VIENTIANE, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in southern Laos' Savannakhet and Champasak provinces are setting up more quarantine centers and makeshift hospitals to cope with the influx of Lao nationals returning from foreign countries.
In Savannakhet province, a garment factory in Nonsavath village is being turned into a quarantine facility to accommodate more than 10,000 people.
Local daily Vientiane Times on Friday quoted Deputy Governor and member of the province's Taskforce for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Lingthong Sengtavan as saying that local officials are cleaning out the factory and preparing it for its new purpose.
People entering the province from Thailand will be accommodated in the building for 14 days before being allowed to go home.
The province now has 11 quarantine centers, while there are 57 throughout the country in total.
Local authorities have also set up a makeshift hospital with 1,000 beds to ensure that everyone carrying the virus has access to healthcare, and anticipate that case numbers will rise daily.
In Champasak province, authorities are also setting up new quarantine facilities to accommodate the large number of returnees.
As many as 38 percent of migrant workers returning to the province have tested positive for COVID-19. A temporary hospital with 700 beds has been prepared to accommodate people carrying the virus.
Champasak provincial authorities have called for additional quarantine facilities to be set up and asked for more patient beds to be provided at health centers in addition to those available at hospitals.
The Lao Ministry of Health on Friday recorded 244 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 5,719.
A total of 2,939 COVID-19 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals. Enditem
