Provinces to set aside field hospital funds

The Interior Ministry has ordered provincial governments to earmark funds to set up field hospitals to handle Covid19 patients in a bid to ease the burden on hospitals expected to be overwhelmed by rising infections, a wellinformed source from the ministry said.

The source said Chatchai Promlert, permanent secretary at the ministry, has written to provincial governors providing them guidelines on how their budget should be spent on purchasing medical supplies and other diseasecontrol equipment to combat Covid-19.

Mr Chatchai also urged local bodies to set aside funds to convert unused buildings or meeting halls in the premises of local agencies, schools and universities into sites for Covid-19 control purposes. These buildings must not be under construction and must not be involved in any dispute, the source said, adding that the local bodies have also been urged to seek permission from involved agencies first.

If it is necessary to use privately owned places such as hotels and apartments, organisations may rent them, though priority should be given to stateowned buildings, the source added.

Meanwhile, Prachuap Khiri Khan governor Panlop Singhaseni yesterday led a delegation to inspect an area on the premises of the air force’s Wing 5 in Muang district, which will be used as a field hospital for Covid-19 patients if the provincial hospital reaches its capacity and cannot accept new cases.

In Ubon Ratchathani, provincial governor Sarit Withoon also visited a building which can be used as a field hospital. The provincial administrative organisation has allocated 102 million baht for preparing the facility and another 200 million baht for the required medical equipment.

The facility will be opened on Monday to treat Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms.