Thirty-one coronavirus patients who had been once in a critical condition waved goodbye to two COVID-19 hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City and Long An Province in southern Vietnam on Thursday following their recovery from the disease.

The Ho Chi Minh City COVID-19 Resuscitation Hospital, a healthcare facility managed by Cho Ray Hospital, treated 26 of the recently released patients, while the COVID-19 Resuscitation Center under Thai Nguyen National Hospital in Long An Province took care of the remaining five.

Fifteen of the patients at the Ho Chi Minh City COVID-19 Resuscitation Hospital are above 60 years old and have at least one underlying disease.

“After almost a month in a coma, I’m finally able to return to normal life,” said N.T., one of the 26 patients released from the Ho Chi Minh City-based hospital. 

"It’s like I’m reborn.

“I hope other patients are able to maintain faith in their nurses and doctors like I did."

The Ho Chi Minh City COVID-19 Resuscitation Hospital, with a capacity of 1,000 beds, has seen great success in treating severe patients, including many who have been put on ECMO, an outside-body life support system, in the two months since its opening. 

So far, 547 patients who had been on ventilators have either completely recovered or have seen their situations significantly improved. 

An additional 768 patients recovered to the point that doctors felt comfortable transferring them to lower-level COVID-19 hospitals.

“Many severe cases, including elderly patients and pregnant women with multiple underlying medical conditions, were successfully treated,” said Dr. Tran Thanh Linh, a specialist at the Ho Chi Minh City-based hospital.

“Our medical staff are prepared to help elderly and weak patients throughout the treatment and until their discharge from the hospital.”

The hospital is currently treating 692 patients and still admitting patients in a critical condition.   

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 Resuscitation Center under Thai Nguyen National Hospital in Long An Province had treated 132 patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms as of Thursday.

In just one month of operation, the center currently has plans to discharge 28 patients and has helped 40 more make good progress.  

Ho Chi Minh City and Long An have respectively recorded 278,703 and 27,216 local infections, accounting for the majority of Vietnam’s 571,745 community transmissions since April 27, when a new wave of infections struck the nation.

The country has documented 576,096 patients since the COVID-19 pandemic first emerged early last year.

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