Medical workers conduct quick Covid tests. The Ministry of Health this evening, August 15 confirmed 9,580 fresh Covid-19 cases, down 136 day-on-day - PHOTO: VNA
HCMC - The Ministry of Health this evening, August 15 confirmed 9,580 fresh Covid-19 cases, down 136 day-on-day, with six imported cases and 9,574 domestic ones in 41 provinces and cities. The daily caseload has stayed near 10,000 for several days now.
Of the new domestic infections, HCMC led in the case number, at 4,516, up 285 cases against yesterday, raising the city’s Covid-19 count in the current fourth coronavirus wave, which began in late April, to 149,286.
Binh Duong Province came second with 2,358 infections, up 329 day-on-day, followed by Dong Nai Province with 546, down 477 cases against yesterday, and Long An with 514.
Dong Thap, Tien Giang, Can Tho, Khanh Hoa and Tay Ninh reported 159 to 217 cases each, while 32 other localities detected fewer than 100 infections each.
As of this evening, Vietnam had 275,044 Covid-19 cases, with 271,037 domestic infections detected in the ongoing fourth wave.
Today, 5,519 patients were announced to have recovered from the disease, raising the total recoveries to 102,504.
Also, the treatment subcommittee under the national steering committee for Covid-19 infection prevention and control today reported 337 Covid-19 deaths in 15 provinces and cities. Of the total, 282 fatalities were recorded in HCMC, 20 in Binh Duong Province, nine in Long An, six in Tien Giang and five in Dong Nai.
In related news, HCMC administered over 73,660 doses of China’s Vero Cell Covid-19 vaccine on August 13 and 14, according to the municipal Department of Health.
Hoc Mon District alone saw the largest number of people getting the Chinese vaccine at 19,000, followed by Binh Chanh, Cu Chi and Binh Tan districts.
Up to date, some 4.4 million residents have been administered with the Covid-19 vaccines that are approved for emergency use by the ministry, with over 100,000 of them receiving both doses.
In another development, Binh Duong Province today put one more field hospital into service to treat Covid-19 patients. The field hospital in Dau Tieng Town has 500 beds.
The province now has six field hospitals for Covid-19 treatment and 16 other treatment facilities, with a combined 17,240 beds, the local media reported.
On the same day, Long An Province put a Covid-19 intensive care center, with 150 beds, into operation. The center, located in Tan An City, is a unit of Thai Nguyen National Hospital.
As the pandemic showed no signs of abating, several southern provinces, including Long An, Bac Lieu, Vinh Long and Ca Mau, decided to extend social distancing under the prime minister’s Directive 16 for five to 15 more days, starting from August 16.
