A police officer and a medical worker work at a Covid-19 checkpoint. The Ministry of Health this evening, May 19, reported 111 new Covid-19 cases, including two imported cases and 109 locally-infected ones – PHOTO: VNA
HCMC – The Ministry of Health this evening, May 19, reported 111 new Covid-19 cases, including two imported cases and 109 locally-infected ones, with Bac Giang Province recording the biggest number at 78.
The latest domestic Covid-19 cases raised the country’s total number of domestic infections since April 27 to 1,648.
Among the remaining 31 community-transmitted cases, 21 cases were detected in Bac Ninh Province, six in Dien Bien, two in Danang City and one each in HCMC and at K Hospital’s Tan Trieu Campus in Hanoi.
Speaking at a working meeting in Bac Giang Province today, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said that the Covid-19 situation in the province remained complicated and it would continue to have new Covid-19 cases after the incubation period in the coming days.
The deputy minister also asked the relevant agencies to support Bac Giang Province in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and speed up the Covid-19 testing.
The Ministry of Health has sent Bac Giang Province 50,000 biological products for testing using Realtime RT-PCR technique.
In another development, the HCMC Department of Health has asked drivers, conductors, bus passengers and those using taxi and motorcycle hailing services to make daily health declarations and strictly follow Covid-19 safety protocols.
The health declaration must be filled in online or on paper with sufficient information about names, phone numbers, plate numbers of vehicles and travel time, the local media reported.
The order is aimed at detecting Covid-19 cases as soon as possible to effectively prevent the spread of the virus.
Besides, the passenger cars, buses and contracted vehicles were asked not to carry more than 30 people or have more than 50% of its seats in use, while passengers must be seated at least one meter apart.
In related news, the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases has released the result of a genetic analysis showing that the new Covid-19 patient, who lives in Thu Duc City, was infected with the B.1.617.2 Covid-19 variant, first identified in India. The variant is spreading to several northern provinces in Vietnam.
