Today is the third day that Ms. Do Thi Trang (28 years old, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City) has COVID-19. According to Ms. Trang, since the COVID-19 outbreak, Ms. Trang has had a cold, her runny nose has only been gone for 1-3 days. However, when hearing the news of the COVID-19 epidemic circulating in Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Trang, when showing signs of fatigue, noose tightness, and cough, immediately took the initiative to test for COVID-19 at home, the result was positive for COVID-19.
Although COVID-19 cases are showing signs of increasing again, the situation at children's hospitals is still under control.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Do Van Dung - former Vice Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, the recent appearance of XEC variation is a warning that SARS-CoV-2 is still silently investigating.
However, most people have had community immunity, thanks to vaccination or have contracted the disease. This significantly reduces the rate of severe illness and death, especially in people under the age of 60, without underlying diseases.
Associate Professor, Dr. Do Van Dung especially recommends that high-risk groups need to control underlying diseases well, get vaccinated if they are qualified, stay healthy and go to medical facilities promptly when there are suspicious symptoms. He also said that instead of investing too much in isolation areas, it is now necessary to prioritize ensuring enough antiseptic drugs for early treatment for patients at risk of serious complications.
Sharing the same view, Associate Professor, Dr. Phung Nguyen The Nguyen - Deputy Head of the Intensive Care - Anti-Poison Department, Children's Hospital 1 said that currently, there are not many cases of children with COVID-19 admitted to the hospital and most of them are only discovered by chance during the treatment of other diseases.
We do not conduct routine COVID-19 testing. Normally, when children are hospitalized for another disease, we detect additional COVID-19 in the test sample," said Dr. Nguyen. At Children's Hospital 1, there are currently no COVID-19 cases recorded. Occasionally, there are some mild cases, mainly treated in the direction of support.
Regarding the quarantine requirement, Dr. Nguyen said that COVID-19 is now classified as Group B - equivalent to influenza or some other common respiratory diseases, so there is no longer a strict quarantine requirement as before. "The Ministry of Health has sent instructions, hospitals only prepare room plans when needed. In fact, no isolation area has been reactivated," said Dr. Nguyen.
COVID-19 treatment in children is currently mainly respiratory support, anti-infection and supports the whole condition. In particular, no serious cases due to new variants have been recorded in small groups of children recently. However, doctors recommend that parents should still be cautious: Rhibit children from going to crowded places and wear masks if necessary. Although there is nothing to worry about, we do not know exactly how the new variety will progress."
