HCMC – The country’s Covid caseload has neared 4.8 million as the Ministry of Health this evening, March 8 confirmed 162,435 fresh Covid cases.
Among the latest cases, 20 were imported and 162,415 others were locally infected in 62 cities and provinces, up 15,080 infections against yesterday.
Hanoi City continued to report the highest number of infections at 32,650, followed by Nghe An with 15,292, Bac Ninh with 10,731, Phu Tho with 4,882, Son La with 4,368 and Hung Yen with 4,014. Other localities detected fewer than 4,000 infections each.
In addition, the Bac Ninh Department of Health registered to add 32,380 cases detected earlier to the national Covid case monitoring system.
Over 79,900 Covid patients were announced to have fully recovered from the disease, taking the total recoveries to nearly 2.8 million.
The ministry also reported 86 new Covid fatalities in 33 cities and provinces, raising the country’s Covid death toll to 40,977.
In related news, from February 28 to March 6, HCMC had 265 communes, wards and towns at low risk of Covid transmission, 43 others at moderate risk and the remaining four wards at high risk, according to the municipal Department of Health.
The number of communes and wards at high risk of Covid spread dipped by nine against the previous week, while the city saw the number of moderate-risk areas fall by 34, the local media reported.
HCMC Vice Chairman Duong Anh Duc had earlier ordered communes, wards and towns at high risk to strictly follow anti-Covid measures. Wedding parties, funerals, holidays and events at these areas must restrict the number of visitors or guests, while massage and karaoke parlors, beauty centers, pubs, dance clubs and eateries offering in-person services must operate at a limited capacity.
Elsewhere, as of March 8, Lam Dong Province reported 37,219 Covid cases and 109 Covid deaths. Up to 75% of Covid fatalities in the province were unvaccinated people as they suffered from underlying illnesses, according to the provincial Department of Health.
