A group of three hospitals in Đà Nẵng City have been locked down since July 28. —VNA/VNS Photo Quốc Dũng

ĐÀ NẴNG — Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam on Tuesday urged medical centres in other provinces and cities to share the burden with Đà Nẵng as the central coastal city is now a hotspot of COVID-19.

After 15 community infection cases were recorded at three hospitals in Đà Nẵng, doctors of Bạch Mai Hospital in Hà Nội and Chợ Rẫy Hospital in HCM City have come to Đà Nẵng to offer assistance in treatment and medical equipment.

Đà Nẵng Hospital has made arrangements to ensure quarantine and treatment conditions for severe cases.

Huế Central Hospital in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province is preparing equipment and infrastructure to receive critically-ill COVID-19 patients, especially those suffering from various diseases or on kidney dialysis, to share the burden with Đà Nẵng.

During an online meeting with leading hospitals on Tuesday on the treatment of COVID-19 patients, leaders of Đà Nẵng Hospital said among 15 active cases, two patients (No 416 and 418) are in critical condition.

Patient 416, the first locally-transmitted case found in Việt Nam after more than three months, has been now on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) for four consecutive days.

He is also on blood filtration and a breathing machine.

His health indexes and body functions are in control.

Patient 418 was diagnosed with a severe acute respiratory infection and suffering from other conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes as well as kidney damage and increased white blood cells. Doctors are considering ECMO.

These two patients no longer have a fever, according to doctors.

Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam, head of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, said: “The treatment needs utmost efforts in order to avoid fatalities."

“The pandemic is very dangerous. If we are negligent, we will see rapid development,” he said.

He asked the Ministry of Health to use technology in testing to trace the infection sources as soon as possible. Hospitals must strictly follow prevention and control regulations when receiving patients and get ready to offer help to others if necessary.

Society must take preventive measures, from immigration control, testing, quarantine to checking those exposed to infections, he said. — VNS