HCMC – The Ministry of Health has issued a decision treating Covid-19 as a common infectious disease, with effect from October 20.
Covid is now in Group B of infectious diseases, instead of Group A which consists of highly infectious diseases.
This reclassification aligns with the 2007 Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, the ministry said.
Highly infectious diseases are those that are extremely dangerous and spread easily across large areas with a high fatality rate, and their pathogens are difficult to identify. In contrast, Group B includes less severe infectious diseases.
The decision to put Covid in Group B was made based on scientific studies, the actual situation of the disease in Vietnam, and recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO).
As a result of this reclassification, the prevention and control measures for Covid now follow regulations applicable to Group B of infectious diseases as stipulated by law.
With a population of nearly 100 million people, Vietnam has administered over 266.53 million Covid vaccine doses so far. The country experienced four waves of Covid infections, and 11,624,065 people were infected, with more than 43,000 of them killed by the coronavirus.
