HCMC — Due to the rising number of children infected with Covid-19, the HCMC health authority has asked local hospitals, especially pediatric ones, to set up Covid treatment units, said a city health official.
Data from the HCMC Center for Disease Control showed that new Covid infections among children rose threefold in the week from February 14 to 22 compared to the previous week from February 7 to 13, Tang Chi Thuong, director of the HCMC Department of Health, said in an urgent dispatch sent to relevant agencies on Covid treatment for children.
All public and private medical facilities across the city have been asked to support the testing and treatment of children to ensure their safety, especially those aged under 12 who have not been vaccinated against Covid, he said.
Besides, medical facilities need to ramp up Covid screening when admitting children with or without symptoms of respiratory diseases, he said, adding that they need to conduct Covid tests for timely detection of infections in children.
Unvaccinated children under the age of 12 must be classified as a vulnerable group, especially those who have underlying health conditions, the department advised.
Covid infections among children have leapt since the city government allowed kindergartens and elementary schools to resume in-person classes after more than half a year of closure induced by the pandemic.
