HCMC suspends largest Covid ICU center

Duong Anh Duc, deputy chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, decided on the suspension based on a proposal by the municipal Department of Health as the number of hospitalized Covid-19 cases has dropped below 1,000 a day, along with a reduced number of severe cases and deaths.

The suspension of field hospitals would also allow health workers to recover and prepare for new developments should the disease take a different turn in future.

The ICU center at the Oncology Hospital is the largest for Covid-19 patients, not just in HCMC but across Vietnam. The center was specialized for Covid-19 treatment in July 2021, when the coronavirus rampaged through the southern city. The center has treated over 5,000 patients to date.

Other field hospitals and medical facilities for Covid-19 treatment in districts, wards and industrial parks would still be maintained. Hospitals that have been re-specialized to treat Covid-19 would be restored to their original functions, but Covid-19 departments would be formed.

Covid-19 hospitals that have been suspended could be re-activated within 24 hours by the HCMC health department should the need arise.

HCMC has recorded over 534,000 Covid-19 cases in the fourth coronavirus wave since late April. Around 20,285 people have died.