New COVID-19 infections in Vietnam fall to dozens a day
VOV.VN - Vietnam has only recorded several dozens of new coronavirus infections on a daily basis during the past few days, indicating the pandemic has still been kept under control in the country.
Statistics unveiled by the Ministry of Health show the number of fresh infections fell to 86 on December 31, 2022, 53 on January 1, 2023 and 52 on January 2, before rising slightly to 71 on January 3.
In addition, the number of severe cases has decreased to a two-year record low, with only nine cases currently receiving treatment in healthcare facilities.
Since the start of the outbreak, Vietnam has recorded more than 11,5 million COVID-19 cases, ranking 13th out of 230 countries and territories worldwide.
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong says currently, the COVID-19 pandemic has been under control in Vietnam, with the number of new cases, severe patients and deaths all decreasing in recent times.
The vaccination rate in Vietnam is rather high compared to many countries in the world. Up to now, more than 265 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to people of all ages nationwide. The Ministry of Education and Training is accelerating vaccinations for preschool and school pupils to better protect them from virus infection.
China recently decided to relax COVID-19 measures after having imposed the Zero COVID strategy for a long time, raising public concern about a possible resurgence of the virus in the country.
However, experts played down the concern, saying a refresh outbreak of COVID-19 in Vietnam is unlikely thanks to the country’s high vaccination rate.
“Vietnam is unlikely to have a new COVID-19 wave because it already achieved herd immunity,” said Dr. Tran Dac Phu, senior advisor to the Center for Emergency Response to Public Health Events.
Nevertheless, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong suggested that Vietnam strengthen COVID-19 prevention and control measures, including supervision and testing at border gates, for genome sequencing for risk assessment.
For provinces and cities with border gates, it is necessary to strengthen sampling for surveillance in the community, and review the treatment system as well as the accommodation system to serve passengers on entry, said the official.
