On July 3, at the request of the Minister of National Defence, the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre sent a working delegation from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City to assist in the southern hub’s COVID-19 testing efforts. The delegation promptly made preparations with equipment, supplies, and personnel for the task so that they could arrive prepared in Ho Chi Minh City on July 4.
Doctor Hoang Duc Hau, Director of the Center for High-tech Research and Treatment under the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre’s Institute of Tropical Biomedicine, said that following the spirit of ‘fighting the pandemic like fighting an enemy’, team members are fully aware of their assigned tasks.
Once in Ho Chi Minh City, the team quickly installed machines and equipment for their operations. After receiving more than 1,200 samples from the city’s Centre for Disease Prevention and Control on July 5, they worked overnight and detected 30 cases positive for the coronavirus.
The team also set up a molecular biology laboratory and a mobile container lab in order to raise the City’s testing capability to 1,200 samples a day and to return results within 24 hours.
Over the past few days, many provinces and cities across the country including Yen Bai, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Nam, and Binh Thuan have dispatched thousands of medical staff and technicians to Ho Chi Minh City to fuel the city’s strength in overcoming the pandemic.
Youth union members unloading goods from a truck carrying essential goods donated by the authorities and people of Binh Thuan province to Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA)
At the same time, medical forces from Cho Ray Hospital, and Ho Chi Minh City Medicine and Pharmacy University have been taking samples and treating COVID-19 patients at field hospitals set up in the city.
Accordingly, 52 doctors, nurses, and technicians Ho Chi Minh City Medicine and Pharmacy University were sent to support field hospitals on June 11. Meanwhile, six teams comprising of hundreds of medical workers from Cho Ray hospital left for the field hospitals in the city.
Truong Thi Dieu Ky, a nurse from Cho Ray Hospital, said that it was the first time she joined a voluntary team to work at Binh Chanh district’s hospital. “I will try my best to fulfill my assigned tasks and contribute a helping hand to the city’s fight against COVID-19,” Ky pledged.
Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Nguyen Hoai Nam said that the city has mobilised 12,492 people for three strategic processes including contact tracing, testing, and treating in the battle of COVID-19 at hospitals. Currently, 2,014 doctors and nurses from hospitals in the city are involved in the work. Earlier, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long announced on July 7 that the ministry will mobilise about 10,000 medical workers to aid the City in the COVID-19 pandemic fight.
In a similar effort to support the city’s fight against COVID-19 the Binh Thuan provincial authorities and people have donated fish, fruit and fish sauce while Binh Dinh province donated VND2 billion to the southern metropolis, now the country’s biggest pandemic hotspot.
Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front's Ho Chi Minh City Chapter To Thi Bich Chau added that in such difficult circumstances, the support of people across the country for Ho Chi Minh City once again affirms the valuable tradition of solidarity and mutual support of our nation. She also stressed that the support is a source of encouragement for the city's people to remain determined to soon repel the pandemic and continue to move forward.
