A Covid-19 field hospital has been developed in Kien Giang’s Ha Tien City. Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long has ordered the development of a field hospital in Can Tho City for the Mekong Delta - PHOTO: TNO

HCMC – Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long on April 26 ordered the erection of a Covid-19 field hospital in Can Tho City for the Mekong Delta region.

During a trip to the city on April 26, the minister said the ministry was concerned about the risk of the pandemic outbreak in the Mekong Delta. Residents in the Mekong Delta are inexperienced in dealing with community-infected Covid-19 cases, the local media reported.

Although hospitals in Can Tho have prepared quarantine areas, the number of beds will not be enough in a worst-case scenario. As a result, the establishment of a regional field hospital is necessary, apart from the field hospital in Kien Giang Province’s Ha Tien City which has been set up with support from the Cho Ray Hospital.

The regional field hospital in Can Tho will initially have 400 beds and the number will increase to 800 if needed.

Can Tho City will also set up its own field hospital with 200 beds.

Central medical centers in the Mekong Delta must prove their key role in promptly supporting provinces along the southwestern frontiers, which see a high number of people entering Vietnam both legally and illegally.

The Can Tho Central General Hospital and the Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy should prepare manpower and equipment for testing, quarantine and treatment.

Minister Long also required the establishment of field hospitals in other localities such as An Giang and Dong Thap.