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Sirachai Shin
Arunrugstichai
p h o t o j o u r n a l i s t
Excess Mortalities: Delta Strikes Thailand
 Sealed bags containing bodies infected with Covid-19 are seen in a cold-storage shipping container that was brought in to store additional bodies with the lack of space in the mortuary at Thammasat University Hospital. |  People sleep below Buddha statues as they queue overnight for free COVID-19 swab tests at Wat Phra Sri Mahathat Woramahawihan Buddhist Temple. |  Tents for Covid-19 patients from Klong Toei slum are seen through a green plastic sheet inside a community-managed isolation area for Covid-19 patient as hospital beds are reaching full capacity. |
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 A Covid-19 patient is seen being carried on a stretcher by healthcare workers after getting a hospital bed. |  Health workers in PPE decontaminate and wrap a recently-deceased person suspected to be infected with Covid-19 in multiple layers of bags inside an isolation room within the Emergency Room at Thammasat University Hospital |  Forensic unit is seen with sealed bags containing bodies suspected to be infected with Covid-19, prior to swab testing inside the autopsy room in the mortuary of Thammasat University Hospital. |
 Clothings from the deceased are stored inside a cabinet with biohazard sign. |  Coffins donated by Thai citizens are seen filling the storage room at Wat Chin Wararam Worawihan Buddhist Temple. |  Funeral workers load coffins containing bodies of Covid-19 victims onto the back of a truck for cremation. |
 A Buddhist monk in PPE climbs the stair of a decorated crematorium, while thick black smoke disperse in the air during a cremation of a Covid-19 victim at Wat Chin Wararam Worawihan Buddhist Temple. |  Ashes of a Covid-19 victims are laid in the shape of a human body after cremation as practiced in Thai funeral customs. |  Unclaimed ashes from numerous Covid-19 victims are stored inside a coffin. |
Amidst the rapid spread of the delta variants that is wreaking havoc in Southeast Asia, the daily cases of newly infected people and daily mortalities in Thailand have been continuously climbing. Healthcare systems are running at full capacity, while forensic doctors struggle to handle the large influx of bodies, suggesting the possibility of much larger infection among the population than the reported official numbers.
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