HO CHI MINH: The military and additional healthcare workers have started withdrawing from the southern Vietnamese metropolis Ho Chi Minh City as the Covid-19 situation there is being brought under control.
The move comes after Vietnam's Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son told city authorities to plan for withdrawal of the medical and military reinforcements and have them assist other localities.
He said that since July, around 20,000 health workers from all over the country have also been dispatched to the city to help in the coronavirus fight.
During the height of the fourth coronavirus wave that hit Ho Chi Minh City and other southern provinces, the military had mobilised around 34,000 soldiers and 98,000 militia members, along with around 2,000 health workers to support the coronavirus fight.
According to a Vn Express report, Son had said the medical reinforcements would withdraw gradually, depending on the coronavirus situation and the restructuring of field hospitals and Intensive Care Units (ICU) across the city.
"The plan to withdraw the reinforcements would occur gradually and not all at once, which could affect current anti-coronavirus efforts," he said.
Similarly, military forces that have been deployed in the city would also gradually withdraw, starting with districts where the coronavirus has been brought under control.
The Binh Tan People's Committee said the military's Division No 9 had withdrawn from Binh Tan district on Thursday to return to their base in Dong Nai's Long Thanh district.
About 560 soldiers have aided 10 wards in the district to deliver food and other necessities to over 242,000 families and help take care of over 20,000 Covid-19 patients.
Similarly, about 780 soldiers from will leave Binh Thanh district's Ward 1 soon.
As of Tuesday, about 25 per cent of soldiers in Go Vap district have returned to their bases.
The military said around 1,000 soldiers still remain in the district to deliver over 1,300 tonnes of rice to residents and would also leave once they complete their work there.
In Thu Duc City, around 1,600 soldiers from numerous military units are also expected to gradually withdraw and isolate themselves first before returning to their bases.
Military officials said the withdrawal would happen gradually based on the progress of coronavirus control in different areas.
About 20 soldiers have also contracted Covid-19 during their missions and all have recovered.
Nguyen Tuan Bao, deputy political commissar of Ho Chi Minh City High Command, said units under the Defence Ministry would withdraw first, while units under the 7th Military Region would withdraw by Oct 15.
However, military medics are expected to remain until the end of next month.
The southern metropolis is the epicentre of the fourth wave and has recorded more than 400,000 local Covid-19 cases so far. Over 15,300 people in the city have died.