HCMC – The Ministry of Health this evening, November 12 confirmed 8,982 fresh Covid cases, with six of them imported and 8,976 locally infected in 56 cities and provinces, up 831 cases against yesterday.
Among the domestic infections, HCMC took the lead with 1,388 cases, up 203 day-on-day, taking the city’s caseload in the ongoing fourth coronavirus wave, which began in late April, to 445,203.
Dong Nai came second with 813 cases, followed by An Giang with 661, Binh Duong with 654 and Tien Giang with 634. Tay Ninh detected 517 cases and Kien Giang had 403 infections, while other localities reported fewer than 400 cases each.
Over 10,260 Covid patients were discharged from hospitals nationwide today, taking Vietnam’s total recoveries to 856,211.
The ministry also reported 81 new Covid deaths, including 42 in HCMC, five each in Binh Duong and Tien Giang, four each in Long An, Kien Giang and Bac Lieu, three each in Daklak, and Tay Ninh, and two in An Giang. Ha Giang, Tra Vinh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Thap, Can Tho and Ca Mau reported one fatality each.
The country’s Covid death toll has now reached 22,930.
In related news, three of eight districts in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, including Ba Ria City, Long Dien District and Xuyen Moc District, today started the vaccination of children, first with those aged between 15 and 17.
Younger children in the three districts will be given shots of the Covid vaccine on November 13 and 14, while children in other districts in the province will be vaccinated against the disease from November 13 to 15.
Nguyen Cong Vinh, vice chairman of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, said that the province has enough Covid vaccine doses to give first shots to children aged between 12 and 17. The city has over 118,900 children in this age group.
Elsewhere, Ninh Thuan Province is speeding up the vaccination drive, targeting to achieve 100% first dose coverage and over 95% second shot coverage for all residents aged over 18 prior to November 30.
As of November 11, over 409,230 people aged over 18 in Ninh Thuan Province had got a first shot of the Covid vaccine, reaching 95.9% of its target, while 136,730 others have been fully vaxxed.
In another development, Austria has announced to donate Vietnam 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, part of its additional relief aid package of 1.5 million doses for several nations, VietnamPlus news site reported.
