Ho Chi Minh City logged more than 3,500 domestic coronavirus cases on Wednesday, when over 5,300 infections were found in the community across Vietnam. The city reported 3,556 locally-infected patients, which is the second-biggest daily case increase this month, according to the Ministry of Health's data. It detected a record high of 4,692 infections on July 18. The southern Vietnamese economic hub has documented 41,343 since the nation was hit by the fourth and worst virus wave on April 27. The health ministry confirmed 36 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday, including 32 in Ho Chi Minh City, two in Long An Province, and two in Dong Thap Province. The agency reported 5,357 local cases in 35 provinces and cities the same day, 1,081 of which were found in the community while the rest were in centralized quarantine centers or isolated areas. Binh Duong Province, an industrial park hub just outside Ho Chi Minh City, accounted for 964 of the infections. Dong Nai Province, …
HCM City to set up quarantine facilities for asymptomatic COVID patients
Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, Nguyễn Thành Phong, on July 20 checks the 115 Emergency Aid Centre, which is the co-ordinator for transporting COVID-19 patients to designated hospitals. VNA/VNS.Photo Thu Hương HCM CITY— HCM City People’s Committee has instructed authorities in Thủ Đức City and districts to set up quarantine facilities exclusively for asymptomatic COVID patients. If they begin to have symptoms, they will be transferred to hospitals. Local authorities have been given the green light to use all available facilities such as university dormitories, new apartment buildings, hotels, schools, and others as quarantine facilities. They should have separate areas for people awaiting real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing results. Each facility will have five to 10 oxygen cylinders. The human resources for these facilities will come from hospitals and district health centres or be dispatched by the Department of …
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Two Hanoi-HCM City round-trip flights run daily starting July 22
Hanoi, July 21 (VNA) – There will be only two round trip passenger flights daily between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the nation’s largest pandemic hotspot, starting 0:00 on July 22. The decision was part of a document sent by Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) on July 21. Also per the document, all passenger flights between the capital and the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho as well as between Hanoi and the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang’s Phu Quoc island will be suspended at the same time. These decisions will last until further notice. Cargo flights are carried out unrestricted. Regarding flights for the purpose of disease prevention and control and those serving official duties, airlines ought to report to the CAAV for consideration and settlement on a case-by-case basis. Other non-routine flights must be authorised by competent authorities. All passengers must show documents certifying they test negative for …
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Hundreds of cities back U.N. fight against global woes
NEW YORK -- Some 332 local governments worldwide have backed a New York City-led campaign to address global goals tackling poverty, inequality, injustice and climate change and pledged to report their progress to the United Nations. The governments signed on to a voluntary declaration drafted by New York City, up from some 22 cities when the movement launched in September 2019, the city's International Affairs Commissioner Penny Abeywardena told Reuters . "It's an exercise in transparency," Abeywardena said. "How do we accelerate impact by replicating ideas has always been the purpose of this." She said some had been driven to step up because their national governments had not, but also because they saw the global goals as a way to frame their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The signatories commit to advancing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), created by the United Nations in 2015 as a wide-ranging "to-do" list tackling such issues as conflict, hunger, land …
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HCM City to start inoculation of additional 930,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses
A medical worker gives COVID-19 vaccine shot to a man in HCM City. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City will begin the fifth phase of its COVID-19 vaccination drive on July 22, with 930,000 doses to be administered, according to the municipal Department of Health. It will be carried out at 20 hospitals, alongside 615 commune- and ward-based vaccination sites. The fifth phase is scheduled to complete in two weeks. During this phase, priority will be given to people with underlying health conditions, those aged above 65, preferential social policy and welfare beneficiaries, the poor, the vulnerable, medical and other frontline workers. The city has so far received 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the Ministry of Health. The ministry plans to supply three million more doses to the city in late August and early September, raising the total doses sent to the city to 5 million. As of July 21 morning, HCM City has reported 39,526 coronavirus …
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HCM City works on COVID-19 vaccination plan for foreigners
HCM City is working on a vaccination plan for foreigners. (Photo: Baoquocte.vn) HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City is working on a COVID-19 vaccination plan for consular officers and foreigners in the city. Tran Phuoc Anh, Acting Director of the municipal Department of Foreign Affairs, said that members of the foreign community and overseas Vietnamese were concerned about the outbreak and had shown their readiness to assist the city. The city, for example, has received support from the Consulates General of Japan, Thailand and Cambodia in HCM City and the Korean and Indian Enterprise Associations. On July 19, the city received one million medical masks, 100,000 N95 masks, 100 ventilators, and 200,000 USD in cash from the Royal Government of Cambodia. The city has also been closely working with agencies to accelerate provision of the two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for consular officers and to help people who need to return to their countries./. …
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Ho Chi Minh City to step up Directive 16 pandemic measures after July 23
COVID-19 measures in Ho Chi Minh City under Directive 16 will most likely be strengthened after July 23 On July 21, Phan Van Mai, the standing Deputy Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, revealed three scenarios issued by the city after 15 days of social distancing. Specifically, in case the pandemic is controlled, the implementation of Directive 16 will be reviewed. However, if the pandemic continues to spread, the directive will continue to be implemented with even stronger measures. Lastly, if the pandemic situation turns to the worse, the city will have to consider even stricter lockdown regulations. The deputy secretary added that the number of positive cases has been increasing so far, adding that the pandemic has probably not reached its peak yet and multiple hardships wait down the road. He stated that the second scenario is the most likely to take place. Ho Chi Minh City Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control is also preparing solutions to …
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HCM City receives the most COVID-19 vaccines
A resident in HCM City gets the COVID-19 vaccine jab. — VNA/VNS Photo HCM CITY — HCM City has been allocated the largest amount of the country's COVID-19 vaccine doses so far. According to the latest updated information at the COVID-19 Vaccination Portal of the Ministry of Health, HCM City, the current biggest coronavirus hotspot in Việt Nam, is taking the lead in vaccinating its residents against COVID-19 with 1,039,652 doses given. HCM City will receive at least five million COVID-19 vaccine doses between now and September 2021 to vaccinate 50 per cent of its population, said Deputy Minister of Health Nguyễn Trường Sơn. Those are the government's priorities for HCM City amid a spike in infection cases, said Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Dam, head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. Recently, the Ministry of Health has allocated more than two million doses of Moderna vaccine to 53 cities and provinces nationwide as well …
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Doctors battle to save the most serious Covid-19 patients in HCM City
A 1,000-bed resuscitation centre was set up inside the inpatient treatment area of the oncology hospital in Ho Chi Minh City over a week ago as the epidemic continues to pose major problems in the southern hub. Doctor Tran Thanh Linh from the centre's Intensive Care Unit said that the hospital has treated 260 Covid-19 patients who are in critical condition with many of them having to use extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). He said that each health worker was responsible for the care of three to four patients. Doctors are working on three shifts a day with morning shift lasting from 7 am to 2 pm, afternoon shift from 2 pm to 9 pm and evening shift from 9 pm to 7 am the next morning. Doctor Vo Cao Thai said that he usually works in a tense condition in his emergency ward with many sleepless nights. "It has been a week since I was moved from Cho Ray Hospital here and I haven't had a chance to go out and see how life is …
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Ho Chi Minh City kicks off fifth phase of COVID-19 vaccination with 930,000 jabs
Ho Chi Minh City has started its fifth immunization phase for residents belonging to designated priority groups, with a target of administering 930,000 jabs from three brands. The fifth vaccination phase commenced on Thursday morning at 615 immunization points and is expected to last for two to three weeks, said the municipal Department of Health. Among the vaccine doses used in this phase, 235,000 were produced by Moderna, 55,000 by Pfizer and BioNTech, and the rest by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. This inoculation phase is intended for 15 priority groups, with residents aged 65 and older, as well as people with underlying health conditions, such as chronic kidney disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, being asked to receive jabs at hospitals while others have been directed to vaccination points throughout the city. Up to 200 people are expected to be immunized per day at each point during the phase, and each ward or commune is required to arrange at …