The epicenter of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) said it needs 12,000 health workers, including 2,800 doctors, 8,200 nurses and technicians, and 1,000 medical lecturers and students to support the treatment of Covid-19 patients and work in quarantine zones.

More than 4,200 health workers from 44 national hospitals and more than 7,000 volunteers have joined the fight against Covid-19 in the most populous city.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines brings health workers to Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Vietnam Airlines

Director of the municipal Department of Internal Affairs Huynh Thanh Nhan said they need further support and will ask for the army's assistance.

Currently, more than 20,000 people out of more than 57,000 people working in the city’s health sector are taking part in the anti-pandemic fight.

Deputy Health Minister Thuan today [August 11] admitted that the treatment facilities in HCMC are reaching full capacity.

At present, more than 12,000 index cases (F0) are treated at home and more than 10,000 first-generation contacts of the confirmed cases (F1) are under home quarantine.

The city has 5,200 places in lockdown, with the majority in Thu Duc City and Tan Phu District.

Concerning the vaccine purchase, the State-owned Saigon Pharmaceutical (Sapharco) and VinaCapital Ventures will import five million doses of Moderna vaccine for the city, of which two million doses are expected to be delivered in October.

The importers are negotiating to buy additional 10 million doses, which likely arrive in Vietnam in the second quarter of 2022, according to Deputy Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Duong Anh Duc.

The local government has requested the Ministry of Health to allow VinaCapital Ventures to charge the inoculation.

So far, the government of Vietnam has offered free-of-charge vaccination.

A Covid-19 checkpoint in Hanoi's downtown to keep its "green zone" (safe zone). Photo: Khanh Huy/ Phap Luat Xa Hoi

Hanoi

Hanoi, meanwhile, will conduct citywide testing to detect index cases in the community as quickly as possible and have overall reviews on the pandemic situation after days of strict social distancing. It plans to test more than three million people.

The city’s Party Committee has asked the local authority to kick off all quarantine facilities and get ready to treat a large number of patients.

Under the government’s goals, Hanoi is expected to stamp out the pandemic before August 25.

In another move, the Ministry of Transport has asked authorized agencies to minimize flights to Hanoi and lower the number of flights from HCMC to less than two per day.

Since July 22, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has suspended the Can Tho-Hanoi and Phu Quoc-Hanoi routes and returns and cut the Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi return flights to two/day.

Vaccination

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Van Thuan said the health sector will speed up the inoculation in the fourth quarter with the support of the armed forces.

He said more than 11.4 million doses have been administered out of more than 18 million doses received, including 3.6 million doses administered in Ho Chi Minh City and 1.5 million doses in Hanoi.

Daily infections

Vietnam reports 8,766 more Covid-19 infections on August 11, including 39% in Ho Chi Minh City and 22% in Binh Duong.

So far, the total caseload has hit 236,901, including 85,154 convalescents and 4,487 deaths (342 today).

Vietnam's Covid-19 infections. Source: MoH. Chart: Minh Vu