Thai monks don protective gear as COVID cases surge

BANGKOK - As COVID cases surge in Thailand, some Buddhist monks are donning PPE over their distinctive robes, delivering oxygen cylinders, taking nasal samples to help with testing, and even helping carry the dead to the crematoriums.

Thailand is struggling to contain its latest outbreak fuelled by the highly contagious Delta variant, leaving healthcare services stretched and further damaging a battered economy.

"There are a lot of Thais who are still ignored by the public health system," Mahapromphong, 33, the deputy abbot of Suthi Wararam Temple in the Thai capital, told AFP. 

"We take care of everyone we come across."

Since July 21 he has been working in Bangkok's poorer neighborhoods, distributing oxygen tanks, food and medical supplies to the needy as well as taking samples for testing.

Monks are highly respected in the Buddhist kingdom, and they were inundated with donations once word got out, he adds.

He learned how to do nasal swabs from the doctors and nurses working in his temple, which doubles as an isolation center for those infected with the virus. 

One man winced as Mahapromphong removed the swab and deposited the sample in a plastic pot.

"It's better to be safe than sorry," the man said, his eyes watering. 

"Monks are able to live because we rely on people's donation," Mahapromphong told AFP.

"So it's time for us to give back to the people. At the very least, we could encourage them to keep fighting."

Supornchaithammo, a monk at Chin Wararam Worawiharn Temple, helps with the grimmer task of taking the bodies to the crematorium.

"I'm willing to take the risk here," he said. "If I contract the virus then I'm ready to accept it without any regret."

'EVERYBODY NEEDS A HELPING HAND'

Thailand has reported over 597,000 coronavirus cases and more than 4,800 deaths.

The bulk of the new infections were detected since April, when the latest wave was sparked by a cluster at an upscale Bangkok nightlife district frequented by the politically connected.

Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha's administration has been roundly criticized for its handling of the pandemic, from accusations of vaccine mismanagement to the lack of government compensation for affected sectors.

Monk Supornchaithammo says he never expected this to be his routine, but is happy to help.

"I didn't have it in my head that I would be doing something like this when I was ordained," he told AFP.

"But with a situation like this, everybody needs a helping hand and I'm proud to be here."

Agence France-Presse

Thailand warns COVID-19 surge pushing hospitals to the brink

Hospitals in Thailand's capital Bangkok and surrounding province are running out of beds due to a jump in COVID-19 patients, a health official said on Thursday, as the country reported a record number of infections for the fourth time this week.

Thailand has in the last few months been struggling with its worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, first detected in India.

The country's COVID-19 task force reported on Thursday 17,669 coronavirus cases and 165 deaths, both record highs, while it said 21 of the fatalities died at home.

"We don't know where to put the sick people anymore, the ER (emergency room) units in many hospitals have to be temporarily closed because they no longer have bed spaces," Somsak Akksilp, head of the Department of Medical Services, told a news conference.

In Bangkok and nearby provinces, more than 1,200 people were waiting for hospital beds and over 6,000 called a hotline over the past week requesting treatment, health authorities said.

There are more than 37,000 hospital beds in Bangkok, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Earlier in the pandemic, all COVID-19 patients were admitted to hospitals, but Somsak said authorities last month brought in home isolation for more than 30,000 people in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. The government has also been converting public places in Bangkok into temporary field hospitals for COVID-19 patients as the spike in cases strains the city's health system.

The jump in infections has increased pressure on the government to boost the sluggish pace of vaccinations, with only 5.6% of Thailand's more than 66 million people fully vaccinated.

Thailand won plaudits for containing the coronavirus for most of last year, but authorities have struggled to halt the wave of cases starting in April that has taken total infections to 561,030, with 4,562 fatalities.

-reuters

Thailand to mix Sinovac, AstraZeneca vaccines to increase protection

BANGKOK - Thailand's immunization strategy against the coronavirus will see a shot of AstraZeneca's viral vector vaccine administered after one dose of Sinovac's vaccine, its health minister said on Monday.

The plan, if implemented, would be the first publicly announced mix and match of a Chinese vaccine and a Western-developed shot.

The move aims to increase protection against highly transmissible variants, Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters.

"This is to improve protection against the Delta variant and build high level of immunity against the disease," Health Minister Anutin said, referring to the variant first detected in Indonesia.

Thailand and neighbors like Indonesia have reported breakthrough infections among medical and frontline workers inoculated with Sinovac's inactivated virus vaccine.

The majority of Thailand's medical and frontline workers were given Sinovac's shots after February with the viral vector vaccine from AstraZeneca AZN.L arriving in June.

-reuters