearby provinces.

To ease the situation, the Rachapiphat public hospital has installed dozens of beds for covid patients in its covered parking lot, photos posted on social media showed.

The shortage of beds coincides with rising calls for assistance from families of patients with Covid-19 symptoms, those infected with the virus, and who have to wait at home for a space in hospitals to become available.

Apisamai Srirangsan, a spokesperson for the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, admitted on Monday that five people, who had sought medical assistance, were found dead in their homes.

On Monday, Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said the country had sufficient oxygen supply to meet the demand.

The vaccination campaign, which began in February, is lagging behind the schedule of the government.

So far, health workers have fully vaccinated around 5 percent of Thailand’s more than 66 million population. EFE

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