Bussarakham Hospital shuts down as number of Covid-19 patients declines
Bussarakham Hospital, a field hospital converted from Challenger Hall at Impact Muang Thong Thani exhibition centre in Nonthaburi province, has closed down after the last patient was sent home on September 20, Dr Kittisak Aksornwong, assistant public health permanent secretary and hospital director, said on Thursday.
The 3,700-bed hospital opened on May 14 to treat Covid-19 patients with mild to severe symptoms in Bangkok and its vicinity. It treated a total of 20,436 patients during the 130 days it was open, Kittisak said.
“In the early days after opening, the hospital admitted about 100 patients per day. At the peak of the delta variant contagion in July, the hospital saw 300-400 patients per day,” said Kittisak. “However, new infections in Bangkok have continually decreased in recent days, with only 5-6 people being admitted to the hospital daily since September.”
“Thanks to the lockdown measures, working-from-home approach, and the new strategy of sending new patients with mild or no symptoms into home isolation or community isolation, public and private hospitals in Bangkok and surrounding provinces are no longer overwhelmed, and we no longer need this field hospital,” added Kittisak.
“I would like to thank all personnel who have been working at Bussarakham for their hard work that ultimately helped improve the country’s Covid-19 situation,” he said.
