According to the HCM City Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention (HCDC), the number of HCM City children contracting Covid-19 between February 14-22 tripled the week previous. This has been attributed to the reopening of HCM City’s schools and the Omicron variant’s infection.
A Covid-19-infected child in HCM City
The HCDC said from February 10 to 17, 70 of the 92 samples sent to the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) and the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases, had tested positive for Omicron. Gene sequencing results also showed that all the 26 samples randomly selected from those 70 samples were positive to this variant.
The centre assessed that Omicron is currently the dominant variant in HCM City.
All hospitals in HCM City have been asked to carry out plans on the Covid-19 treatment for children. Children under 12 who have not yet been vaccinated against Covid-19 and have underlying medical conditions are seen as the priority group for the treatment.
Children's hospitals in the city have to set up the Covid-19 treatment ward with at least 150 beds, including 50 for intensive care. In necessary cases, the ward could be expanded.
Training courses for Covid-19 treatment will also be held for medical staff at the district-level hospitals.
Hospitals in the city have been asked to assign qualified doctors to join the Health Department’s task force which specialises in building Covid-19 treatment regimes.