HCMC – The Ministry of Health this evening, August 21, reported 11,321 new Covid-19 cases, the most infections recorded in a single day so far. The new cases included 22 imported cases and 11,299 locally-infected cases in 39 localities, up 2,767 cases over yesterday.
Of the new cases, Binh Duong accounted for the most, at 4,505 cases. The Binh Duong Center for Disease Control today also updated 2,118 cases detected earlier to the national Covid-19 monitoring system.
HCMC came in second with 4,084 cases, followed by Tien Giang with 589, Dong Nai with 551 and Long An with 393 cases.
In addition, 197 cases were confirmed in Danang, 109 in Dong Thap and 100 in Can Tho. Other localities had less than 100 new cases each.
Up to 7,428 cases were found infectious while in the community.
The new cases sent the country’s Covid-19 caseload to 336,707, making it rank 68th out of the 222 countries and territories worldwide.
In the current Covid-19 wave, the country has had 332,626 Covid-19 infections, including 137,313 recoveries, with 7,272 patients being released from hospital today.
HCMC and Binh Duong, the country’s two largest Covid-19 hotspots, have detected 171,801 and 66,447 cases in total, respectively.
The subcommittee of treatment under the national steering committee for Covid-19 infection prevention and control has yet to report the number of Covid-19 fatalities today, so the country’s total Covid-19 deaths stayed at 7,540 as of August 20, accounting for 2.3% of the country’s Covid-19 cases.
As the pandemic in HCMC has been still extremely complicated, the city will tighten its anti-pandemic measures and ban local residents from leaving their homes from August 23.
Following the decision, residents have flocked to supermarkets, convenience stores and drugstores to buy products for stockpiling although the city has called on them to stay calm and not to stock up on goods. The city has also committed to supplying sufficient goods to residents.
From August 23, shippers in Thu Duc City and districts 8, 12, Go Vap, Binh Tan, Binh Thanh, Binh Chanh and Hoc Mon will be not allowed to go out.
According to the municipal government’s document stepping up the control over people allowed to go out during the social distancing period, in the remaining districts, shippers will be allowed to operate within a district only.
All enterprises and agencies in the city must employ the stay-at-work mode.
At a press conference today of the municipal steering committee for Covid-19 infection prevention and control, Pham Duc Hai, deputy head of the committee, rejected the notion that the city would be placed under lockdown in the next two weeks.
The city will not also declare a state of emergency, which must be announced by either the National Assembly’s Standing Committee or the State President.
The mobilization of the military and police forces to the city is normal, Hai said, adding that due to a surge in the numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the city, anti-pandemic measures must be enhanced.
Hai said that residents in coronavirus-free areas and areas with a low risk of the pandemic transmission can go out to buy food and necessities once a week while those in high-risk and extremely-high-risk areas will not be allowed to go out, and competent forces will help them with food purchase. Disadvantaged people in the city will be provided food for free.
