Hospitals strain during Tet
During the 2026 Binh Ngo Tet holiday, the team of doctors and nurses of Bach Mai Hospital almost "temporarily forgot Tet", maintaining 24/24 hour duty to focus on emergency care and treatment of patients.
At the A9 Emergency Center, patients are continuously transferred, many cases from previous levels. The emergency and treatment area operates at full capacity; doctors and nurses work non-stop, prioritizing the treatment of severe and critical cases.
MSc.Le Quang Tri, Head Nurse of Emergency Center A9, said: If on weekdays the center receives about 300 cases/day, during Tet days, the number increases to an average of 400 cases/day.This year, traffic accidents have decreased, but medical conditions have increased significantly, especially acute pancreatitis and gastrointestinal bleeding.
About 60% of acute pancreatitis cases are related to alcohol consumption.As of the end of the 5th day of Tet, Bach Mai Hospital has about 2,000 inpatients, nearly double the same period last year.Faced with increasing pressure, the Board of Directors issued an urgent official dispatch, requesting units to mobilize 50-70% of personnel to increase work and open two more clinics to promptly receive patients.
The A9 Emergency Center alone arranges about 80 staff, including doctors, nurses and reinforcements, on rotational duty continuously to ensure uninterrupted emergency work.
Accidents reduced, still severe cases
At Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, from February 14-21, 2026 (ie December 27 to the 5th day of Tet), the hospital received 796 cases for examination and emergency treatment. No deaths before or at the hospital were recorded; however, 7 patients with very severe prognosis asked to return home.
According to BSCKII Tran Tuan Anh - Deputy Head of the Department of Infectious Surgery, in the total number of emergency cases, traffic accidents accounted for 372 cases, and domestic accidents 225 cases. Notably, the hospital received 28 emergency cases due to firecracker explosions (fireworks, homemade firecrackers) and 5 cases related to homemade weapons and materials.
Compared to the same period last year, the number of traffic accidents, domestic accidents and firecrackers all decreased slightly," said Dr. Tran Tuan Anh.
Regarding firecracker explosions, doctors determined that most of the victims were young people, admitted to the hospital in a state of multiple injuries, eye and limb injuries, especially the two hands. Many cases left severe sequelae such as loss of vision or irreversible limb injuries.
Dr. Tran Van Oanh - Head of Nursing Department, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital - said that during the 8 days of Tet holiday, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital performed 179 surgeries, of which 143 were emergency surgeries due to accidents. The number of surgeries did not increase sharply, but decreased slightly compared to the same period.
Health sector on duty throughout the holiday
Summary from medical examination and treatment facilities under the Ministry of Health, 34 Departments of Health of provinces, cities and sectoral health shows that from 7 am on February 14 to 7 am on February 21, 2026, the total number of patients being treated at medical facilities is 131,303 cases.
In the last 24 hours of the holiday, doctors and nurses received 84,206 visits for examination and emergency treatment; 35,010 patients were hospitalized. Accumulated for 8 days of Tet, the total number of visits for examination and emergency treatment reached 51,051 visits; the number of patients hospitalized for inpatient treatment was 182,897 visits.
During the same period, doctors performed 20,327 surgeries, including 3,392 emergency surgeries. In the past 24 hours alone, 3,285 surgeries have been performed.
Notably, during the 8 days of Tet holiday, the whole country recorded 16,742 newborns born, including 8,272 cesarean sections. In the last 24 hours of the holiday alone, there were 2,993 babies born.
In addition, the total number of patients discharged during Tet was 166,038; 17,932 emergency transportation trips by ambulance were carried out safely. During the 8 days of Tet holiday, medical facilities examined and checked 25,326 cases suspected of being caused by traffic accidents, of which 10,506 cases had to be hospitalized for treatment or monitoring. The number of deaths suspected of being caused by traffic accidents is 163 cases.
Regarding accidents caused by firecrackers and explosives, the whole country recorded 338 cases of examination and emergency; 179 cases requiring hospitalization for monitoring; 1 death.
According to the food safety on-duty system in 34/34 provinces and cities and 5 regional institutes, no deaths due to food poisoning were recorded during Tet.
Regarding the epidemic situation, no deaths due to dengue fever, hand, foot and mouth disease and measles were recorded during the holidays.
