BANGKOK, March 25 (Xinhua) -- A 14-storey dormitory at a Bangkok university campus on Wednesday opened as Thailand's first field hospital for non-critical COVID-19 patients.
Thammasat University Hospital's Dluxx dormitory has been modified into a 308-bed facility to help expand Thailand's Ministry of Public Health's capacity in assisting patients diagnosed with mild COVID-19 symptoms.
The project is a collaboration of five teaching hospitals, Siriraj, Ramathibodi, Chulalongkorn, Vajira and Thammasat, to alleviate congestions at existing facilities after a recent jump in the number of COVID-19 patients, said Prof Suraphol Nitikraipot, chairman of the executive board of the Thammasat University Hospital.
"However, the new facility will only serve patients who had been treated by and transferred from the four other hospitals," said Suraphol, "Because our new field hospital does not have an intensive care unit nor the equipment to handle critical patients."
Each room in the 14-floor dormitory is already equipped with an air-conditioner and bathroom, and there are closed-circuit cameras on each floor.
The hospital is seeking donations from the public to buy urgently needed medical equipment, N95 and PPE suits through bank transfers, Suraphol said.
As of Wednesday, the Ministry of Public Health has announced 107 new cases of COVID-19 in Thailand, tallying a total of 934 cases.
The ministry said 860 cases are under treatment, 70 have recovered and been discharged, and there have been four deaths.
