At the press brief (Photo: SGGP)
He made the statement at a periodical press brief of the coronavirus pandemic in the city yesterday.
Speaking at the press conference, Deputy Head of Ho Chi Minh City's Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control Pham Duc Hai said that as of 6pm on September 18, some 331,569 Covid-19 cases in the city have been confirmed by the Ministry of Health. Currently, around 41,193 patients are being treated in medical facilities.
Approximately 2,637 patients were discharged from the hospital on September 18 and 182 deaths were reported. Regarding the Covid-19 vaccination, up to 8,735,784 people have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine as of September 18.
Referring to support packages, the Social Welfare Center has delivered 1,828,070 bags to districts and Thu Duc city.
According to Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, the department recorded 24,200 legal shippers on September 17. Furthermore, the number of shippers jumped to 82,160 on September 19; as a result, the Department of Industry and Trade asked the Department of Health for assistance for testing.
Shippers are taken samples for Covid-19 testing
Regarding this issue, Chief of the Office of the city Department of Health Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai said that at first the health sector in coordination with the Department of Industry and Trade carried out free of charge tests on 17,800 shippers.
Later, the Department of Health has directed district health centers to provide quick tests for 20,000 shippers. However, up to now, over 92,000 people have registered to be shippers who ought to undergo a test. This is out of the reach of medical centers in districts citywide.
Some 501 mobile medical stations comprising of 1,200 health care workers are focusing on taking care of patients with Covid-19 presenting with mild symptoms at home. Accordingly, they hardly conduct too many tests for shippers, said Dr. Mai.
