House Speaker Chuan Leekpai has been admitted to Ramathibodi Hospital after testing positive for Covid-19, though his symptoms are mild for the time being, it was reported on Tuesday.
Mr Chuan said he decided to take a Covid test after he woke up feeling fatigued in the morning.
He used two antigen test kits to determine if he had an infection or not, both of which returned a positive result.
The 83-year-old politician then rushed to the hospital to undergo further checks.
His doctors advised him to stay at the hospital for a couple of days until his condition improves.
He said he first felt the symptoms after visiting former Nakhon Si Thammarat MP Thepthai Senpong in prison on Monday.
The House speaker said he was confident he would recover before the no-confidence debate against the government, which is set to take place on July 19-22.
Separately, the Food and Drug Administration has allowed private hospitals to directly buy and distribute Paxlovid, as well as molnupiravir from various manufacturers.
FDA deputy secretary-general Surachoke Tangwiwat said as FDA recognises Paxlovid -- a combination of the antibiotic nirmatrelvir and ritonavir developed and marketed by Merck -- and generic forms of molnupiravir, private hospitals can directly buy the medicines from drugmakers as long as they follow prescription guidelines from the Department of Medical Services.
