Today’s English “HCM City quarantine zones face risk of being overloaded”

HCM City quarantine zones face risk of being overloaded.

As the number of COVID-19 cases in HCM City has increased in recent days, concentrated quarantine centers are at risk of being overwhelmed.

According to the municipal Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention (HCDC), more than 21,400 people are currently in some form of quarantine in the city.

Of the figure, 7,770 are in concentrated quarantine areas, with the rest at home or special accommodations.

If F1 cases later test positive, then the F2 cases must be isolated in concentrated quarantine areas.

HCM City plans to build a new field hospital with 1,000 beds at Phú Thọ Stadium in District 11 if the number of COVID-19 infections exceeds 1,000.

Health workers, beds, and medical equipment will be prepared for the field hospital.

Earlier, the municipal department issued a COVID-19 response plan for treatment, with three scenarios: fewer than 100 cases, 100-1,000 cases, and 1,000-5,000 cases.

The establishment of the field hospital is part of the city’s preparation for the worst-case scenario.

The city’s Health Department is also planning to set up other field hospitals at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre in District 7, and culture and sports centers in city districts, with a total capacity of up to 5,000 beds and 1,000 ventilators.

Tân Phú District is considering using district cultural houses, children’s houses, and political training centers as quarantine zones.

The city has five hospitals for COVID-19 treatment, Chợ Rẫy, Củ Chi Field Hospital, HCMC Children’s Hospital, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Cần Giờ Covid-19 Treatment Hospital, with a total of more than 970 beds and 42 ventilators.

The city has also requested military units to use military areas as concentrated quarantine sites to respond promptly if the city has more than 3,000 cases.

Nguyễn Trung Hòa, director of the Gò Vấp District Health Centre, said the district continued to promote screening, focusing on high-risk places, testing in quarantined areas, so F1 cases could increase. The health center has set up an 80-bed quarantine area located at the Gò Vấp District Political Training Centre, but in the long run, it needed to increase its capacity.

Bình Thạnh District has recorded the second-highest number of infections in the city in this outbreak with 49 cases. The district’s quarantine area has 585 beds but it is forecast that the F1 cases will increase, putting pressure on the existing quarantine area. The district has used schools in the area to set up quarantine centers with a capacity of 200-300 beds, said Đinh Khắc Huy, chairman of the district people’s committee.

To solve the problem of overloading quarantine areas in districts, deputy chairman of HCM City People’s Committee Dương Anh Đức has agreed to allow localities to set up quarantine centers in local hotels.

Refer to:
Vietnam news