A 15-year-old COVID-19 patient from District 8 is treated at City Children Hospital in HCM City. Source bvndtp.org.vn

HCM CITY - The number of children under 16 years old contracting COVID-19 in HCM City has risen, partly because of an increase in tests being conducted in the community, according to the HCM City Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention.

As many as 2,915 children under 16 are being treated for COVID-19 at hospitals or at home. The total number of COVID-19 patients being treated in the city is 41,470.  

Field Hospitals No. 4 and 11 and Củ Chi Field Hospital are treating children who cannot stay at home. If the cases become severe, the patients are brought to the City Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospitals No. 1 and 2.  

Many of them have underlying health conditions such as obesity, leading to difficulties in treatment. Most of them, however, have recovered.

On August 15, a 15-year-old male COVID-19 patient from District 8, for example, had acute respiratory distress syndrome, a life-threatening lung injury that allows fluid to leak into the lungs. 

The patient, who weighed 135 kilogrammes, was prescribed high-flow nasal cannula therapy that delivers oxygen. Broad-spectrum antibiotics and other medicines were also used for treatment. After two weeks of treatment, the patient no longer needed nasal cannula therapy and is now recovering.

A 15-year-old girl with severe COVID-19 and obesity also recovered after four weeks of treatment at the hospital.

Dr Trương Hữu Khanh, former head of the infectious and nervous diseases department at Children’s Hospital No.1, said: “More and more children are contracting COVID-19 in the city. However, most cases are mild and they recover rapidly. Only children who are overweight or obese can become worse when contracting COVID-19.”

Children’s Hospital No.1 said that it also has admitted severe COVID-19 cases at various ages. A 21-day-old infant, for example, was hospitalised due to a fever and a SpO2 oxygen saturation level of 88 per cent. After being treated for COVID-19, the child is now recovering.

Infants who contract COVID-19 should be closely supervised so that severe symptoms can be detected and treated in time. Doctors said that parents should take their children to health facilities for screening and testing if they have a fever, cough or other symptoms. VNS