Passengers arriving at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City. People testing positive for COVID at the airport can now choose which hospital they want to be treated at and are not compulsorily required to go to Field Hospital No 12.— VNA/VNS Photo

HCM City — All public and private hospitals in HCM City that meet the conditions mandated by health authorities can now treat people entering the country with COVID-19.

Earlier, all imported cases must be treated only by Field Hospital No 12.

But to take in patients, they need to have a quarantine and treatment area separated from areas meant for local COVID patients.

The cost of testing, treatment and others will be borne by the patients but the fees must be put up on the hospitals’ websites. 

The Department of Health has recommended that eligible hospitals should register with it and it would publicise the list.

Everyone arriving at the city’s Tân Sơn Nhất airport must get a rapid test done for COVID. 

Anyone testing positive was taken for an RT-PCR test and sent to the Field Hospital No.12 for treatment and genomic sequencing to find out if they were infected by the Omicron variant.

Passengers who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from the disease in the previous six months must self-monitor their health, refrain from coming into contact with other people and not leave their accommodation for three days, according to the Ministry of Health. 

HCM City has so far found 92 cases of Omicron, 87 of them imported.

There are 2,295 patients currently in hospitals, 121 at quarantine facilities and 5,166 at home. 

Vaccination through Tết

HCM City will continue to carry on COVID-19 vaccination during Tết (Lunar New Year).

People living in the city, including immigrants, can go to vaccination sites in their local district without needing to register in advance, according to the Department of Health.

The city is trying to give its population the booster dose before February as directed by Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính.

It is thought to improve protection against the Omicron variant.

Besides, the effectiveness of the second dose can decrease over time, and so speeding up the third restores protection.

The department has recommended that people who have recovered from COVID should still get vaccinated since they are still capable of being reinfected with the Omicron variant, becoming severely ill and transmitting the infection to others.

As of January 26, the city had administered more than 19.9 million doses of vaccines, with 7.28 million getting two shots and more than 4.5 million receiving three. — VNS