Patients with moderate or severe Covid symptoms can get free treatment under UCEP Plus

He said these patients can receive free treatment at government or private hospitals nationwide, while those with mild symptoms will be given free treatment depending on their rights, such as home isolation or outpatient care.

“Under outpatient care, physicians will prescribe Favipiravir, Fah Talai Jone or antipyretic, cough syrup or decongestant, according to the severity of the patients’ symptoms,” he explained.

Kiattiphum said the ministry is considering allowing Covid-19 patients to stay in hospital for seven days and observe their symptoms at home for three days instead of spending ten full days in hospital.

This would enable hospitals to provide effective treatment to patients and improve their quality of life, he said.

“The ministry is also considering whether to choose Molnupiravir over Favipiravir as Thailand can procure Molnupiravir from China and India at a reasonable price similar to Favipiravir,” he said, adding that Paxlovid would be delivered to the country soon.

According to the Department of Health Service Support, Covid-19 patients can be classified into three groups based on their symptoms:

• Mild symptoms: patients who have body temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius or above, lose their sense of taste and smell, have a cough, runny nose, sore throat, eye infection, rash and diarrhoea. Some of them may develop asymptomatic symptoms.

• Moderate symptoms: patients who have chest tightness, breathing difficulty, lung inflammation, diarrhoea (with more than three toilet trips a day), drowsiness and loss of appetite. Children, the elderly aged 60 or above, people with chronic diseases, pregnant women and people weighing over 90kg are in this group.

• Severe symptoms: patients who have asthma, impaired speech, chest pain, severe lung inflammation, shock, are in a coma, body temperature over 39 degrees Celsius for more than 24 hours and an oxygen saturation level below 94 per cent.