HCMC – The Ministry of Health announced 11,214 fresh Covid-19 cases this evening, August 22, including six imported cases and 11,208 domestic cases found in 36 provinces and cities.
Of the domestic infections, the source of transmission of 6,387 cases remains unknown.
HCMC, the current epicenter of the latest Covid resurgence, recorded 4,193 cases, followed by the neighboring provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai with 3,795 cases and 849 cases, respectively. The rest were reported in 33 other localities across Vietnam.
Over the past 24 hours, the number of locally-infected cases declined 91 cases. Specifically, HCMC saw an increase of 109 cases, Dong Nai and Tien Giang also saw their new cases jumping, while Binh Duong recorded a fall of 710 cases.
On the same day, the Center for Disease Control of Soc Trang Province registered to add 138 domestic cases to the nation’s tally.
Besides this, the ministry announced 7,580 new Covid recoveries today, sending the country’s total number of recovered cases to more than 147,600.
The national health authority also confirmed 737 additional Covid deaths from August 21 to 22 in HCMC, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Tien Giang, among others, with HCMC reporting the highest, at 599 fatalities. As of now, the country’s Covid death toll has risen to 8,277 cases.
The health ministry this morning received a shipment of 1.2 million AstraZeneca Covid vaccine doses handed over by the Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC). This is the ninth batch of the 30 million doses of the vaccine that VNVC had ordered from the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
In related news, the Mekong Delta province of Long An will tighten Covid restrictions starting tomorrow, banning local residents from leaving their houses, according to a dispatch issued today by the province’s vice chairman Pham Tan Hoa.
From August 23 to 30, local authorities in the province were asked to implement additional anti-virus measures, including setting up Covid checkpoints to ensure full compliance with Covid safety protocols in their areas and requiring local residents to stay where they are.
Further, State offices and agencies in the province must arrange to allow their staff to work from home, except for those tasked with anti-Covid work.
During the social distancing period, the local authorities must ensure sufficient food and medical supplies for local people.
