Vietnam’s single-day count of COVID-19 infections has surpassed 1,000 for the first time. Meanwhile, the Party Politburo has agreed to pilot the vaccine passport with international visitors.

Vietnam’s single-day spike in Covid-19 infections hits new record ​

The Ministry of Health recorded 527 new cases on Monday evening, taking the day’s count to 1,102.

The latest domestic cases were detected in HCM city (270), Binh Duong (114), Dong Thap (62), Tien Giang (11), Phu Yen (11), Khanh Hoa (10), Dong Nai (8 ), An Giang (6), Binh Phuoc (4), Ba Ria-Vung Tau (4), Binh Dinh (3), Tay Ninh (3), Bac Giang (3), Quang Ngai (2), Bac Ninh (1), Nghe An (1), and Lam Dong (1). 482 of the cases were recorded in quarantine facilities or locked-down areas.

On the morning of July 6, 277 local Covid-19 patients are reported, including 230 in Ho Chi Minh City. Of the cases in Ho Chi Minh City, 186 are already in quarantined zones and areas under lockdown and 44 have unknown transmission sources.

Four more Covid deaths

Vietnam recorded four more Covid-19 deaths Monday noon, putting the national fatality tally to 90. The deceased are all elderly patients with underlying conditions, the Ministry of Health announced.

One of them is a 68-year-old man in Ho Chi Minh City who had diabetes, tuberculosis, and ischemic heart disease. His causes of death were Covid-19, malnutrition, and underlying conditions.

Another patient, a 73-year-old woman in Long An that borders HCMC, had heart failure, hypertension, and Lupus. She tested positive for the coronavirus on June 29. She died on June 30 due to pneumonia caused by Covid-19, heart failure, hypertension, and other conditions.

Two other deaths were of patients from the southern province of Dong Thap: an 81-year-old woman with hypertension, diabetes, and Cushing's syndrome, and an 88-year-old woman who had ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), tuberculosis, and complications from a stroke.

Ho Chi Minh City tests households' representatives for mass coronavirus screening

According to Ho Chi Minh City’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDC), one member of families of less than five will be tested for Covid while two are screened for bigger households. The chosen members should be the ones posing the highest infection risk in the family, which means those that normally go out a lot and meet many people.

Everybody must be tested in areas under lockdown. The city has rolled out a large-scale testing campaign to collect as many as five million samples, starting June 26.

Initially, it targeted finishing sample collection in 10 days. In the past week, it has carried out a testing campaign across high-risk areas, including wholesale markets and industrial zones, and around 120,000 high school students and teachers who will take part in the graduation exams this week.

Measures are needed to quickly control the spread of the pandemic in the city. Discussed in a meeting between the Standing Board of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control and local leaders on July 5, Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s biggest Covid-19 hotspot at present, eyes tightening exit-entry regulations.

Vietnam to pilot vaccine passport acceptance

The Party Politburo has agreed to pilot the vaccine passport policy with international visitors in a number of tourist sites where the Covid-19 pandemic has been contained.

Hoang Quoc Hoa, Deputy Director of the Tourism Information Center under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said his center has worked to develop a site on Certificates of Covid-19 vaccination at https://travelpass.tourism.vn which will be operational when foreign tourists are allowed to get into Vietnam.

In October 2020, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism launched a mobile app called “Du Lich Viet Nam An Toan” (Safe travel in Vietnam), using a digital map to recommend safe destinations and tourism services. This mobile app will soon incorporate the Certificates of the Covid-19 vaccination site.

When entering Vietnam, tourists are required to show their vaccination records confirmed through the Certificates of Covid-19 vaccination site by Vietnamese authorities to ensure "safe input". During their stay, they must check-in everywhere they go on the mobile app Safe travel in Vietnam.

Over two months into the new wave, Vietnam has recorded 17,820 community infections in 55 of its 63 cities and provinces. Of the cases, HCMC has the highest number of infections, at 6,905, followed by Bac Giang with 5,668.

More than 3.9 million of Vietnam's 96-million population have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.

Valerie Mai