Hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City are suffering a dearth of blood amid the resurgence of COVID-19 in Vietnam, the municipal People’s Committee said as part of its call for blood donations on Thursday.

The majority of medical institutions in Ho Chi Minh City have suspended their blood donation schedules due to current restrictions on gatherings to curb the spread of COVID-19.

With donations postponed, the city's blood reserves are dwindling.

The amount of blood in the city’s stores as of May 27 was approximately 5,000 units, an alarmingly low level and the lowest in the past nine months, the municipal People’s Committee said. (One unit equals 250 millimeters.)

With no blood donations, officials expect the city’s blood reserves to be depleted by June 8 as the average daily need for over 130 hospitals sits between 600 and 900 blood units.

In response to the situation, the People’s Committee has directed leaders of relevant departments and agencies to continue their blood donation plans.

All blood donations must comply with the Ministry of Health’s regulations on pandemic prevention and control. 

Those who wish to donate their blood are advised to visit two fixed blood donation points: the Blood Transfusion Hematology Hospital at No. 118 Hong Bang Street in Ward 12, District 5 from 7:00 am to 12:00 am and from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm all week, and the Ho Chi Minh City Humanitarian Blood Donation Center at No. 106 Thien Phuoc Street in Ward 9, Tan Binh District between 7:00 am and 4:30 pm on weekdays and from 7:00 am to 11:00 am on Saturdays and Sundays.

Ho Chi Minh City detected 288 new COVID-19 cases between April 27 and Friday morning.

The majority of the infections can be traced back to a religious mission in Go Vap District.

The southern metropolis reinstated enhanced social distancing on Monday, with stringent measurers slated to last 15 days.

Vietnam added 52 local infections on Friday morning, raising the national tally to 8,115 patients, according to the Ministry of Health.

The number of domestic cases detected since the re-emergence of the virus in the country on April 27 to date is 5,008 and since the first emergence on January 23, 2020 is 6,577.

Recoveries have reached 3,085 while the death toll has hit 49.

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