Coronavirus testing when ill

[ukrules]

Someone I know (a Thai national) developed the symptoms of a cold a few days ago, probably caught it from her daughter.

 

She had a cough and then a fever so she went to a hospital to see what they say.

 

At this stage I will point out that she has a day job that involves cleaning the holiday homes of tourists in the Hua Hin area, many of which are Chinese.

 

Now this the following is the part that is new to me and why I'm posting :

 

At the hospital they offered her a test to check and see if it's the new 'Corona Virus', she had to pay 550 Baht for the test and the results were available 3 hours later.

 

She tested negative. This was a government hospital.

 

Any thoughts from healthcare professionals on the above procedure and optional test which had to be paid for?

 

I heard about this yesterday but only got the full details today.

[GeorgeCross]

wow highly skeptical.

 

if they have a test that can return results for 550 baht in 3 hours why are there 600+ suspected cases in Thailand.

 

they could wrap that up in a few hours?

 

so either local test is BS or government stats are BS

 

or your cleaner is lying.

 

 

 

[ukrules]

3 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

if they have a test that can return results for 550 baht in 3 hours why are there 600+ suspected cases in Thailand.

My thoughts exactly.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, ukrules said:

Any thoughts from healthcare professionals on the above procedure and optional test which had to be paid for?

 

Dunno what kind of test they gave her, so it's hard to say much without that.

 

But I will say, even with the RT-PCR test that's supposed to be the current gold standard for detecting CV, it's been shown that people in the early stages of the virus can test negative, and then test positive later once their symptoms are more substantial.  A negative test in the early going is not necessarily a certain all clear answer.

 

 

[Sheryl]

8 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Dunno what kind of test they gave her, so it's hard to say much without that.

 

But I will say, even with the RT-PCR test that's supposed to be the current gold standard for detecting CV, it's been shown that people in the early stages of the virus can test negative, and then test positive later once their symptoms are more substantial.  A negative test in the early going is not necessarily a certain all clear answer.

 

 

And a PCR takes several days and would not be available outside major cities.

 

The story is suspect.

[sometime]

If you happen to be unlucky and get 'Corona Virus',  who pays the hospital bill?

[ukrules]

4 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

And a PCR takes several days and would not be available outside major cities.

 

The story is suspect.

Indeed, that's what I thought. She said a blood test was done yesterday and she's had the all clear.

 

Perhaps she's lying so people don't avoid her, it's hard to tell really.

 

She not only cleans houses, she's a waitress in a restaurant as well, apparently she's taking a few days off until she feels better.

Edited February 8, 2020 by ukrules

[Sheryl]

5 minutes ago, sometime said:

If you happen to be unlucky and get 'Corona Virus',  who pays the hospital bill?

If you are uninsured, you do. 

 

Same as anything else.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

44 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

If you are uninsured, you do. 

 

Same as anything else.

 

It's been more than curious to me that, at least in the EN language media, there's been zero mention that I've seen anywhere about the presumably substantial costs that have been incurred by the CV-confirmed Chinese tourists who've been in hospitals here (whether paid directly by the patient or any foreign/traveler insurance they may have that doesn't exclude such things).

 

The Thai citizens, on the other hand, presumably are being covered by their national insurance. Although, a sizable number of the total PUI group in Thai hospitals right now are in private hospitals, not government ones:

 

Feb. 7 breakdown of PUI patients hospitalized by location:

Quote

(182 private hospitals, 164 public hospitals and 11 institutions of Bamrasnaradura)

 

Edited February 8, 2020 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[sometime]

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

If you are uninsured, you do. 

 

Same as anything else.

So if the infected decided cant pay wont pay I am just going home ?

Edited February 8, 2020 by sometime
second thoughts

[sometime]

So all other parts of the world are giving It free Thailand will charge

[EricTh]

550 baht for a test? No wonder people don't want to report.

[ukrules]

11 minutes ago, sometime said:

So if the infected decided cant pay wont pay I am just going home ?

I doubt that very much, not at this still very early stage.

 

They're not asking people if they would like to purchase some treatment here - it's mandatory isn't it?

[GeorgeCross]

1 minute ago, EricTh said:

550 baht for a test? No wonder people don't want to report.

 

good price would probably be 18,000 at the private hospitals 

 

[Why Me]

22 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

there's been zero mention that I've seen anywhere about the presumably substantial costs that have been incurred by the CV-confirmed Chinese tourists who've been in hospitals here (whether paid directly by the patient or any foreign/traveler insurance they may have that doesn't exclude such things).

You're kidding, right? With 10 million Chinese visitors a year who spend billions, I would guess they would be happy to treat all the (few dozen?) sick Chinese for free, get them cured and then throw in a week of all-paid recovery therapy in Phuket just for fun, all for the glowing press in Beijing and Shanghai.

[ukrules]

23 hours ago, Sheryl said:

And a PCR takes several days and would not be available outside major cities.

She has confirmed again that the blood test result was available within 3 hours, this was at a major government hospital in Hua Hin.

 

I have no idea what type of test it was but it obviously wasn't the above kind of test.

 

I wonder if they might be testing for the presence other disease instead of the presence of this new virus. Is that even possible?

[Sheryl]

Possibly H1N1?

[PPMMUU]

17 hours ago, ukrules said:

I wonder if they might be testing for the presence other disease instead of the presence of this new virus. Is that even possible?

Yes. It is very much possible.
And much much more likely.

[ukrules]

Second case of someone in my 'circle' being ill and going for a precautionary test.

 

This is what happened and gives a little insight to how they're handling the situation.

 

Someone was ill with a fever and cold like symptoms since about 2 days ago, he's around 20 years old, we sent him to the hospital to get it checked out.

 

They turned up at the hospital first thing and waited for 3 hours to see a Doctor. Apparently they're taking precautions at Hua Hin hospital and 'made a room outside the hospital for consultations' - they only went inside to pay the bill after the consultation.
 

They have a bill because they're not registered in Hua Hin but elsewhere in the country. The bill was for 368.50 Baht

 

I expected them to do some kind of test to check what infection he has, I was wrong.

 

The Doctor said that no test was required, it's just a cold.. so no test was done and he's sent home with some cold remedy.

 

This is what they're doing to fight the virus in Thailand

 

The person tested here is the son of a chef

[Why Me]

6 hours ago, ukrules said:

The Doctor said that no test was required, it's just a cold.. so no test was done and he's sent home with some cold remedy.

Why should everyone with cold-like symptoms be tested for C-19? It would be overwhelming and unnecessary.

 

In case of risk factors like recent travel to an affected country or proximity to other at-risk persons, sure. The rest of us here, 99%, will get a cold and recover in a week like we used to.

[uhuh]

The test for Covid19 is not a blood test.

 

The test doesn't necessarily take several days,  it can be done in several hours - but not in Hua Hin  (probably nowhere in Thailand)

 

Price for tests are coming down very fast. I would not be surprised if a government hospital charges just 550 baht. 

 

There is no "major government hospital" in Hua Hin.