The unit will receive critical Covid-19 cases from across the Mekong Delta region.

It is one of 12 national ICUs the Ministry of Health has established across the country to cope with the ongoing Covid-19 wave, which hit Vietnam in late April.

Can Tho Central General Hospital has 1,000 beds and 1,400 doctors and nurses.

Its three-story building with an area of 2,000 square meters has been converted into an ICU with 200 beds, and is the largest of its kind in the delta.

Nguyen Minh Nghiem, the hospital’s deputy director, said the unit is equipped with a 20-ton compressed oxygen system, along with modern medical equipment like ventilators and monitors.

Unit staff have received in-depth training in intensive care, with the goal of minimizing the fatality rate as much as possible.

"Placing the ICU at Can Tho Central General Hospital would help coordinate the referral of severe Covid-19 patients," Nghiem said.

Can Tho is the capital of Mekong Delta, which is home to 12 other provinces.

The region has recorded 32,318 community cases so far in this wave, with Long An Province that borders Ho Chi Minh City accounting for most, at 14,399.

Nationwide, cases have increased to 270,986, though HCMC still suffers the most with 149,286 infections.