On February 18, the last two patients at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases are discharged from hospital. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Vietnam has gradually developed an effective treatment
plan for patients with 15 out of 16 infected cases
successfully treated, the Ministry of Health has said.
Speaking at a conference on
February 19, Dr , Director of the ministry’s Department of
Medical Examination and Treatment and deputy head of the sub-committee on
treatment at the National Steering Committee for Prevention and
Control, said although there is no specific drugs that kills the virus, the
treatment regime applied has proved to be working.
Among those successfully, many have been reported underlying diseases such as
high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and lung cancer.
By February 19, nine have been discharged from hospitals. The remaining
patients are in good health and will be discharged in the coming days, he said.
Khue said since the early days of the epidemic, the health sector had
immediately convened the professional council with leading professors to
develop and update guidelines for early treatment.
These guidelines have been implemented at hospitals and health clinics
nationwide. After the first three patients were discharged from HCM City’s Cho
Ray Hospital, Khanh Hoa Tropical Hospital in the central province of Khanh Hoa
and Thanh Hoa province General Hospital in Thanh Hoa province, the committee
continued to adjust their treatment regimen.
Specific treatment steps, including initial reception instructions, quarantine,
drug usage and emergency equipment for critically-ill patients have been
updated to deal with the epidemic.
No new infected cases have been reported in Vietnam since February 13. Among
the 16 people that tested positive, none have become severely ill and no
fatalities will be reported, he said.
On February 18, the last two patients at the National Hospital of Tropical
Diseases – the frontline hospital offering the COVID-19 treatment in the north
– and two patients at the district-level health clinic in the northern province
of Vinh Phuc, which recorded the most infections, were discharged from hospital.
The Vietnamese-American patient at HCM City’s Tropical Diseases Hospital has
tested negative twice. The three-month-old baby at Hanoi-based National
Children’s Hospital is also negative.
They are both in good health, will continue the treatment and soon be
discharged from hospital.
The committee has asked relevant units, health experts and
scientists to keep synthesising data on epidemiology, clinical treatment and
treatment results to complete the treatment regime.
At the conference, the committee also discussed and agreed on a number of
issues on receiving foreign workers returning to Vietnam to work, issues on
border control and immigration control to promote socio-economic activities.
In addition, the committee has asked relevant agencies to closely monitor and
complete the procedures to announce the end of the epidemic in Khanh Hoa and
Thanh Hoa provinces.
Vietnam has also prepared preventive measures to deal with the virus in hospitals
at all levels.
Patients with symptoms not considered severe will be treated at district-level
hospitals. Patients in Thanh Hoa and Khanh Hoa provinces will attend local
hospitals.
Quarantine work must be divided into three areas. The first is for suspected
people, the second is for those infected but in good health, and the final is
for the patients with severe symptoms. All these areas must strictly follow the
ministry’s criteria on biosafety and infection control.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who is also head of the National Steering
Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, praised military units for their
efforts in the prevention and fight against the coronavirus at the online
conference on February 19.
He stressed the military units needed to strictly control the border, organise
quarantine for citizens returning from affected areas and disseminate
information about the illness in the future.
Currently, Vietnam still has 34 unconfirmed cases and more than 1,530 people in
close contact with people who may have the virus or those arriving from
epidemic areas. All of them are under quarantine.
By February 19, there are 75,203 COVID-19
infected cases worldwide and the number of deaths reached 2,010. In China
alone, 74,186 cases have been reported with 2,004 deaths./.
Source: VietnamPlus
