BANGKOK, April 22 (TNA) – Thai health officials on
Wednesday inspected a Bangkok hotel that has been one of over 100 hotels
offering to serve as state quarantine facility for Thai people returning from
abroad during the Covid-19 crisis.
Dr. Panpimol Wipulakorn, Director-General of the Department
of Health, the Ministry of Public Health, led a team of officials to visit The
Patra Hotel to observe the Covid-19 quarantine operations.
All Thai returnees have been required 14-day quarantine
facilities around 130 hotels with over 12,000 across Thailand have recently
offered to work with the government to convert their operations into non-profit
state quarantine venues.
More than 200 returnees have been released from quarantine
at The Patra Hotel. Since April 4, the hotel has turned its 245 of 297 rooms
into quarantine shelters.
The officials gave more detailed guidelines regarding state
quarantine procedures to ensure effectiveness of disease control measures and
prevent disruptions to people living in the vicinity, Dr. Panpimol said.
They also followed up the criteria set up for hotels joining
the scheme such as sanitary condition, waste management and wastewater
treatment system and community-friendliness.
According to the Thai Hoteliers’ Association, 95 percent of
the 32,564 hotels registered in Thailand have been hit financially by the
pandemic. Turning themselves into
quarantine centers, the hotels receive accommodation fees from the government
at lower prices. (TNA)
