The third—and so far, the most vicious—wave of coronavirus outbreaks in the kingdom has revealed inadequate bed space for infected patients in many hospitals. In response, the Prayut-led government has erected a number of field hospitals around the kingdom—at least five in Bangkok alone. Alternatively, a crop of hotels has been qualified to operate as “hospitels”—makeshift hospitals that cater to well-to-do patients who want to quarantine and receive treatment in relative comfort and luxury.
A hospitel supposedly serves the same purpose as field hospitals, but with better amenities, softer mattresses and more private quarters. (Honestly, this quarantine option sounds like an “eff-you” from the government for those who have been complaining about the questionable conditions of certain field hospitals.)
To be qualified as a hospitel, there are some criteria a venue needs to follow. First, the establishment must have at least 30 rooms. But more important, it should be associated with a hospital that can completely provide medical service and supervision to COVID-19 patients.
Patients, meanwhile, are first required to undergo treatment at a hospital or a field hospital for a minimum of five to seven days prior to transferring to a hospitel. What’s more, they have to be less than 50 years old, not showing severe symptoms, and not infected with the UK and South African variants. A patient can only check out from the hospitel after they’ve completed, at the very least, a 10-day stay.
So far, at least 20 hospitels are currently operating in Bangkok. Some of them are:
- Ozone Hotel Samyan (with Vibharam Hospital, 40 beds)
- Malaysia Hotel (with Sukumvit Hospital, 100 beds)
- Royal Rattanakosin Hotel (with Piyavate Hospital, 150 beds)
- Indra Regent Hotel (with Piyavate Hospital, 455 beds)
- Anantara Riverside Bangkok (with Bumrungrad International Hospital, beds TBC)
- Chiva Bangkok Hotel (with Bangkok Hospital, 75 beds)
Patients who wish to apply for a hospitel stay can directly contact the hospital where they received their diagnosis and ask to be admitted to its partner hotel. The program offered by Bumrungrad Hospital is priced from around B150,000 for a 14-day stay, exclusive of medicines, and medical service and equipment.
On that note, please take care of yourself and stay safe. We will get through this together, and a better day will come when we can once again enjoy a “time out”.
You can discover more about Thailand’s field hospitals here.
READ MORE: Luxury hotels that are Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) service.