Da Nang works around the clock to stamp out COVID-19 outbreak
VOV.VN - Joint forces are racing against time to build a field hospital in the central city which has reported more than 100 locally transmitted coronavirus infections for just a week.
A massive clean-up operation is underway inside the Tien Son sport place in Da Nang where a field hospital is to take shape in the coming days (Photo: plo.vn)
The hospital, which is to take shape inside the Tien Son sport palace covering 2,400 square metres, is projected to receive and treat thousands of patients, according to local authorities.
Work began on the project on July 31 and it is scheduled for completion over four days.
With dozens of cases announced on July 31 alone, the Da nang Municipal Department of Health asked medical facilities to receive, quarantine and treat the patients.
The city’s three leading hospitals where the SARS-CoV-2 virus was detected have been overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, and they are in dire need of support from other medical hospitals, said Ngo Thi Kim Yen, director of the Municipal Department of Health.
Easing the overload at the three hospitals will make it easier for relevant agencies to control the outbreak, minimizing cross-transmission risks, she added.
Yen disclosed a number of COVID-19 patients will be transferred by specialized vehicles to private hospitals such as Family Hospital, Vinmec International Hospital, and North Quang Nam General Hospital in the coming days.
Da Nang has been stepping up contact tracing and extensive testing for local residents showing virus symptoms and those living around the three blockaded hospitals, namely Da Nang Hospital, C Hospital, Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Hospital.
Nearly 3,000 people living in these affected areas will be tested for the virus, Yen said.
Admitting that medical workers are at a high risk of virus infection, Yen said more than 3,000 workers at the three hospitals have been tested, and 5,000 others at other medical facilities will undergo tests in the coming days.
The Ministry of Health has established a task force comprised of experienced epidemiologists and doctors in Da Nang to deal with the outbreak. Medical school universities have been mobilized from nearby provinces to assist with contact tracing and testing.
With medical supplies from the Ministry of Health and leading hospitals, the local healthcare sector is now capable of conducting between 8,000 and 10,000 specimens a day, Yen revealed.
Da Nang has quarantined 5,600 cases, including medical workers, patients, their relatives, guards and canteen staff of the three affected hospitals. It has also identified nearly 10,000 other cases closely linked to COVID-10 patients.
Da Nang is the locality where the first locally transmitted infection was confirmed 99 days after the disease has been put under control in the country.