A COVID-19 checkpoint is set up in Kim Điền Village, Hưng Đạo Commune, Chí Linh City, Hải Dương Province. — VNA/VNS Photo |
HÀ NỘI — Minister of Health Nguyễn Thành Long asked relevant units to establish three COVID-19 treatment hospitals in the northern province of Hải Dương, where 77 community infection cases with the new highly contagious variant were confirmed over the past two days.
At a virtual meeting with the health departments and a number of hospitals in Hải Dương and Quảng Ninh provinces, Long requested an oversupply of medical equipment for the three hospitals to serve the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Accordingly, the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases is tasked with setting up the first COVID-19 treatment hospital at the Chí Linh Medical Centre in Chí Linh City which has been locked down for 21 days due to the new coronavirus cluster. Modern equipment will be transported to this hospital for the establishment of an intensive care unit.
The Hà Nội-based Bạch Mai Hospital, the biggest in the entire northern region, is in charge of opening the second hospital within the Hải Dương Medical Technical University.
Meanwhile, the third hospital will be placed at the Hải Dương sports stadium, receiving all of the equipment used for a similar hospital built at the central city of Đà Nẵng’s Tiên Sơn sports centre when the city was hit by a severe COVID-19 outbreak in July and August last year, which resulted in 35 deaths – the only ones the country has seen to date since the beginning of the pandemic as the clusters centred on some of the city’s major hospitals.
Regarding human resources for these hospitals, the minister directed experienced medical staff from Đà Nẵng, who engaged in tackling the city’s past outbreak, to go to Hải Dương to offer their support.
The Ministry of Health is sparing no efforts in curbing the current outbreak with maximum assistance from the central administration, he stressed.
Long also requested that all passengers traveling via the Vân Đồn International Airport (also shut down for 15 days) in Quảng Ninh Province and Chí Linh City in Hải Dương since January 15 must contact medical agencies to perform COVID-19 tests and go into self-isolation. — VNS