Siriraj hospital has announced the closure of its examination unit, on the ground floor of the out-patient building, until the end of June. The move is an attempt to reduce congestion and prevent the spread of COVID-19, after many people showing up for examinations are found to be infected.

Patients who need emergency treatment or who are very sick can, however, still check in at the ER department to see doctors.

Patients who are in a stable condition, but would like to see a doctor, are advised to contact doctors via the telemedicine system and receive their medicines via the postal service. Alternatively, they can see doctors at hospitals near their homes, said the hospital’s announcement.

Meanwhile, Assoc. Prof. Yuwares Sittichanbuncha, of the Department of Emergency Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital at Mahidol University, said in her Facebook post that ICU beds in the hospital are fully occupied, to the extent that doctors may have to decide “who should go ahead and who should be stopped”.

“This is the real situation we are facing,” she said in a second post yesterday, adding that she did not mention or criticise the government, because it would be a waste of time, and that she is not disappointed with the government “because I have never had any expectations (of the government)”.

“We should not waste our time on something which is beyond our control,” said the professor, as she advised people to take care of themselves and not to lower their guard, even if they are already vaccinated.

If they do not take care of themselves, she said that they should, at least, not remove their face masks to criticize the government, because that will put them at risk of infection or of transmitting the disease to the other people.