Active screening of up to 409 worker housing camps in Bangkok, which accommodate an estimated 62,000 Thai and immigrant construction workers, is to be conducted in an attempt to pre-empt the spread of COVID-19.

This proposal was tabled by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and discussed at the meeting of the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) subcommittee today (Tuesday), said CCSA Assistant Spokesperson Dr. Apisamai Srirangsan.

According to the proposal, the Office of Social Security will be responsible for screening about 50,000 workers and the rest will be done by the BMA’s health office.

The plans for the pro-active screening were drawn up after many construction workers at several major housing facilities, such as those in Laksi and Nonthaburi, were found to be infected.

The CCSA subcommittee also discussed the adjustment of the monitoring plan, with an emphasis on rapid active screening, such as saliva tests, and plans for taking care of infected workers, said Dr. Apisamai.

Regarding infections among the elderly people in private care centres, the Disease Control Department has proposed that the caretakers should not work at different centres, but should be posted to just one, to prevent them from carrying the disease from one centre to another.

An investigation of infections in care centres has discovered that cleaners and relatives who visit the centres may not be strictly observing basic health requirements, such as wearing face masks.

Poor air circulation has also been identified as a problem at some of the centres.