24-hour COVID-19 tally hits over 127,800 new cases

Hanoi continued to report the highest number of infections with more than 13,000 recorded in a single day, followed by Phu Tho with 5.307, and Nghe An with 4,425.

A total of 67 deaths were also confirmed over the past 24 hours, thereby raising the nation’s overall death toll to 42,075.

The Ministry of Health also announced an additional 192,465 recoveries on the same day, duly bringing the total number of recovered cases up to over 4.6 million since the start of the pandemic.

Compared with Asia, the total number of deaths ranks sixth out of 49 nations, third in ASEAN, with the death rate per one million people being 23rd out of 49 Asian countries and territories, with this being fourth in ASEAN.

The average number of fresh infections recorded over the past week now stands at 146,192 daily cases nationwide.

As of March 22, the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered nationwide stands at 203,144,374, including more than 186 million doses for people aged 18 years and over.

Furthermore, Ho Chi Minh City is flexibly applying the 5K message issued by the Ministry of Health back in August, 2020, as it is no longer relevant in the “new normal”. The purpose of the move is to effectively prevent any further spread of the pandemic whilst simultaneously meeting all requirements for opening up and recovering the local economy.

With schools now open, students can’t avoid joint activities such as studying, playing, and eating together, thereby meaning pandemic prevention measures under the 5K message are no longer appropriate. Therefore, schools are flexibly applying different measures that meet requirements in the new situation.

Similarly, the implementation of the 5K message at restaurants, eateries, and entertainment venues is proactive and flexible.

The southern city has learned that mask wearing and disinfecting areas are valuable measures, while social distancing and limits on gatherings are no longer appropriate.