HCMC – HCMC has suspended the operation of the Covid-19 ICU in Thu Duc City, restored it to its original function as an oncology hospital and also shut down three more Covid field hospitals.
Municipal vice chairman Duong Anh Duc made this decision following the proposal of the city’s Department of Health, after the number of Covid cases under treatment at local hospitals fell below 1,000 per day and new fatalities and severely-ill cases also declined.
The closure of field hospitals will also help healthcare frontliners recover and make preparations to cope with possible outbreaks.
The Covid ICU at the Oncology Hospital No.2 in Thu Duc City is the largest of its kind in HCMC as well as in Vietnam.
In mid-July last year, the fourth wave of infections was taking a heavy toll on HCMC, with the number of new infections and fatalities soaring. The city converted the newly-built Oncology Hospital into a Covid ICU to treat severely and critically ill patients, with 1,000 beds. The ICU has provided treatment for over 5,000 patients to date.
Also, according to the municipal government’s decision, Covid field hospitals across districts and industrial parks in the city will remain operational to receive and treat Covid cases. Hospitals that had earlier been converted into Covid treatment facilities were allowed to restore their original function and establish Covid treatment wards.
The city’s health authority was told to maintain the operation of the Covid field hospitals No.13, 14, and 16, with two of them having 600 ICU beds. The HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Cho Ray Hospital have to operate 200 ICU beds each to ensure the city always has 1,000 ICU beds available to treat Covid patients.
The health authority will reactivate suspended Covid treatment facilities within 24 hours, if necessary.
