Chiang Mai Governor Charoenrit Sanuansat announced today that a special PIH Hospitel, which is a hotel-standard temporary hospital, has been set up in an international student dormitory, to take in up to 100 patients who are symptomatic, in an effort to relieve pressure on government facilities as numbers of those tested positive for Covid-19 continue to climb.
The governor is working closely with Payap University and McCormick hospital to prepare these beds, which will soon increase to 250, in superior facilities, to accommodate patients who can afford the private care prices.
The first 100 patients will be moved this afternoon, though the government has yet to release any figures on numbers of symptomatic versus asymptomatic patients.
This Hospitel – a hospital/hotel hybrid – will be the first in the north of Thailand and will provide private rooms as well as suites for entire families, with all safety, hygiene and medical standards being adhered to.
Patients checking into the PIH Hospitel must be sent there by a medical doctor from a hospital, where they must have been treated in for five days before being transferred.
The building is separate from any other accommodation and happens to be unused at this point as students continue to study remotely.
A total of 24 king sized beds in deluxe rooms for one go for 2,000 baht per night, with 48 superior twin bed rooms costing 2,400 baht per night and 178 standard twin bed rooms at 2,000 baht per night.
The governor said that while the great majority of patients are asymptomatic – labeled ‘light green’ – this facility will help alleviate pressure in hospitals which take in symptomatic patients – labeled orange – who may need close medical attention.
The public health office, says the governor, will ensure that all patients receive equally excellent medical standards of treatment.