Briton among 17 severe COVID-19 patients sent home following recuperation in Saigon

The COVID-19 Resuscitation Hospital in Thu Duc City of Ho Chi Minh City has recently discharged 17 patients following their recoveries from severe conditions.

On Monday, the patients were sent home after a discharge ceremony held by the infirmary and the Ministry of Health. 

The patients are between 30 and 68 years old, including one British citizen, one married couple, and one pregnant woman.

Speaking at the ceremony, Nguyen Thi Tieng, 64, from Ho Chi Minh City’s Cu Chi District, said she was delighted to receive the discharge certificate together with her husband, as they had had to undergo COVID-19 treatment in various facilities for over two weeks.

“I want to say thank you to all the practitioners in the hospital who took care of us diligently, brought us food, and treated our conditions,” Tieng exclaimed.

Nguyen Truong Son, Deputy Minister of Health, congratulated the patients on their triumph over the coronavirus, a success that should also be attributed to the work of doctors and practitioners in the hospital.

“With the experience from their treatment and recovery, the patients would prove to be a great help in spreading information on the epidemic, including symptoms, treatment, and prevention measures,” the deputy minister said. 

He also took the opportunity to thank the volunteers and staffers of the COVID-19 Resuscitation Hospital for their cooperation and commitment to fighting the coronavirus disease in the past months.

Tran Thanh Linh, deputy director of the COVID-19 Resuscitation Hospital, said the facility has admitted 410 patients since its launch two weeks ago. 

Out of the said group, a total of 88 patients made great improvement and were transferred to lower-level facilities, from which 17 had fully recovered and been discharged on Monday.

“Most of the patients arriving at our hospital are in grave conditions. Seeing any of them gone is a great pain to us,” Linh said.

“However, many patients were pulled out of danger and have shown positive signs of recovery.

“We strive to save as many patients as possible.”

In mid-July, Ho Chi Minh City established a new resuscitation hospital with 1,000 ICU beds in Thu Duc City, which was erected on the basis of the inpatient treatment area of an oncology hospital.

It is one of the city’s urgent responses to the fourth and worst outbreak that it has ever witnessed, which started in late April and has so far infected 68,271 patients in the locale.

In June and early July, Ho Chi Minh City emerged as the country’s gravest outbreak site, with its caseload rising by the thousands per day.

The situation prompted authorities to put the city under a tightened social distancing mandate that forbids public gatherings of over two, bans non-essential businesses and services, and requires people to stay home.

Nationwide, the total number of patients has reached 109,111 cases, including 21,344 recoveries and 524 deaths, according to the Health Ministry’s data.