Phước Lộc COVID-19 field hospital opens on Monday in Nhà Bè District, HCM City.  Photo from the Ministry of Health

HCM CITY — Lieutenant General Ngô Minh Tiến has ordered Military Division 370 to strictly implement pandemic prevention measures and speed up vaccinations for soldiers to help HCM City in its fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.

Tiến, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Việt Nam People’s Army, led a delegation on Monday to inspect pandemic prevention measures at Division 370.

All officers, employees and soldiers of Division 370 have completed tasks and cooperated with forces in the city, a report from the division said.

The division has donated 290 gifts, including food and vegetables, worth a total of VNĐ100 million (US$4,375) to poor and disadvantaged families, and has sent forces to work at checkpoints and locked-down areas in the city.

It has also offered 129 gifts worth a total of VNĐ110 million for families of officers, soldiers and defence officers in the division who have financial problems.

Lieutenant General Ngô Minh Tiến praised the results achieved by the division’s officers, employees and soldiers.

Field hospital opens 

Another field hospital for COVID treatment, set up by the Ministry of Public Security, opened on Monday in HCM City’s Nhà Bè District, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Lieutenant General Nguyễn Duy Ngọc, deputy minister of Public Security, said the Phước Lộc field hospital with a capacity of 300 beds was set up within seven days with the assistance of nearly 1,500 mobile police.

Colonel Tiền Thanh Liêm, who is deputy director of the 30-4 (April 30) Hospital, was assigned as director of the field hospital.

Since the fourth wave of the pandemic, the Ministry of Public Security has taken drastic solutions to support COVID hotspots such as HCM City and other southern provinces.

Of the more than 2,000 HCM City police who have been infected, more than 10 have died of COVID-19, according to Ngọc.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam said: “The more hospitals we build, the more lives we can save.” He added that the ultimate goal is to protect people’s health and save the lives of people and frontline forces. 

“We have set a goal of providing the best treatment for COVID patients so there will be no deaths at the hospital. To achieve this goal, we all need cooperation from not only frontline medical forces but other forces.”

“We also need cooperation from the people. The government and agencies will work to ensure social security for people, and encourage them to comply with pandemic control regulations.”

HCM City has called on private hospitals to take part in COVID treatment. Many hospitals in the city have converted part or all of their facilities for COVID treatment services, according to the Department of Health.

Mass testing

After one week of testing, HCM City found 64,300 positive COVID cases, or 3.8 per cent of samples taken. Deputy Director of the Department of Health Nguyễn Hữu Hùng said this was an acceptable level. The acceptable rate is no more than 5 per cent under the guidelines of the World Health Organization.

As of August 28, the city had administered 5,865,276 vaccine doses. Of the number, 5,577,285 were first doses, and 287,991 were second doses.

Nguyễn Hồng Tâm, deputy director of the Centre for Disease Control of HCM City, said the health sector has stored all the data of people who have received the first dose and will notify them for the second jab.

The number of new infections since the fourth wave hit the country in late April has topped 440,000. Of that number, HCM City accounts for around 210,000 cases. 

The city is treating 40,259 patients, including 2,415 children under 16 years old, 2,736 people on ventilators, and 15 patients with ECMO intervention. — VNS