Airport to open field hospital

A 5,000-bed field hospital is being set up at Suvarnabhumi airport as a measure to cope with soaring Covid-19 infections, according to deputy government spokeswoman Ratchada Dhnadirek.

The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and Ministry of Transport have been preparing to open the field hospital at the airport’s Satellite 1 building, she said.

The decision to set up a hospital was made following an inspection carried out by the MOPH, she said. The field hospital will reportedly occupy a 100,000-square metre area to initially accommodate 5,000 patients.

Patients with moderate and mild conditions will be treated on the 3rd and 4th floors of the building, while medical services and intensive care units will be on the 2nd floor, Ms Ratchada said.

The field hospital is expected to begin operating next month.

Ms Ratchada also said the MOPH has already extended the contract to use the Challenger Hall of the Impact Muang Thong Thani exhibition centre in Nonthaburi for the Bussarakham field hospital until the end of October.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha had ordered the setting up of about 4,000 beds to accommodate Covid-19 patients suffering from moderate symptoms in Bangkok and its adjacent provinces, she said.

Elsewhere, a new field hospital will soon be opened at a warehouse belonging to the WHA Mega Logistics Centre to accommodate about 1,200 patients in Samut Prakan, according to Ms Ratchada.

Bangkok City Hall and Thon Buri Hospital have also increased the number of ICU rooms at the Ratchaphiphat 1 field hospital to accommodate 40 more Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms in Bangkok’s Thawi Watthana district, she said.