HCM City hotspot converts apartment buildings into field hospitals
VOV.VN - Ho Chi Minh City, the largest coronavirus hotspot in Vietnam, is ready to convert blocks of apartment in resettlement areas into field hospitals as the number of COVID-19 infections continues to rise in the community.
As many as 32,900 beds have been reserved for receiving and treating COVID-19 patients, said Tran Hoang Quan, director of the HCM City Department of Construction.
“We will earmark an additional 6,000 beds for this purpose in the coming days to meet the increasing demand for COVID-18 treatment,” said Quan.
He also revealed the department has reserved approximately 20,000 beds for F1 cases, i.e. those in first-hand contact with sources of infection.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tang Chi Thuong, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Health, said the city has prepared 36,500 beds for COVID-19 patients, of which 6,500 are available in COVID-19 treatment hospitals and 30,000 in other field hospitals.
“Currently, four field hospitals have been put into operation. In the near future, there will be five more such hospitals located in apartment buildings provided by the Department of Construction,” added Thuong.
Thuong also affirmed that the municipal administration has yet to develop a home quarantine plan for F0 cases though this policy has been introduced in many other countries.
HCM City recorded 1,320 locally transmitted cases on July 10 and 443 new cases on July 11 morning, raising its tally of infections to more than 12,000 since the resurgence of the virus in late April.
