Covid-19 patients are treated at Go Vap District Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City.

The Covid-19 Treatment Sub-Committee of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control on August 4 announced 186 more Covid-19-related deaths in 10 provinces and cities, bringing the total number so far to 1,881 people, including over 1,400 cases in HCM City.

Since the fourth outbreak that began on April 27, the country has had 1,846 Covid-19-related deaths.

Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment of the Ministry of Health, said that statistics show that people over 70 years old accounted for the majority of fatalities with 30.1%, and most of them had underlying diseases. This was followed by people 61-70 years old - 28.6%, 51-60 years old - 22.8%; 41-50 years old - 11.4%; and patients under 40 years old - 7.2%.

The mortality rate in Vietnam is 1.13%, which has increased quite rapidly compared to the previous period but is still lower than the world average of 2.13%.

Compared with previous outbreaks, the proportion of patients with no symptoms or mild symptoms has changed little.

Analysis based on 25,648 cases of covid patients shows that 83.4% of patients were asymptomatic (more than 21,388 patients); 8.5% of patients had moderate symptoms (2,181); and 8.1% of patients had severe or critical symptoms (2,079).

Among the critically ill patients, 1,298 patients had to use oxygen-support devices and glasses (5.1%); 301 people needed HFNC high-flow oxygen support (1.2%); 73 people needed non-invasive mechanical ventilation (0.3%); 389 cases needed invasive mechanical ventilation (1.5%); and 18 cases needed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or ECMO machine (accounting for 0.1%).

Vietnam has applied a 3-level model in the treatment of Covid-19 patients. In the country’s largest epidemic hotspot - Ho Chi Minh City – the 5-level model, however, is being applied. Accordingly, the first level includes isolation areas, the field hospitals for asymptomatic patients or those with mild symptoms. The second level includes district hospitals for patients with moderate symptoms. The third level is for patients with severe or very severe symptoms, who need high-tech intervention such as dialysis, mechanical ventilation, and ECMO.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said that with the current strategy, and if the healthcare system carefully prepares, up to 80% of infection cases can be treated at lower-level health facilities.

The first and second levels may only need 1-2 doctors so that human resources can be focused on the higher levels. Starting at the 2nd level, there must be a central oxygen system.

The Minister of Health has asked the Covid-19 Treatment Subcommittee to continue updating the treatment regimen for medical facilities at each level.

Thuy Hanh

Vietnam reports 159 new Covid-19-related deaths

Vietnam has announced 159 new deaths related to Covid-19 in eight provinces and cities, including 132 cases in HCM City.