Thai Navy reopens 3 field hospitals to cope with COVID-19 surge

The Royal Thai Navy on Monday reopened field hospitals in three of its bases to cope with the surge of new Covid-19 cases. The Nation/Asia News Network

BANGKOK — The Royal Thai Navy on Monday reopened field hospitals in three of its bases to cope with the surge of new Covid-19 cases.

Navy chief Admiral Somprasong Nilsamai said the three field hospitals can accommodate 1,109 patients.

The first is located within the Air and Coastal Defense Command in Chonburi’s Sattahip district with 544 beds. The second is in the Marine Command, also in Sattahip, and has 180 beds, while the third is in the 16th Navy Training Field in Chanthaburi’s Ban Chanthaklem village with 385 beds.

All three field hospitals will be overseen by the provincial public health offices.

The facilities were initially opened early last year to deal with a surge in infections from the Delta variant but were temporarily closed when cases began dropping later in the year.

The Navy chief added that he has instructed the Somdet Phra Pin Klao Hospital in Bangkok’s Thon Buri district and the Queen Sirikit Naval Hospital in Sattahip to get ready for an influx of Covid-19 patients.

The two general hospitals, which are under the jurisdiction of the Navy, can conduct laboratory tests and are equipped with intensive care units and negative-pressure rooms for serious patients.

The Navy’s Covid-19 emergency center has also instructed its main agencies to set up 32 community isolation centers with a combined 2,335 beds to take care of naval personnel and their families who are either asymptomatic or have mild Covid-19 symptoms.