HCMC – HCMC will launch a campaign to protect the health of people aged over 65 and those with underlying health conditions to minimize new Covid infections and fatalities.
According to a dispatch signed by the city’s vice chairman Duong Anh Duc yesterday, December 7, the first phase of the campaign will start from December 7 to 31. The city will then review the outcome of the first phase before implementing the next phase in 2022, reported the local media.
In this campaign, the city will make a list of families with people aged over 65 and those with underlying health conditions to test, vaccinate and provide them with care and treatment if they are found infected with Covid to reduce severe illness and death.
Each person will undergo a Covid test twice. If their first test is negative, they will be retested three days later. The testing drive is scheduled to end before December 18.
Further, the city will ramp up the Covid vaccination for persons in the vulnerable group who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. Mobile medical teams will visit the houses of people who are unable to move to give them vaccine shots.
People in the group will also receive care, antiviral medication and treatment from local medical stations if they test positive for the coronavirus. In addition, Covid patients will be remotely monitored and offered emergency treatment if their health condition worsens.
The HCMC departments of Health and Information and Communications will jointly operate the hotline 1022 to offer consulting services and medical guidelines to patients in the vulnerable group.
According to the HCMC Health Department, Covid deaths in the city have recently risen. Over the past two weeks, the city has reported 60-70 deaths per day. On December 5, 94 people died of Covid, the highest daily number in two months.
The municipal health authority said most of the fatalities were those who were over 50 years old, had underlying health conditions, and had yet to get vaccinated or take antiviral medication.
In related news, given a spike in cases in recent days, the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho is adding Covid field hospitals by upgrading quarantine centers, said Duong Tan Hien, standing vice chairman of the municipal government, at a meeting on December 7.
These field hospitals will quarantine and treat asymptomatic cases whose houses do not meet requirements for home care and treatment.
During the past two weeks, Can Tho reported over 1,000 cases daily. On December 6, Can Tho took the lead in the country with 1,152 cases. The spike was attributed to a soaring number of people from other provinces coming to Can Tho for medical treatment, studying and trading after mobile restrictions were removed. Also, as the majority of local residents are fully vaccinated, they tend to be lax in maintaining anti-Covid practices, Hien explained.
