Admit ‘third phase’ is here, govt urged
In a dire warning posted on Facebook, a medical official has said the government must announce now that Thailand has entered the third phase of contagion with the Covid-19 virus or else hospitals will see a dangerous depletion in the ranks of health personnel.
Adune Ratanawichitrasin of Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital said capabilities for handling the outbreak could be overwhelmed if there is a serious drop in the number of non-infected medical personnel and the equipment needed to treat the virus.
The earlier an announcement is made about the third phase – which entails mass contagion – and the easier it will be to manage the spread of the virus, Adune wrote.
“If there are 100 [confirmed infections] in Thailand, the officials will have to prepare for around 1,000 people who are possibly infected. More medical personnel will be required, more rooms, more medicine and more equipment.”
Thailand currently has 212 confirmed cases.
“The term ‘everything is under control’ was spoken before and during the big flood in 2011,” Adune said. “History teaches us lessons and we should learn from it, not let another failure happen.”
