Thailand has adequate supplies of medicine to treat Covid-19 patients unless the outbreak becomes much worse, and it is seeking to import more drugs from China, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charvirakul said on Monday.
"Thailand has enough drugs to treat patients' symptoms for their recovery unless the situation is critical. Thai authorities have confidence in their treatment because 28 out of 43 patients have been able go home," Mr Anutin said at Government House.
After a meeting with Chinese charge d'affaires Yang Xin, Mr Anutin said he asked China for a favour, to allow export of the medicines to Thailand to treat novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients here.
"The medicines are used to treat Chinese people, who comprise the majority of patients here. The Chinese government has not allowed the export of these medicines," Mr Anutin said.
He said that last week the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation had bought a quantity of such medicines from China through its special connection with a pharmaceutical counterpart.
Mr Anutin said local medicines can also be used to treat symptoms of Covid-19 patients.
He said the Covid-19 epidemic had not reached the third stage, which involved massive human-to-human transmissions.