Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Health has decided to stop the operations of four temporary COVID-19 treatment hospitals No. 3, No. 5, No. 10 and Cu Chi from January 19.

Currently, the number of patients being treated at temporary COVID-19 treatment facilities in the city accounts for 10-30 percent of their capacity. However, the new Omicron variant of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to cause an outbreak again.

To create conditions for medical staff participating in the fight against the pandemic to have time to recover their health, and be ready to respond when the pandemic situation becomes complicated, the department decided to halt the operations of these treatment facilities until further notice.

Medical workers and other staff working at these hospitals will temporarily return to their original units to perform duties as assigned by the managing directors.

The Department of Health also requests directors of the hospitals to make plans for participating in pandemic prevention and control within 24 hours when needed. The patients currently being treated at the above-mentioned hospitals will be discharged if they are eligible. Those who need further treatment will be transferred to other COVID-19 treatment hospitals in the area.

In a related news, HCM City has recorded another infection of the Omicron variant who is an 82-year-old woman returning from the US, bringing the total number of Omicron cases found so far in the city to 13 and in the country to 51.

The patient arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport on January 10 and tested positive for COVID-19 upon her arrival. Then she was put in quarantine at COVID-19 treatment facility No.12 in Thu Duc City. Later she was transferred to Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases as she has underlying health conditions and difficult breathing. A genome sequencing performed by the hospital confirmed on April 14 that she contracted the Omicron variant.

The woman's health has gradually recovered and she has been able to take care of herself, said Dr. Le Manh Hung, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases./.

VNA/VNP