Bangkok, 13 February, 2020 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) would like to provide the latest information from the Ministry of Public Health that it has issued a recommendation to Thai hospitals nationwide to set up a dedicated “Fever and Acute Respiratory Infection Clinic” to enhance prevention and control for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Hospitals under the Ministry’s Department of Medical Services have been advised to set up a one-stop service clinic for the screening of fever and symptoms, providing medical care and getting results of the diagnostic test for COVID-19. The Clinic is to be assigned in a separate area to prevent contact with other regular patients.
If any patients under investigation (PUI) are detected, the hospital is to follow the Ministry’s instructions for providing medical care and handling and processing of suspect PUI specimens.
The Department of Medical Services is in the process of providing guidelines for the setting up of a “Fever and Acute Respiratory Infection Clinic” for Thai hospitals.
The setting up of a special clinic for COVID-19 surveillance and prevention followed the recent upgrade of nationwide medical labs for a real-time RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) laboratory technique, which allows blood test results to be obtained within three hours.
TAT would like to reiterate that:
- Thailand has effective health surveillance systems for disease control.
- The Thai public and private sectors across the nation have stepped up hygiene measures.
- Thailand’s tourism and travel activities go on as usual.
Reminders: Local and international tourists are advised to adhere to everyday hygienic habits: avoid eating uncooked food; use serving spoons and wash your hands.
Useful contacts:
- Department of Disease Control Call Centre 1422
- TAT Contact Centre 1672
- Tourist Police 1155
Photo credit: Department of Medical Services, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
