Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) has donated 200 high-function ventilators and medical supplies to the Ministry of Health to support the treatment of severe COVID-19 patients, thus contributing to the protection of people's health.
The fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, which broke out in late April, has become increasingly complicated throughout the country, especially in southern provinces and Ho Chi Minh City, severely affected the lives of local residents as well as production and business activities of enterprises. Despite great efforts, many medical facilities in these provinces and cities have been overloaded, and lacking medical equipment and supplies for pandemic prevention and control, especially ventilators for timely emergency treatment for severe COVID-19 patients.
As an important economic group of the country, PetroVietnam is always aware of its responsibility to the community and society. For many years, along with developing production and business activities, leaders and employees of PetroVietnam have paid attention to the social security work, considering it an important political task, responsibility, and sentiment of workers in the oil and gas sector. This is also one of the typical cultural features of PetroVietnam.
Over the past two years, the group has implemented many meaningful and practical social security programmes with a total budget of 650 billion VND (28.5 million USD).
As of August 15, PetroVietnam and its member units have joined hands with the nation to fight the pandemic by donating a total sum of 620 billion VND through the provision of medical equipment to supporting localities, ministries, and agencies and contribution to the COVID-19 vaccine fund.
Implementing the policy of the Party and State and responding to the call of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to provide all possible support for HCM City and with a desire to assist provinces and cities with the complicated pandemic, PetroVietnam and its member unites on August 20 presented 200 high-function ventilators and 3,000 sets of breathing lines to the Ministry of Health to allocate to frontline hospitals.
Speaking at the hand-over ceremony, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long thanked PetroVietnam for its support to the health sector in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in particular and health care for people in general. In the context of complicated developments of the pandemic which ha been rapidly spreading and with high risks, local medical facilities are currently facing difficulties, lacking medical equipment to treat and care for sick people.
Long affirmed that the timely and valuable support of PetroVietnam will contribute to providing better care and treatment for COVID-19 patients. The minister said he wished to continue receiving attention and coordination from PetroVietnam to overcome the pandemic and improve the quality of people's health care in general.
On behalf of the leadership and collective of employees of PetroVietnam, Chairman of the PetroVietnam Members Council Hoang Quoc Vuong hoped that the practical medical equipment and supplies will contribute to lessening the risk of death and reducing the burden on the health sector in caring for and treating severe COVID-19 patients.
One of the key tasks of the group in the coming time is to constantly enhance the COVID-19 prevention and control work, ensuring the health of employees, maintaining stable production and business activities, and the smooth consumption of goods and products, Vuong said.
Along with the donation of 200 high-function ventilators and 3,000 sets of breathing lines, the group's leaders have committed to continuing to accompany and support the health sector in particular, the whole country in general, in quickly putting the pandemic under control and stabilising people’ lives./.