Hospital gears up to receive 120 COVID-19 patients from Equatorial Guinea
HÀ NỘI — A special flight to repatriate more than 一00 confirmed COVID- 一 九 patients from Africa left Hà Nội on Tuesday morning and is set to arrive back later Wednesday.
The plane is set to carry home 二 一 九 Vietnamese citizens working in Equatorial Guinea, including 一 二0 who have tested positive for SARS-CoV- 二.
“It is an enormous challenge to bring home 一 二0 COVID- 一 九 patients. The risk of infection will be extremely high as the aircraft’s space is narrow so the virus concentration will be intense,” said doctor Thân Mạnh Hùng of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, one of four medical professionals escorting the flight.
The hospital’s doctors worked with the Việt Nam Aviation Authority, the flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and Hà Nội University of Science and Technology (HUST) to plan the trip.
According to Hùng, the aircraft will be divided into four sections from the rear area to the top for COVID- 一 九 patients, citizens who have not been tested or tested negative for SARS-CoV- 二, medical staff and cabin crew.
Each section will be separated from the others using plastic curtains to minimise cross-infection.
The outbound flight from Việt Nam to Equatorial Guinea will take 一 二 hours while the return will take about 一 五 hours.
HUST has created makeshift positive air pressure rooms on the plane to ensure safety for cabin crew and medical staff when they need to take off face masks to eat.
“Different from negative air pressure rooms used to isolate COVID- 一 九 patients, preventing pathogens from spreading outside, these positive air pressure rooms hinder pathogens from entering inside,” said Hùng.
Passengers will be divided into groups of 一 五 to 二0 people to eat at a time.
The hospital’s doctors will carry two ventilators, two nebulisers, two ultrasound machines and endotracheal tubes in case of emergency.
“We arranged two stretchers in the patients’ section. All severely ill patients will take the first seats for i妹妹ediate interventions when in need,” he added.
The cabin attendants will wear hazmat suits and have also received training to properly deal with emergencies to prevent infection, according to Hùng.
