Minh was among dozens of people who came to the hospital on Dao Tri Street in District 7 on Tuesday after being informed that the hospital was returning the belongings of Covid-19 patients who had died here.
"I want to send my sincere thanks to the hospital for keeping them carefully for us," he said.
The staff of the Social Work Department at Bach Mai Hospital have started returning the belongings of Covid-19 patients who died at the hospitals to their families.
Deputy head of the department, Doctor Hoang Thi Phu Bang, said that they have kept about 300 bags containing the belongings of dead Covid-19 patients and 60 of them have been returned to their families during the first three days.
"All the Covid-19 patients admitted to our hospital are serious cases with many in critical conditions," she said. "We must help take care of their belongings. Most of the patients only brought clothes, mobile phones and identity papers with them but some had large amounts of cash and valuable jewellery," she said. "We must try to return them all to their families."
The doctor said that although they have tried to contact the families, many of them asked the hospital to keep them as they are also being treated for Covid-19 or staying in locked down areas.
Ho Chi Minh City has been the biggest Covid-19 epicentre in Vietnam since the fourth outbreak started in late April, with a total of 348,220 infections as of Tuesday evening. The city is also reporting the highest number of fatalities in the country, with 184 deaths confirmed on Tuesday.