Hospital says no room for new patients as Covid cases continue to mount

>>Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital has announced its intensive care unit and other in-patient facilities designated as Covid-19 care units can no longer take on new patients with the virus, adding such patients are now being treated in emergency rooms while waiting to be transferred elsewhere.

The announcement was posted on Friday on the Facebook page of Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun, a high-end medical centre operated by Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital.

The situation reflects the seriousness of Covid-19 infections in Bangkok. The are advised to be cautious and take steps to prevent getting the disease.

Dr Nitipatana Chierakul, head of the Division of Respiratory Disease and Tuberculosis at Siriraj Hospital, said the current number of new Covid-19 infections observed at Siriraj was 20 times higher when compared to those recorded between late March and early April.

Currently, about 400 new Covid19 cases per day are being admitted to Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital for treatment, compared to about 20 people per day between March and April, he said.

The 400 new patients per day actually account for only 2% of all new infections, which are estimated to be between 20,000 and 40,000 per day, compared with only about 2,000 cases per day previously, he said.

The number of Covid-19 deaths is also 20 times higher, 66 per week as opposed to only three to four previously, he said.

Of the patients who require hospitalisation, about 5% of them suffer lung infections and half require ventilators, he said.

Citing data recorded from May 1 to May 7, the doctor said the fast-spreading Omicron sublineage XBB.1.16 was responsible for the highest percentage of new infections (27.7%), followed by the previously dominant XBB.1.5 attributed to 22% of infections.

“The key factor behind this Covid19 infection situation is that many people are now going out to do activities while being unaware of infection risks,” he said.

“The XBB variant has silently taken hold while natural and vaccine-induced immunity is waning.”

He recommends mask-wearing while in public spaces lacking air ventilation.

Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt, meanwhile, insisted that hospitals under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration are still capable of receiving more Covid-19 patients who need treatment.

On average, these hospitals’ occupancy rate is now 70% and most can still expand capacity, he said.