A house in HCM City’s Phú Nhuận District with a COVID-19 patient under self-isolation. The city is deploying more mobile medical stations as the number of new daily cases has again begun to rise slightly. — Photo nld.com.vn

HCM CITY — Areas in HCM City with a rising number of COVID-19 cases are having to deploy more mobile medical stations and quick response teams.

In the last two weeks, the number of new cases have been picking up again, with some days seeing more than 1,000, according to Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh Châu, deputy director of the Department of Health.

This is partly due to many unvaccinated and partly vaccinated people returning from provinces to work, he said.

The HCM City Centre for Disease Control (HCDC) sent officials to two wards in Hóc Môn District on November 5 to investigate the rising number of cases and has instructed the district medical centre to quickly handle its new COVID clusters.

The department sent 15 mobile medical stations to the district and instructed a field hospital and rehabilitation centre in Tân Phú District to admit severe cases from Hóc Môn.

The city is deploying more quick response teams and mobile medical stations at districts with a rising number of cases.

The department has instructed medical facilities around the city to be attentive and quickly carry out COVID-prevention measures.

Hospitals have been told to prepare a list of reserve doctors and nurses who can be dispatched to mobile medical stations to help districts care for patients at home and field hospitals.

They have also been instructed to reinforce their COVID treatment facilities, stock up on equipment and medicines, and be prepared to admit patients.

Medical centres and stations need to update the list of COVID patients in their jurisdiction and quickly inform the HCDC and the department, while hospitals need to focus more on monitoring visitors to identify positive cases.

Vaccinated people remain at risk of getting and spreading the disease, and so people should not let their guards down and strictly abide by pandemic preventive measures, Châu warned.

The city, the country’s COVID epicentre, began reopening on October 1.

Around 80 per cent of its adult population is fully vaccinated.

Sài Gòn Hi-tech Park sets up quarantine zone

Sài Gòn Hi-tech Park in Thủ Đức City has opened a quarantine zone to isolate asymptomatic workers without underlying health conditions.

It is funded by tenants, has medical equipment such as oxygen tanks, and WiFi so that workers can continue working if needed.

The free zone is staffed by medical workers from the Bắc Mỹ General Hospital and the Thủ Đức City Medical Centre.

Nguyễn Anh Thi, head of the park management, said that many workers cannot be self-quarantined at home since they live in small apartments without private rooms or with old relatives.

Around 75 infections were found in the park last week, he said. — VNS