A healthcare worker takes samples for COVID testing in HCM City. The city has set up an additional 33 mobile medical stations following a surge in the number of cases in recent weeks. VNA/VNS Photo by Thanh Vũ

HCM CITY — HCM City has set up 33 new mobile medical stations, bringing the total number to 255, following a surge in the number of COVID cases in recent weeks, according to its Department of Health.

Of them 20 are in District 12, eight in Bình Chánh District, four in Hóc Môn District and one in Bình Tân District.

Speaking at a meeting on Tuesday, Tăng Chí Thượng, director of the department, called on district authorities to set up more mobile medical stations to take care of the patients being treated at home.

He said they need to pay close attention to high-risk patients such as people aged 65 and above and those with underlying medical conditions or who are unvaccinated. 

He also urged them to speed up vaccination.

More than 80 per cent of people in the city aged 18 and over are fully vaccinated. 

According to the HCM City Centre for Disease Control (HCDC) and district health centres, the number of new cases have been rising again, with some days seeing more than 1,000.

Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh Châu, deputy director of the department, attributed the rise mainly to unvaccinated and partly vaccinated people returning from provinces to the city for work. 

The city has also activated quick response teams in districts with a rising number of cases, especially Hóc Môn.

Hospitals have been told to draw up a list of reserve doctors and nurses who can be dispatched to mobile medical stations in districts and field hospitals, and reinforce their facilities for treating COVID, stock up on equipment and medicines and be prepared to admit more patients. 

"Vaccinated people remain at risk of getting and spreading the virus," Châu said. 

He said the public should remain totally cautious and strictly comply with COVID prevention measures.

The city plans to organise a memorial service next Thursday (November 18) in remembrance of people who died of COVID during the fourth pandemic wave that has claimed more than 16,800 people since it began in April.

It has recorded more than 440,000 cases. — VNS