Representatives from the Center for Disease Control stated that the city is “crowded and densely populated,” and it is not necessary to isolate F0 and F1 at home to ensure effective epidemic control.
“Hanoi will only consider home isolation when the number of people needing isolation increases excessively. Moreover, Hanoi’s unique situation of being densely populated does not ensure safety for home isolation, thus mild or asymptomatic F0 still require centralized treatment,” said Dr. Khong Minh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), on November 8.
A centralized isolation area in Thach That, Hanoi. (Photo: Ngoc Thanh)
According to the report from the Department of Health, Hanoi has a total of 42 isolation facilities with 14,639 beds. As of November 2, the city is currently isolating 1,975 people at 25 facilities, all of whom are F1 cases entering from epidemic areas. There are 4,568 F0 being treated in medical facilities, of which 3,610 have been discharged and 618 have been transferred.
Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dac Phu, Senior Advisor at the Emergency Response Center for Public Health Events of Vietnam, Ministry of Health, stated that Hanoi should consider the option of home isolation early and should not persist in centralized isolation, learning from the experiences of provinces that have recently faced severe outbreaks. The reason is that the city has continuously seen new outbreaks, with the number of infections increasing in the past week while implementing safe and flexible adaptation to effectively control the Covid-19 epidemic. The number of F1 cases has risen significantly as the number of F0 increases, leading to full capacity at centralized isolation facilities. Furthermore, maintaining centralized isolation will overload these facilities, posing a risk of cross-infection.
Home isolation for F1 helps reduce costs for those isolated and alleviates the psychological burden on them. Many households in Hanoi meet the necessary conditions and have the facilities for home isolation, while the local healthcare system and authorities at the village, hamlet, and neighborhood levels are capable of monitoring and supervising those in isolation.
In response to the rising number of infections, Hanoi has established 14 mobile health stations. According to Mr. Tuan, these mobile health stations are aimed at managing and treating asymptomatic F0 at home in the near future. However, the city has not yet announced a timeline for the operation of these mobile health stations. All 30 districts and towns have developed plans, with Ba Dinh District conducting drills for this model in Giang Vo Ward.
Since the start of the fourth wave of the epidemic on April 27, Hanoi has recorded 5,104 cases, including 2,017 community cases and 3,087 cases in quarantine and lockdown areas. As of October 23, the entire city has 12 outbreaks with complex developments, among which the outbreaks in Bach Tru, Tien Thang, and Sai Son, Quoc Oai have the highest number of infections, with 176 and 150 cases respectively.
