The daughter, Phiyathida Taosritrakul, received the B1mn claim payment at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday (June 16).
Present for the handover were Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana and Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) Phuket Chief Theerasak Mesa, along with Dhipaya Insurance Phuket manager Decho Phonpruk, who presented the payment.
Ms Phiyathida’s mother, Srisamai Yotchai, 63, owned a restaurant on the Patong beachfront.
Ms Srisamai first became ill on Mar 24, and after a week of treatment through a private clinic was admitted at Patong Hospital on Apr 1. She was transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town that same day.
Despite doctors’ efforts, Ms Srisamai’s condition deteriorated and she passed away on Apr 27.
In explaining Ms Srisamai’s death to the press, Vachira Phuket Hospital Director Dr Chalermpong Sukontapol said, “The majority of customers at the restaurant were Chinese, and as the owner she was responsible for collecting money from customers.
Ms Srisamai usually did not wear a mask, did not wash her hands often and some days she went to the Kathu market, he added.
Ms Srisamai lived with two other family members – her husband and her niece, both of whom worked at the restaurant. Both her husband and niece were later confirmed as infected with COVID-19, and both of them later recovered, Dr Chalermpong said.
At the handover ceremony yesterday, OIC Phuket Chief Mr Theerasak said that more than 7 million people had taken out COVID-19 health-coverage policies since the outbreak began in Thailand.
In Phuket, around 36,400 people have taken out such policies, he added.
Mr Theerasak explained that COVID-19 health policies in Thailand offered four types of coverage: claims for being infected; claims to cover medical treatment costs, claims for infection leading to coma; and claims for death as a result of the disease.