Hải Phòng City's leaders bid farewell on Wednesday to medical staff deployed to help Bắc Giang Province deal with COVID-19 outbreaks. — VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

HÀ NỘI — Nearly 90 doctors and nurses from Hải Phòng, Hà Nội, and Vĩnh Phúc on Wednesday left for Bắc Giang to help the northern province deal with a severe COVID-19 outbreak.

Their support will primarily involve contract tracing, treatment and care of critical COVID-19 patients, and COVID-19 vaccination efforts, as the worst-hit province in Việt Nam’s fourth wave is seeing a double-digit daily increase in new infections with clusters surrounding industrial zones.

At the farewell ceremony with departing medical staff of Hải Phòng, the city’s Party Secretary Trần Lưu Quang said their volunteering is “a source of pride for the city’s authorities and people.”

Responding to the call from the health ministry and the city’s authorities, within 24 hours, many doctors, nurses, and technicians specialised in emergency cases and intensive case have signed up and 18 have been selected.

A group of drivers, a mobile X-ray system and an accompanying X-ray technician will also be sent to Bắc Giang Province.

The group’s primary task will be treating seriously ill COVID-19 patients, in addition to other responsibilities assigned by Bắc Giang’s health authorities.

Trần Anh Cường, head of Hải Phòng’s health department, said a council of leading medical experts in the city has also been set up and stands ready to provide consultation and help for the volunteer group via teleconference.

Doctor Đàm Quang Sơn, head of the emergency ward, intensive care and toxicology unit at the Hải Phòng Lung Hospital, and leader of the team to Bắc Giang, has pledged to fulfill the mission.

Lê Duy Thành, Chairman of Vĩnh Phúc Province People's Committee, gave flowers to medical staff before they left for Bắc Giang. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hùng

Also today, six doctors from the emergency ward, intensive care and toxicology department of the northern province of Vĩnh Phúc’s General Hospital – who have extensive experience in contact tracing and treating COVID-19 patients – left for Bắc Giang.

Lê Duy Thành, Chairman of Vĩnh Phúc People’s Committee, commended the medical staff and health personnel who have helped contain the outbreak in Vĩnh Phúc and would now extend their expertise to struggling friends.

On behalf of Vĩnh Phúc authorities, Thành handed over VNĐ2 billion to Bắc Giang and Bắc Ninh provinces as well as medical supplies to help battle COVID-19.

Twenty teams comprising 60 doctors and nurses from 12 public hospitals and 12 private medical establishments in Hà Nội on Wednesday also departed for Bắc Giang to aid vaccination efforts.

Each team will have one doctor, two nurses, and one emergency ambulance, along with sufficient drugs and medical supplies, to deal with post-injection side effects and other emergency situations.

The teams’ deployment is expected to last between 7-10 days, starting today.

Trần Thị Nhị Hà, director of Hà Nội’s health department, at the farewell ceremony, praised the volunteer medical staff.

She asked that the medical staff use their knowledge and expertise to support Bắc Giang, but they need to keep themselves safe and healthy to continue to protect the capital city’s public health in the future.

Previously, on May 16, a team of 20 medical workers from Hà Nội arrived in Bắc Giang to help with contact tracing and identifying outbreak areas. — VNS