With people getting in line for COVID-19 testing in many areas of Bangkok, the National Health Security Office (NHSO), the Institute for Urban Disease Control and Prevention, and Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medical Technology are sending out teams to carry out proactive testing in different areas, with a target of testing 10,000 to 12,000 people a day. The teams are conducting rapid antigen tests, which give results in less than 30 minutes.
NHSO Secretary-General, Dr. Jadet Thammathat-Aree, said today that the teams of medical workers are expected to conduct rapid antigen tests for one to two weeks or until everyone is tested, starting today (July 12th),. They have been deployed to Dhupateme Royal Thai Air Force Sports Stadium in Pathum Thani province and Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok. Each site is expected to test 3,000 people a day. Another COVID-19 testing venue is in the parking lot of the Government Complex Commemorating His Majesty the King’s 80th Birthday on Chaeng Watthana road, Bangkok. The venue is to begin testing 500 people on the first day before gradually increasing to 3,000 per day.
On July 14th, another team will be set up at the Air Defense Artillery Division’s football pitch in Bangkok’s Dusit district. The NHSO will conduct proactive tests in Ob Aun community clinics to provide convenience and prevent large crowds gathering.
After the test results are out, information on COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic, known as green cases, will be entered into the NHSO database. The agency will direct Ob Aun community clinics to take care of those who are in home quarantine in their respective areas. The clinics will contact them within 48 hours and provide them with a thermometer, a pulse oximeter and green chiretta – a medicinal herb.
Medical personnel will make a video call to assess their condition twice a day. Food will be delivered to them three times a day to ease their worries while ensuring that they remain in quarantine.
If their condition does not improve or is rated in a yellow or red category, the clinics will coordinate with nearby hospitals so that they can receive hospital treatment. If all hospital beds are occupied, the clinics are to call the NHSO’s 1330 hotline or the Department of Medical Services’ 1668 hotline for assistance. The patients will receive favilavir tablets to relieve their symptoms until a hospital bed is available.
