Anti-Covid forces on duty at a coronavirus checkpoint

Hanoi City still took the lead in the number of daily domestic infections at 1,748, down 166 cases day-on-day.

The Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long came second with 1,223 infections, followed by Tay Ninh with 947, Khanh Hoa with 785 and Binh Phuoc with 728.

HCMC, Tra Vinh and Binh Dinh detected around 520-570 cases each, while other localities had fewer than 500 cases each.

Since the ongoing fourth wave of the Covid pandemic, Vietnam has reported over 1.74 million locally-infected cases, with more than 1.35 million Covid patients having recovered from the disease.

Up to date, the country has detected 20 Omicron-hit cases that were being quarantined in Hanoi, Quang Nam and HCMC after their entry into Vietnam.

The ministry also reported 216 Covid fatalities, including 33 in HCMC, 26 in Dong Nai, 16 in Vinh Long, 15 in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, 14 each in Ben Tre and Can Tho, 13 in Kien Giang, 12 each in Soc Trang and Dong Thap, 11 in Tay Ninh and 10 in An Giang.

Tien Giang, Binh Duong, Tra Vinh, Ca Mau, Binh Thuan, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Binh Phuoc, Long An, Bac Lieu and Danang reported fewer than 10 deaths each. The country’s Covid death toll now stands at 32,610.

In related news, the HCMC government last night announced the risk levels of Covid transmission for the city and 22 districts and Thu Duc City. Specifically, as of December 30 last year, the city was still at moderate risk.

Tan Phu District upgraded its Covid transmission risk level from low to moderate, while Districts 5, 12, Go Vap, Phu Nhuan, Tan Binh, Binh Chanh and Nha Be and Thu Duc City saw their transmission risk level change from moderate to low.

As such, the city is seeing 16 of 22 districts and Thu Duc City pegged as low risk, while the remaining six districts—1, 4, 10, 11, Binh Thanh and Tan Phu— are at moderate risk of transmission, the local media reported.

Elsewhere in Hanoi, the city was still at moderate risk, according to an announcement on Covid transmission risk levels issued by the municipal government last night.

Among the 30 districts and towns in the city, only two districts were at low risk of transmission, while 18 others were at moderate and 10 districts were pegged as high risk.

In another development, the Ministry of Transport today ordered the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam, the Vietnam Register and the Departments of Transport of HCMC and Mekong Delta provinces to facilitate the transport of medical oxygen to healthcare centers in these localities.

The decision is aimed at ensuring sufficient supply of medical oxygen for Covid patients in HCMC and southwestern provinces as the developments of the Covid pandemic in the southern region remain complicated.

Source: SGT

HCMC to tighten supervision, strengthen measures against omicron variant

HCMC has five suspected cases of the new omicron variant of coronavirus on December 31. The city’s healthcare sector, districts and Thu Duc City have to strengthen the supervision to identify Omicron cases quickly.