NDO/VNA - Three intensive care units for COVID-19 patients (ICUs) with doctors and medical personnel coming from three central-level hospitals across the country opened on August 7 in Ho Chi Minh City – the country’s current largest pandemic hotspot.

Doctors and medical personnel from three central-level hospitals, including the Vietnam German Friendship Hospital and the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, and Hue Central Hospital in Thua Thien-Hue province, have arrived in Ho Chi Minh City to help set up the ICUs that have a total of 1,500 beds.

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son, head of the ministry’s taskforce to support Ho Chi Minh City in COVID-19 prevention and control, said the telehealth digital platform should be used to connect hospital departments, and a monitoring centre should be set up to coordinate the treatment of critical COVID-19 cases at the three intensive care centres.

Ho Chi Minh City is struggling to contain its largest outbreak despite serious prevention measures, according to Son. “The city has also had to ensure a steady supply of medical equipment and supplies for treatment.”

“Despite the number of cases, the city is on the right track,” he said, adding that the top priority is to save patients with serious health conditions and reduce fatalities.

In addition to medical staff, the ministry will send managers and administrators of leading hospitals across Vietnam to work in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City’s Cho Ray Hospital is currently operating the Ho Chi Minh City Intensive Care COVID-19 Hospital based in the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital in Thu Duc City with a capacity of about 1,000 beds.