Covid-19 patients will still be treated for free under Thailand’s public healthcare programmes after March 1, the National Health Security Office (NHSO) confirmed on Sunday.
The NHSO clarified that treatment of severe cases would still be free under the gold card, social security and civil service welfare schemes even after Covid-19 is removed from the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients (UCEP) scheme on March 1.
News of the removal had sparked rumours that people would have to pay for treatment in government hospitals from March.
NHSO secretary-general Dr Jadet Thammathat-Aree confirmed that patients will still be able to receive free treatment in line with the Public Health Ministry announcement in 2020.
“The announcement said that Covid-19 infection would be considered an emergency issue so that patients could receive treatment as soon as possible [including] a respirator if the virus enters lungs,” he said.
The Ministry of Public Health will no longer consider Covid-19 infected people as emergency patients and it also will set the compensation rates for infection testing that the National Health Security Office (NHSO) will pay to hospitals, Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul said on Thursday.
If the RT-PCR method is used, the hospitals will be paid 900 baht and 1,100 baht, depending on the test method, while compensation for antigen test kits is 250 and 350 baht, depending on the method of the test kit.
There will be an adjustment in the rate of treatment in hospitels at 1,000 baht per day, similar to home isolation.
It will be effective from March 1, Anutin said.
People who are infected can still receive treatment for free according to their health insurance rights, including gold card, social security or civil servant welfare.
Deaths from Covid-19 have risen 1.3 times in the Omicron wave since the start of January, the Senate Public Health Commission has warned. The infection rate has also risen 5.5 times compared to the Delta wave, according to commission vice chair Dr Chalermchai Boonyaleephan on Friday.
Writing in a Blockdit post, he said Omicron had increased daily infections by 4-6 times compared to Delta despite being 3.5 times less severe than other strains.
He added that two Covid-19 jabs was not enough to protect against Omicron, citing foreign studies.
Thailand’s daily caseload soared from 3,445 on January 1 to 11,996, on January 21.
By February 9 (Wednesday) that figure had jumped to 19,110 infections per day.
However, since January 1, the number of severely ill Covid patients needing respirators dropped from 158 to 111.
Nevertheless, the death rate increased slightly by 1.3 times, rising from 15 deaths in the first week of January to 19 deaths per day during the first week of February.
The government should warn people to keep their guard up, said Chalermachai, adding that authorities should avoid saying Omicron causes only mild flu-like symptoms and will become endemic.
He also advised rethinking the Test & Go tourism scheme for quarantine-free entry and speeding up the booster shot campaign, especially for the elderly and people with chronic diseases.
He added that the rising infection rate was no reason to panic as fewer patients were developing severe symptoms. However, people should take precautions against being infected so that the public health system could handle the crisis effectively.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers who carry alcohol gel/spray to be careful because it is highly flammable.
The warning came as FDA deputy secretary-general Pharmacist Wirachai Nalawachai was asked about a popular online news site reporting that a young woman caught fire and was seriously injured as she lit a mosquito coil immediately after spraying alcohol on her clothes to keep the Covid-19 virus at bay.
The FDA prohibits the use of alcohol-containing products on the body as all alcohol-based gels or sprays contain a high concentration of alcohol (70%) and must be used with caution.
The use of alcohol, it said, is for your fingers only.
Spray and rub the gel over your fingers for at least 20 seconds and allow it to dry/evaporate before doing other chores, the FDA advised, warning that the alcohol gels or sprays must not be used near an open flame or when someone is smoking or lighting a mosquito coil, for example.
On February 8, a 28-year-old woman used alcohol spray to disinfect her body after coming home from work because she had elderly folks at home. She then used a lighter to light a mosquito coil but the alcohol she had sprayed caught fire and the fire spread across her body. She is currently being treated at Thammasat University Hospital.
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Expert virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday that people should get an mRNA vaccine booster dose instead of three doses of AstraZeneca.
Yong said administering AstraZeneca as a booster for people who have received two doses of AstraZeneca (Triple A) did not provide a high level of immunity.
He said the immunity provided by two AstraZeneca doses would decrease over time. And after receiving an AstraZeneca booster dose, immunity increases by “one log scale or a little higher” than after receiving two doses of the vaccine.
Yong claimed a study by Chulalongkorn University’s Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology produced the same result as a study by Oxford University on booster doses.
He said people should get an mRNA booster dose to increase their immunity by “two log scales”.
However, some do not want an mRNA booster so they should at least receive a third dose of AstraZeneca, which is better than not receiving a booster at all, he added.
Thai pulmonary disease expert Dr Manoon Leechawengwongs has praised Thailand’s ability to cope with the pandemic, the Omicron virus, and open for international travel to restore pre-Covid normalcy.
He said Australia was a country that had been successful in controlling Covid-19 with lockdowns and closure of the country from March 2020.
But after vaccinating 95 per cent of the country’s population aged above 16 years, and even prior to the Omicron outbreak in Australia, intensive measures to control the coronavirus have been changed. It is marked by coexistence with Covid-19 for the economy, society and education, he said.
In December 2021, there was a relaxation of measures with mandatory wearing of mask. Gatherings for Christmas and New Year were allowed and bars were allowed to open. Students and businessmen from abroad were advised to do antigen testing at home when symptoms were present. Positive results must be reported to the state.
The New Zealand government has already stopped searching for close contacts with infected people.
Australia has a population of 25 million. Before relaxing the lockdown measures, approximately 210,000 people were infected and 2,000 died.
After reopening the country in early December 2021, there are currently 2.75 million confirmed cases and 4,200 deaths. As of January 13 this year, Australia had the highest number of 150,000 cases/day, but only a few were seriously ill or dead. The public health system could still handle it, he said.
Now the daily number of infected people has dropped to 23,000.
The Omicron outbreak has not led to a lockdown again The previous lockdowns caused enormous economic damage with Australia’s GDP contracting by more than 20 per cent, he said.
Australia has confirmed it is reopening and will allow travellers from all countries who are fully vaccinated to enter the country from February 21. Most Australians agree with the government’s guidelines, he said.
“Thailand should study the guidelines for opening the country from Australia. We have to learn to live with Covid-19,” said Dr Manoon. “Omicron strains are highly contagious. Sooner or later, almost all Thai people will be infected. We cannot defeat the Omicron strain. At this time, we should relax more measures, especially regarding foreign travellers.”
He urged people to strictly follow personal hygiene measures, wear masks, maintain social distance, and wash hands regularly.
Receiving a Covid-19 vaccine jab is the first priority if office workers cannot work from home, Department of Medical Services director-general Dr Somsak Ankasil advised on Tuesday.
He said the Public Health Ministry had recommended that people work from home rather than at the office as they would be at risk of contracting Covid-19 during travel and contact with colleagues.
However, he said, office workers should be aware that Covid-19 vaccines can reduce the risk of developing severe symptoms, not entirely preventing infection.
“Young office workers are not afraid of Omicron as it causes mild symptoms, but they should be aware that they could spread the virus to family members who have a higher risk of contracting Covid-19 than them,” he warned.
“Also, they would not be able to work due to post-Covid symptoms after being infected.”
Increasing Covid-19 cases are causing a burden on the public health system, Somsak said, adding that it would trigger mutations which may obstruct daily life.
As there are no drugs or vaccines yet that can prevent people from getting infected, he advised people to adhere to DMHTT principles:
Distancing: keeping at least a metre of distance from others.
Mask wearing: wearing medical or fabric type face masks or both, with the fabric type on the outside.
Hand washing: washing one’s hands regularly with alcohol spray or gel before and after touching objects.
Testing: checking body temperature and taking a Covid-19 test.
Thai Chana: checking in and out using this application.
Meanwhile, Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital director Dr Kriangkrai Namthaisong said office workers must always wear face masks while performing their duties, work in shifts to reduce congestion, arrange seats to maintain social distancing and take Covid-19 tests using an antigen test kit (ATK) frequently.
“Anyone who has symptoms should work at home to prevent infecting others,” he added.
Separately, the Public Health Ministry also advised office workers to adhere to the VUCA guideline – vaccines, universal prevention, Covid-Free Setting and ATK tests.
In a bid to mitigate social and economic pressure on those having HIV/Aids, the Thai Red Cross is now selling self-test kits.
Thai Red Cross is now selling self-test kits. The kits are being sold through its Aids Research Centre’s “Anonymous Clinic”. There are two kinds of kits being sold. One test requires blood from a finger prick or orally through saliva.The finger-prick test provides a result within 30 minutes and can detect the virus within three weeks of transmission. It costs 400 baht. The kits are being sold at “Anonymous Clinic” since February 1, and would be cheaper than many other places.
The Thai Red Cross is now selling HIV self-test kits. The kits are being sold through its Aids Research Centre’s “Anonymous Clinic”. There are two kinds of kits being sold. One test requires blood from a finger prick or orally through saliva.The finger-prick test provides a result within 30 minutes and can detect the virus within three weeks of transmission. It costs 400 baht. The kits are being sold since February 1, and would be cheaper than many other places.
The oral-test kit checks the presence of the virus in saliva and can provide a result within 20 minutes. The kit, which costs 250 baht, can detect the virus within three months of transmission.
People who believe they may have contracted HIV should either test themselves using a self-test kit or undergo a conventional HIV test in the hospital, said Opass Putacharoen, acting deputy director at Thai Red Cross Society’s Aids Research Centre. Those using the self-test kit may have to repeat the test for accuracy, he said. If the result is positive, the test taker should head to a hospital for confirmation and treatment. Kits are available at most pharmacies.
Thanks to ground-breaking advances in medical technology, HIV/Aids is no longer a death sentence and can be treated, he said. Since Thai people are shy to talk about sex in general in public spaces, they can avail of the home self-test facility, he added.
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