Hanoi must prepare necessary medical plans to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic that is forecast to reach its peak in the next two weeks, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh has ordered.

Speaking at a meeting of the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control of Hanoi on February 27, Anh said the grassroots health system is likely to face great challenges if it fails to come up with appropriate solutions in time.

More than 10,000 new patients are reported in Hanoi on a daily basis, causing pressure on the treatment work.

So far, the city has prepared 2,180 beds, of which only 1,000 bed are being used. F0 cases treated at home account for 96 percent of the total infections reported in Hanoi.

The municipal health system is not overloaded in treating patients, Director of the municipal Health Department Tran Thi Nhi Ha affirmed, adding that it has prepared plans to meet even when the number of cases doubles.

According to Chairman of Hoang Mai district People’s Committee Nguyen Minh Tam, the district administration has intensified popularisation  activities to raise public awareness of COVID-19 prevention and control, and strengthened community COVID-19 prevention and control teams to support F0 cases quarantined and treated at home./.