Southeast Asian nations step up measures against COVID-19

Thailand’s Public Health Ministry said it will increase the capacity of Bussarakham Field Hospital to 4,000 beds in a bid to cope with a possible surge in infections from the Delta variant of COVID-19.

A COVID-19 testing site in Bangkok, Thailand

The hospital is in Nonthaburi’s Impact Muang Thong Thani and serves metropolitan Bangkok.

The ministry recently added 1,500 beds, bringing the total capacity to 3,700 beds and will add another 300 beds to accommodate 4,000 patients, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said.

Bussarakham Field Hospital treats patients who have moderate symptoms with underlying health issues that require close monitoring, and patients who have tested positive but are asymptomatic or have minor symptoms.

Since its establishment on May 14, the hospital has admitted 5,064 patients, 3,055 of whom have recovered and been discharged, while 167 have been transferred to other hospitals.

The country on July 5 reported 6,166 new COVID-19 cases and 50 deaths, raising the national count to 289,233 and death toll to 2,276.

Meanwhile, the Lao National Taskforce for COVID-19 Prevention and Control has announced that people living in Laos will be required to install the LaoKYC app on their smartphones and check in with a QR code as part of new contact tracing regulations.

The use of the QR code will allow health authorities to monitor the movement of the population, making it easier to undertake contact tracing in the event of a Covid-19 localized outbreak.

The Lao National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control has instructed all residents of Laos to install the app on their smartphones after facing difficulty tracing people suspected of being infected with Covid-19.

Residents who do not have a smartphone will be required to write down their phone number when visiting shops, businesses, and restaurants.

Authorities say the information will be kept strictly confidential and will only remain in the system for a period of 30 days.

Public areas and businesses such as restaurants and retail shops will be required to register for a QR code under the system at www.laokyc.gov.la and display it at their premises.

The Lao health ministry said on July 5 that the country recorded 56 new cases over the past 24 hours, pushing the national tally to 2,300.

Cambodia registered 896 new COVID-19 cases on July 5, bringing the national caseload to 55,187 so far, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The new infections included 686 local cases and 210 imported cases, it said.

A total of 28 new fatalities were recorded, taking the death toll to 748, the statement said, adding that 646 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 47,386.

The ministry's secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine said vaccines, along with other preventive measures, would save lives from COVID-19.

The Southeast Asian nation began a vaccination drive on February 10.

As of July 4, some 7.81 million vaccine doses had been administered, with 4.53 million people receiving the first dose and 3.28 million having completed the two-dose inoculation.

The country has planned to inoculate at least 10 million out of its 16-million population by November./.

VNA