PM discharged, visits Vietnam
Though Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was discharged from hospital yesterday after treatment for food poisoning, she was still under medical observation during her one-day visit to Vietnam.
“Yingluck is experiencing fatigue though her bowel movements have improved,” Praram 9 Hospital deputy director Arthit Jiaranaisilawong said. The PM had suffered diarrhoea from the food poisoning.
Even though she is no longer in hospital, Yingluck still needs to stay on an intravenous drip, which is why Dr Wichai Siriboonkoom accompanied her to Hanoi, Arthit said.
Upon return, she will undergo a final check-up as an outpatient, he added.
He explained that the lab would take three days to pinpoint exactly what had caused the food poisoning, though he suspects a dipping sauce might be to blame. Yingluck had dined at a seafood restaurant on Monday night before taking ill.
At around noon yesterday, the prime minister left her hospital room No 1518 – seen by many as a lucky number – and headed for Suvarnabhumi Airport.
She said that even though she had taken ill, she did not want to delay her trip to Vietnam as it had already been postponed once because of the floods. Yingluck added that she was ready to get back to work now that she had spent a whole night resting in hospital.
Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul said Vietnam had agreed to cancel a scheduled dinner as requested.
The leaders are expected to discuss a deal for Thailand to buy natural gas, joint Cabinet meetings, stabilising the price of paddy rice in world markets, disaster-mitigation efforts, and Mekong cooperation.
