Thailand COVID February 22 – Thailand Ministry of Health reports 18,363 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 35 deaths since yesterday. The ministry also announced an additional 15,651 recovered patients.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul approved the changes to the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients (UCEP) scheme. Part of the scheme is to delist COVID-19 treatment from the covered illnesses. The changes will take effect on March 1, 2022.
Under the previous scheme, patients can seek treatment for the first three days. After the initial treatment, they will be transferred to a hospital where the universal coverage is registered. Under the changes, if a patient seeks medical help from a private hospital, they would have to pay for the bill.
Mr. Anutin also announced the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients (UCEP) Plus for patients with moderate to severe symptoms. These changes were done to improve budget management but still provide standard COVID treatment.
“We have to make necessary adjustments [to the UCEP scheme] for the sake of giving fair and effective treatment while also considering budgetary factors,” he said.
For those who were recently infected by the omicron variant, most of the cases are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms. Most of the cases could be addressed through home isolation. Even under home isolation, the cases are still monitored by health professionals. In cases where it becomes severe, they can be admitted to hospitals for treatment.