Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, along with 110 doctors, nurses and technicians left Hanoi on August 15 afternoon for Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to join the city's battle against Covid-19.

The medical staff included 51 doctors from the National Hospital of Ophthalmology and 60 from the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion. All of them received training on treatment of Covid-19 before departure.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long and medical staff supporting HCMC’s Covid-19 fight took a photo at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Photo: The Ministry of Health

All health workers of the two Hanoi-based medical establishments traveled to the southern hub on the same flight to support the Covid-19 Resuscitation Hospital and the Covid-19 Resuscitation Centre, where are two of the five intensive care centers specializing in the treatment of severe and critical Covid-19 patients in HCMC.

Long stressed that thousands of medical workers nationwide have volunteered to HCMC and other southern localities, which are the current largest Covid-19 hotspots in Vietnam, to provide timely treatment for patients.

He appreciated all efforts and contributions made by health workers who make themselves available in the front line to contain the increasingly serious evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier, on August 2, Dr. Nguyen Quang Tuan, director of Bach Mai Hospital, along with nearly 200 doctors and nurses, left Hanoi for the Field Hospital No.16 in HCMC’s District 7.

“At Field Hospital No.16, the leading experts and doctors in active resuscitation, anti-toxicity and infection are striving to provide the best treatment for Covid-19 patients and we are happy to join them”, Dr. Nguyen Quang Tuan said.

Medical workers injecting vaccines against Covid-19 to HCMC residents. Photo: VNA

All the white coat warriors participating in this special mission have received two doses of Covid-19 vaccine and have good knowledge of pandemic prevention measures.

Dr. Dao Xuan Co, deputy director of Bach Mai Hospital, highly valued the volunteer spirit of the doctors and nurses assisting the south.

“They will harness the experience of epidemic prevention and control in the anti-pandemic fight while joining hands with southern compatriots to successfully stamp out Covid-19 and extending Bach Mai Hospital’s spirit and sentiments to the southern people,” said the doctor.

HCMC, Vietnam's economic powerhouse, has become the epicenter of the fourth coronavirus wave which struck the nation in late April. It has recorded 149,286 local cases so far, the highest in the country. The southern metropolis has gone through multiple consecutive social distancing orders, with the latest one to be extended for a month starting August 16.