Door-to-door Covid-19 testing in Bangkok
BANGKOK: Thailand will begin door-to-door testing for Covid-19 in the worst-hit areas of the capital city.
The testing will be done by about 200 rapid deployment teams comprising City Hall officials, the military and police.
Quoting sources, the Bangkok Post said the move was aimed at finding and isolating infected people to curb soaring transmissions in the capital and followed a directive from Prime Minister Prayuth Chan o Cha.
Those testing positive with symptoms will be immediately sent to a field hospital, while their close contacts will be advised to isolate and monitor themselves.
Herbal medicines made from green chiretta and fever-reducing drugs will also be provided to them for use during their home quarantine.
The military will provide vehicles and facilities to transport Covid-19 patients from Bangkok and its surrounding areas to return to their home provinces to undergo treatment on a voluntary basis as the capital faces bed shortages.
Meanwhile, the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday approved the sale of four over-the-counter Covid-19 antigen test kits.
The rising number of infections has pushed up the demand and the four rapid test kits were also modified to make them more suitable for self-testing, said FDA secretary-general Dr Paisal Dankhum.
The kits are already available for sale at certain state-run healthcare facilities, government offices and licensed pharmacies.
Thailand’s Covid-19 statistics also grew grimmer on Saturday as its daily fatalities reached triple digits and new infections hit five figures for the first time.
The Public Health Ministry said a record high of 141 people died and 10,082 new cases were found.
Since April 1, when the third Covid-19 wave began, there have been 363,126 Covid-19 cases, bringing its total since the pandemic started early last year to 391,909 cases.
The death toll from the third wave has reached 3,005, while the cumulative total is 3,240.
Two new cases were detected in Phuket, entering through its sandbox programme.
Authorities have banned public gatherings nationwide and premier Prayuth said they might consider shuttering more businesses after people violated earlier bans on inter-provincial travel and the overnight curfew.