Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - More than 1,300 people in Ho Chi Minh City have signed up tovolunteer for the fight against the outbreak of the highly infectious Deltavariant following an appeal letter from Deputy Minister of Health NguyenTruong Son.
Volunteers include nearly 300 doctors, 200 pharmacists and nearly 700people working in various sectors joining the front lines.
The city’s Department of Health is mobilising volunteers for COVID-19treatment health facilities and districts facing a shortage of humanresources for prevention and control activities.
Son, head of the ministry’s special standing division in HCM City, issuedan appeal letter on July 24 calling for people with a medicalbackground, including active and retired medical officers, lecturers andstudents, as well as members of health associations, to help relieve some ofthe burden on the healthcare system, which is now under severe strain.
People can sign up to volunteer by contacting the Department of Health via 02839309967 or 0907574269.
Last week, city leaders asked the central Government to mobilise more than12,000 medical officers, including doctors, nurses, and medicaltechnicians to support the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.
The COVID-19 outbreak has overwhelmed the city’s public healthcaresystem, which is estimated to be capable of treatingabout 30,000 COVID-19 cases, according to Son.
The city is in dire need of support from the central Government and theMinistry of Health to add more resources to curb the outbreak.
As of July 25, the city had reported more than 61,192 cases since lateApril.
The newly established HCM City Rehabilitation Hospital with 1,000 beds forseverely and critically ill patients needs more than 1,300 medical staff,said Dr. Nguyễn Tri Thuc, director of HCM City COVID-19 Rehabilitation Hospital.
It has 835 medical officers and administrative staff so far, according to Thuc,who is director of Cho Ray Hospital.
With a surge in the number of cases, the hospital asked the Ministryof Health to mobilise more human resources for treatment of severe cases.
Dr. Nguyen Duy Long, director of the 115 Emergency Centre in HCM City, said thecentre was struggling as 1,200-1,800 positive COVID-19 cases were beingtransferred to hospitals every day, far exceeding its capacity.
He has asked the health sector to mobilise more emergency medical stafffrom other health facilities to provide emergency services for COVID-19patients in a timely manner.
The COVID-19 Treatment Hospital No. 2 in the city’s District 12 with nearly 200medical staff is now operating at full capacity to receive COVID-19 patients.
The hospital has proposed adding more physicians who are respiratoryspecialists as doctors there are working double their normalshift./.
VNA
