HCMC to let Covid-19 doctors rest in hotels

The city is planning to use three hotels to provide accommodation and dining for doctors and nurses working at three hospitals that are treating Covid-19 patients and quarantining those suspected to have the disease, the municipal health department said Monday.

Several hotel operators have registered to offer their services for quarantining purposes.

For now, the city is treating Covid-19 patients and quarantining suspects at the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases and two of its field hospitals in the two outlying districts of Cu Chi and Can Gio.

The municipal Health Department is mobilizing more doctors and nurses so that they can take turns to be on duty at the three field hospitals.

As of Tuesday morning, the city had recorded 46 cases, of whom 10 have been discharged. The rest are in stable condition.

In all, Vietnam has confirmed 204 Covid-19 infections, of whom 55 have recovered and been discharged.

Many of the currently active cases are Vietnamese nationals returning from Europe and the U.S., foreigners coming from the same regions and those who’d come into contact with both groups of people.

There have been at least 13 cases linked to the Buddha Bar & Grill in HCMC's expat precinct in District 2's Thao Dien Ward, and 33 cases linked to the Bach Mai Hospital and its partner Truong Sinh Company. The hospital, one of Vietnam's largest, has been locked down since Saturday.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday agreed with a Health Ministry proposal to declare the Covid-19 outbreak 'a national epidemic' and asked everyone to stay put, wherever they are, for at least 15 days.

The government had decided Sunday to suspend all international passenger flights to Vietnam and limit flights between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other localities in the coming two weeks.

Starting March 22, Vietnam also suspended entry for all foreign nationals, including those of Vietnamese origin and family members with visa waivers.