HCMC Covid-19 specialty hospitals return to pre-pandemic roles

Over the past few days, health workers at the District 7 Hospital and the Cu Chi General Hospital have cleaned up Covid-19 wards and other areas, disinfecting the premises including items like blankets, pillows and medical equipment.

Both hospitals will retain a quarantine zone each for coronavirus cases where temporary treatment will be provided before the patients are transferred to full fledged Covid-19 treatment facilities.

The District 7 Hospital has treated around 1,317 Covid-19 cases over the past two months, while the Cu Chi General Hospital of Cu Chi District has treated hundreds over the past month.

For the last five months, 95 hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City have participated in the Covid-19 fight by treating coronavirus cases. It is the first time that the city has had to deploy different types of hospitals to combat the virus, including field hospitals, hospitals which specialize in treating Covid-19 cases and hospitals which treat both coronavirus and non-coronavirus patients.

Thousands of health workers were also mobilized from all over the country to help the epicenter of the pandemic fight the virus.

With the coronavirus situation in city showing signs of being put under control, and a strategic shift being made to live safely the virus instead of eliminating it completely, HCMC has prepared plans to revert hospitals and other institutions to their original functions while retaining their capabilities to respond to the disease.

Field hospitals erected on the premises of schools, dorms and offices, as also district general hospitals, would be prioritized in this process.

Ho Chi Minh City, epicenter of the fourth coronavirus wave, has recorded 376,171 local Covid-19 cases so far in the new wave. A total of 14,499 people in the city have died.