Newborns of COVID mothers are being taken to H.O.P.E Centre at Họa Mi Kindergarten No.2 in HCM City's District 5 until they can be safely picked up by their relatives after travel restrictions are lifted. The centre was opened by Hùng Vương Hospital after its facilities became too crowded. Photo courtesy of the hospital

HCM CITY — Hùng Vương Hospital in HCM City on Wednesday opened the H.O.P.E Centre at Họa Mi Kindergarten No. 2 in District 5 for healthy babies born to COVID patients.

The hospital previously took care of them, but the facility has become overcrowded with patients.

Dr Hoàng Thị Diễm Tuyết, the hospital’s director, said that more than 50 of 130 babies born to COVID-19 patients at the hospital have been discharged from the hospital. But their relatives, because of restrictions in travelling amid the social distancing period, cannot pick them up now. The mothers are staying at concentrated quarantine facilities in the city.

The Ministry of Health and the city People’s Committee worked with the District 5 people’s committee, the leaders of Họa Mi Kindergarten No.2, and the city Women’s Union to set up the centre.

The hospital has provided centre volunteers with training on how to take care of newborns. Doctors visit the centre to check their health each day, and the hospital offers emergency aid if necessary.

Relatives have to follow strict procedures when picking up the babies to ensure safety.

Since April, the hospital has admitted 1,000 pregnant women, and about 500 of them have had COVID-19. Five of the 500 women with COVID-19 had babies who were diagnosed with COVID-19. VNS