Residents in HCMC are swabbed for Covid-19 testing. The Ministry of Health has reported 355 domestic Covid-19 infections this afternoon - PHOTO: VNA
HCMC – With 355 domestic infections reported this afternoon, July 8, the country’s Covid-19 cases in the latest outbreak, which started on April 27, have shot up to 20,228.
The coronavirus has now spread to 56 of the nation's 63 cities and provinces.
Of the latest cases, HCMC continued to account for the most, at 200 cases, followed by Dong Thap with 91 and Phu Yen with 13.
Eleven other cases were detected in An Giang, 10 in Quang Ngai, seven in Ca Mau, four in Bac Ninh, three in each of Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Gia Lai and Bac Giang, two in each of Bac Lieu and Tra Vinh, and one in each of Nghe An, Binh Dinh and Hanoi.
Up to 347 cases were found at quarantine facilities and in areas on lockdown.
As the trajectory of infections is unpredictable in southern Vietnam, especially in HCMC, the Ministry of Health has asked Can Tho City to prepare for the treatment of 50 Covid-19 patients in critical condition.
Specifically, the city must choose and direct a hospital to establish an intensive care unit with 50 beds, which must be separated from other departments of the hospital.
Can Tho must also ensure sufficient medical workers, equipment, medicines and protective gear at the intensive care unit.
The Ministry of Health required the Can Tho Department of Health to get the job done before July 10.
In Binh Phuoc Province, after a worker of Beesco Vina Co., Ltd in the Chon Thanh 2 Industrial Park tested positive for Covid-19, the provincial government today asked the company to suspend its operation for at least a day.
The province also asked the footwear manufacturer to quarantine 35 workers who came into close contact with the case at its factory. Other direct contacts of the case—her mother and friend—have been sent to a centralized quarantine center.
Meanwhile, 19 indirect contacts of the case have been place in home quarantine under the monitoring of the local authorities.
Beesco Vina, which has nearly 5,000 workers, must daily disinfect its factory for five days and conduct Covid-19 tests on its 1,500 migrant workers every three days. It must pay the testing fees.
In addition, a trader in the Becamex-Binh Phuoc Industrial Park gate area was reported to be infected with the coronavirus last night.
Due to the fast spread of the virus in the province, some 50,000 workers in industrial parks in Binh Phuoc will be tested.
