Doctors visit COVID-19 patients in Hai Duong province in northern Vietnam. (Photo: Ministry of Health)

The telegram requires private hospitals to limit the admission of non-emergency patients and patients with stable illnesses, arrange a buffer treatment zone for emergency patients who are waiting for COVID-19 test results, conduct frequent COVID-19 tests for medical staff, patients, and their family members, and only send patients with a negative test result to another hospital.

Provincial health centers must continue to monitor discharged patients, it said.