Daily infection tally drops by 9,440 to over 131,000
VOV.VN - A total of 131,713 people across 63 localities nationwide were confirmed positive for the SARS-CoV-2-virus on March 21, a fall of 9,440 from the previous day, the Ministry of Health reported.
The majority of new cases were detected in Hanoi, with the capital recording 17,916 new infections.
The three localities reporting the highest number of cases behind Hanoi include Nghe An with 5,403 cases, Phu Tho with 5,348 cases, and Bac Ninh with 4,295 cases.
The past 24 hours has seen a total of 69 COVID-19 patients pass away, thereby bringing the death toll caused by the virus to more than 41,949, or 0.5% of total infections.
In the latest wave that hit the country in late April, over 8 million cases have been confirmed, with 4.279 million people having now recovered from the virus in the latest wave.
The same day also saw the Ministry of Health announce an additional 179,640 recoveries, thereby taking the total number of recovered cases up to 4,282,668 since the start of the pandemic.
As of March 21, with more than 201 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines now administered nationwide.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has urged the Ministry of Health to study COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged between three and five.
The Government leader also requested that the Health Ministry direct the study of giving the fourth shot to adults and a third shot for children aged 12 to 18. In addition, the Ministry should devise a plan to purchase more vaccines and step up domestic vaccine production in order to ensure science, safety, and efficacy.