COVID-19 patient 135 (second from left) share a photo with medical staff at Đà Nẵng General Hospital. She is the sixth and last COVID-19 patient to leave hospital in central Việt Nam. — VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG — The central city released COVID-19 patient 135 after 18 days of treatment at the general hospital on Friday after she tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 three times.

The female patient, 27, who flew from Bangkok, Thailand to Đà Nẵng on March 21, will be isolated at HCM City’s Chợ Rẫy Hospital for 14 days under strict medical supervision.

“I was impressed by the care and treatment I received from the doctors and nurses at the hospital. They reserved the best service and treatment for me during the 18 days and saved me from the disease,” she said.

Doctor Phạm Ngọc Hàm (first right) at a press briefing at the hospital after the last COVID-19 patient in central Việt Nam left hospital. Hàm and his 45 medical staff spent more than one month treating six COVID-19 patients in Đà Nẵng. VNS Photo Công Thành

“I’m so happy to walk out of hospital today, and want to express my thanks to all the medical staff for their wholehearted care,” she added.

Director of the hospital, Doctor Lê Đức Nhân said: “It’s been an endless effort by a team of 45 doctors, nurses and medical staff at the tropical department since the first positive arrived at the hospital.

“The patient is the sixth and last COVID-19 patient leaving the city in good health after days of treatment. The hospital had received full medical assistance from the city and the Ministry of Health to help cure the COVID-19 patients,” Nhân said.

“She is the last COVID-19 patient in the city, but it’s not the last case for us. We’ll keep fighting for any new patients in the coming days,” said Doctor Phạm Ngọc Hàm, head of the tropical disease department at the hospital.

Doctor Hàm and his medical team spent 32 days at the hospital treating six COVID-19 patients – two British, one American and three Vietnamese – from March 7.

He said the six COVID-19 patients treated at the hospital were not serious cases. They did not have cardiovascular problems, hypertension, pneumonia or diabetes before being infected with SARS-CoV-2, he added.

Medical staff pose for a photo with COVID-19 patient 135 at Đà Nẵng Hospital. The patient has left Đà Nẵng for a 14-day isolation period at HCM City's Chợ Rẫy Hospital. VNS Photo Công Thành

All 45 medical staff will now go into isolation for 14 days at a hotel the city has reserved. However, they will be on duty if any new cases are admitted.

“The fight is still going on. We’ll try to cure all patients. It’s our job and mission,” Hàm said.

To date, 11 COVID-19 patients (7 British, one American) in Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam and Thừa Thiên-Huế have been eleased from hospitals since early March.

It’s also 17 days since the central region reported a new case of SARS-CoV-2.

The coastal central provinces of Bình Định, Phú Yên, Quảng Ngãi and Quảng Trị have yet to report any positive cases. — VNS