LERDSIN HOSPITAL this morning (July 20) announced the closure of its emergency room services due to the large number of coronavirus patients with the Public Health Ministry announcing 11,305 new cases and 80 deaths over the past 24 hours, Siam Rath newspaper said.
On a more positive note Pfizer (PFE.N) and Germany’s BioNTech (22UAy.DE) also announced in Mines, Germany, this morning that a contract with the Thai Public Health Ministry’s Disease Control Department had been signed for the delivery of 20 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine in the fourth quarter of this year.
However, details of the transaction value was not disclosed with there being requirements according to the delivery time and the number of doses ordered.
Lerdsin said in its Facebook post that its heavy caseload of Covid patients had stretched its capacity beyond limit with there also being insufficient number of medical workers as a large number of them too had got infected.
This situation made it unsafe for patients to come to this hospital for treatment as there is a risk of spreading the infection to a wider area.
The closure of Lerdsin’s key services is effective immediately from today.
Last Saturday (July 17) Police Hospital had also announced that it is no longer accepting new patients except for critical cases because many medical personnel had got infected with coronavirus from taking care of those admitted with this being for public safety.
This hospital’s emergency room is now closed to emergency and accident cases and will only admit critically ill patients in urgent need of medical attention.
Ramathibodi Hospital had also announced on the same day that with over 300 of its medical workers having contracted coronavirus it is now suspending several services.
Meanwhile the Public Health Ministry said early this morning that of today’s 11,305 new Covid cases,10,710 were among the general public and 595 in prisons/detention centres while another 6,557 patients were cured.
This takes the cumulative confirmed total since the start of the pandemic to 426,475 and from April 1 this year 397,612 .
Total fatalities from the onset of the pandemic have now reached 3,502 and in the current wave that started in April 3,408.
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Top: Lerdsin Hospital with their announcement shutting emergency services overlaid.
Home Page: An image of BioNTect-Pfizer vaccine and syringe. Both photos: Siam Rath
