People making their ways to Wat Phai Tan community via a canal boat.

Suspicious death of Myanmar worker amid difficulties accessing medical assistance

U Aung Thien, 43, a hired boatman from Dawei, died in Bangkok’s Wat Phai Tan community on 28 June. The cause of death is still under examination, amid concern in this multinational community over the lack of medical assistance, Covid-19 testing and state relief which they have not been able to access.

A glance at high density housing in Wat Phai Tan community.

U Aung Thien lived with his wife in the community across from the Or Tor Kor (Marketing Organization for Farmers) market, one of the largest fresh markets in Bangkok. The community includes residents from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. According to a source, 200 are from Dawei, like U Aung Thien, constituting the community’s majority population.

An increase in Covid-19 infections shut down the community pier. U Aung Thien, who ferried those who wanted to go to the market, turned to helping his wife sell food at the temple.

On 26 June, he complained of a fever and muscle ache. He went to a clinic where the doctor gave him 3 injections of unknown medicines and a lot of pills. Back home, he vomited but the other symptoms improved. Thinking that he was fine, he skipped a doctor’s appointment on 28 June to help out with his wife’s business.

At 20.00, he fainted on the way back to his apartment and suddenly passed away about an hour later. Attempts at resuscitation by his friends, a rescue team and medics were futile.

On 29 June, U Aung Thien’s wife said the autopsy showed that the primary cause of death was not Covid-19. Further evidence will appear tomorrow.

Living in fear with limited medical assistance

The death has worried the community which already has 1 case of infection and a dozen with symptoms. 

According to a source, community members find it hard to access medical services or Covid-19 testing. U Aung Thien’s wife and a neighbour, who had symptoms, went to a hospital for testing and been rejected. The reasons given were the full queue and that no testing is provided for migrant workers. Those with symptoms end up staying in a room with 3-4 others.

Community members had called the Department of Disease Control (DDC) hotline for assistance. The advice they received was to take “paracetamol, cough suppressant and electrolytes. If the symptoms are serious, then call 1668 or 1669 but there may not be anyone picking up calls [because] no hospital has available beds.”

The community is calling for active testing in order to gauge the rate of infection in the community as many people had to stop working and stay at home for fear of infection. On top of that, there has been no assistance from the government or the Or Tor Kor market to compensate for their lack of work income. 

Covid-19 infections in Thailand are surging with a total of 254,515 people infected, 205,064 cured and 1,970 deaths. The vaccination rollout, which aims to have at least 50 million people protected by the end of the year, is going slowly due to vaccine shortages. As of 29 June, 2,695,934 people had received a 2nd dose and 6,721,038 people had received a 1st dose. 

In Bangkok, the Department of Medical Service (DMS) stated that there were 28 bed out of 468 available for the Covid-19 patient with severe symptoms, more than 80 percent of beds for those with the lighter symptoms had been occupied according to the Daily News on 27 June. This results in over 1,000 infected people had to wait for a long time to be treated.

There are news of those who passed away while waiting for their turn to recieve treatment.

Meanwhile, it seems to be difficult for migrant workers to access testing as some of the Covid-19 test sites in Bangkok accept only Thai nationals. According to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Public Relation Division, only 1 out of 4 free test sites accepts foreigners with passports.

The Royal College of Physicians of Thailand (RCPT) published a position statement on 29 June urging the government to make the greatest and most urgent efforts to procure good quality Covid-19 vaccines. It also urged people to get vaccinated, stay away from gatherings, keep their hands clean and wear masks.

There is also an online campaign from the Alliance of Public Health Staff demanding that the government import mRNA vaccines as soon as possible as research has proved that they are highly effective. 

The Food and Drug Administration of Thailand has approved 6 vaccines: AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Johnson and Johnson, Moderna, Sinopharm and Pfizer. As of the end of June, only AstraZeneca, Sinovac and Sinopharm are available, with most doses being AstraZeneca and Sinovac.

Source: 
prachatai.com/journal/2021/06/93731

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