COVID-19 surveillance heightened during five-day national holiday
VOV.VN - The five-day national break starting on April 29 poses a high risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus as people flock to crowded tourist destinations or converge on entertainment centres, according to health professionals.
This April has seen the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital nationwide increase considerably, with many severe cases transferred to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
The hospital only received and treated 20 COVID-19 patients in January, although the number of admissions rose to 45 in March before climbing to 288 in the initial three weeks of April, said a doctor working at the hospital, adding among the hospitalization were 22 severe cases,
Most of the severe patients are over 70 who also suffer from underlying illnesses such as diabetes, blood pressure, tuberculosis, HIV, hepatitis, and cirrhosis.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has reported that the number of infections has kept rising nationwide over the past days, with more than 3,000 cases being recorded on April 28 alone.
Three deaths have also been reported after four months, including one case suffering from underlying illnesses and another case involving a person unvaccinated against COVID-19.
According to Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan, director of the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, more than 10 sub-variants of the SARS-nCov-2 virus mutated Omicron, which are classified as variants of interest (VOI) or variants under monitoring (VUM) by the World Health Organisation, have been detected in Vietnam.
Though scientists have yet to find correlation between the emergence of the new variants and the number of infected patients, the health professional emphasised the efficiency of vaccination and suggested that localities strive to speed up the vaccination campaign, especially for high-risk groups, including the elderly.
Meanwhile, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Do Van Dung, dean of Faculty of Public Health under Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, predicted that the number of infections would increase after the long five-day break until May 3.
However, he played down public concerns about a new COVID-19 outbreak, reasoning that people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or who have immunity.
He therefore advised people to stay highly vigilant by following health recommendations and not gathering in large crowds in public places.
The Ministry of Health also asked local health units to closely monitor new sub-variants of the Omicron, enhance communications and prepare all resources in the worst case scenario.