Covid outbreak to peak in two weeks: Hanoi chairman

Addressing a city meeting Sunday, chairman Chu Ngoc Anh cited health experts as estimating the outbreak in Hanoi would reach its peak in the next two weeks.

The number of daily cases in the city crossed 10,000 on Saturday and “with the fast spread of infections in the past few days, it is possible that the Omicron strain has dominated Covid-19 cases in Hanoi,” Anh said, adding that the city was speeding up the gene sequencing process to make an evaluation.

He said the next two weeks will be “a huge challenge” for the grassroots healthcare system if the city fails to come up with a suitable solution to respond to Covid-19 in time.

“The people must know whom to call on getting infected and what to do when developing symptoms, as well as when to get tests done and what procedures to follow when isolating at home for treatment.”

Most of the active patients in the city now, 95 percent, are being treated at home.

Chairman Anh also tasked related units to identify solutions to ease pressure on the grassroots healthcare system, especially procedures to confirm one as a Covid-19 patient and those related to the health insurance payments.

Meanwhile, ward and commune medical centers must specifically regulate how many patients one staff can take care of each day and thereby calculate the daily manpower needed for timely coordination and support.

In the past 14 days, the number of Covid-19 cases recorded daily in the city has surged by 115 percent against the previous two weeks, according to the Ministry of Health.

Last week, medical centers in several Hanoi localities witnessed both Covid-19 patients and those who had recovered queuing up to get official confirmation.

As per existing rules, reporting to local officials can get patients a certificate of recovery that will entitle them to financial support from the government and employers. They will also receive a patient code number for getting treated at a hospital if needed.

So far in the fourth wave that hit Vietnam last April, Hanoi has recorded 247,785 cases and 945 deaths.