A military facility in HCM City was turned into a COVID field hospital during the fourth wave surge in 2021. — VNA/VNS Photo Đan Phương

HCM CITY — HCM City must be prepared for a rising COVID caseload and reopen closed field hospitals if needed, according to the city’s Department of Health.

HCM City Pasteur Institute found two cases of the new BA.4 subvariant of COVID in Thủ Đức City and one of BA.5 in Củ Chi District.

The daily caseload had been rising slightly in the past three weeks, sometimes reaching over 50, while there only used to be fewer than 30 a few months ago.

HCM City’s Department of Health has prepared COVID patient admission plans that account for different levels of pandemic risks.

Local health facilities will focus on caring for locals vulnerable to the virus, with ward-level medical stations assigned to monitor patients at home.

Districts have to be ready for a possible rise in caseloads and prepared to quickly reopen COVID field hospitals, which had been gradually closed down when the city’s pandemic situation improved several months ago.

Hospitals in HCM City have set up departments to solely admit and treat COVID-19 patients. Certain hospitals, such as the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Children’s Hospital and Military Hospital 175, are capable of admitting intensive cases.

According to the department, locals need to strictly adhere to COVID preventive measures such as wearing masks and disinfecting their hands in public.

HCM City needs to push for higher third and fourth COVID vaccination rates, considering that the vaccine’s effectiveness gradually drops off over several months for the elderly and people with compromised immune systems.

Over 55,300 doses of fourth vaccine shots were given on July 6, nearly four times higher than the day before after the city announced that new COVID subvariants had been found in HCM City.

While the new subvariants are not considered as harmful as Delta, the city’s health authority has warned that the virus is unpredictable, and will closely monitor its spread.

In addition to COVID, HCM City’s healthcare system is facing other problems such as an outbreak of dengue fever and many medical workers quitting. — VNS