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Coronavirus pandemic
This Week in AsiaHealth & Environment

Thailand’s rich Covid-19 patients get ‘hospitel’ treatment, as the poor are turned away

  • At least 23 ‘hospitels’ have opened in Bangkok recently, offering a form of luxury coronavirus quarantine for up to US$384 per night
  • Public field hospitals, meanwhile, appear to be struggling amid an influx of new cases – though authorities insist there are sufficient hospital beds

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People stand in line for a swab test at a temporary Covid-19 testing site in Bangkok on Monday. Photo: Bloomberg
Jitsiree Thongnoiin Bangkok

In the lobby of Bangkok’s Pullman Grande hotel, medical teams clad in full-body protective gear shuttle back and forth, greeting well-heeled coronavirus patients as they arrive by ambulance for treatment.

About 250 rooms in the five-star hotel have been repurposed as a temporary extension of the capital’s Thonburi private hospital amid a rapid surge in new Covid-19 infections – with one-third of Thailand’s more than 45,000 total cases being reported this month alone.

In addition to field hospitals, at least 23 “hospitels” – a portmanteau of hotel and hospital – have opened in Bangkok in response to the surge, offering a form of luxury coronavirus quarantine for infected patients who exhibit little to no symptoms and do not have underlying health conditions.

A field hospital with beds made out of recycled boxes is seen inside a sports arena in Nong Chok district, on the outskirts of Bangkok, on April 18. Photo: EPA
A field hospital with beds made out of recycled boxes is seen inside a sports arena in Nong Chok district, on the outskirts of Bangkok, on April 18. Photo: EPA

Under Thailand’s universal health care system, coronavirus patients can receive treatment at a public hospital free of charge, but a stay at the Pullman Grande “hospitel” can cost up to 12,000 baht per night (US$384), according to Nalin Vanasin, an executive committee member of the Thonburi Healthcare Group.

Part of the treatment costs can be covered by insurance or government subsidies, she said, adding that the group planned to add 500 beds at a three-star hotel for a reduced cost and expected to operate its Bangkok “hospitels for the next three months at least”.

Thailand’s policy of hospitalising all those who test positive for Covid-19, even those without symptoms, has prompted concern about its capacity in the event of a surge in the number of patients with severe symptoms.

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