HCMC – The Ministry of Health announced 15,377 new Covid-19 infections this evening, December 13, including 15,349 domestic cases and 28 imported ones.
The number of locally-infected cases confirmed today rose by 728 cases against yesterday. Of them, the source of transmission of more than 8,800 cases remains unknown.
The capital city of Hanoi surpassed HCMC to take the lead in the case number for the first time, with 1,000 cases, followed by Binh Phuoc with 998 cases, Tay Ninh with 919 cases, and HCMC with 915 cases. In the Mekong Delta, which is facing a spike in cases, Ben Tre reported the highest number at 867 cases, while Ca Mau, Dong Thap, Can Tho, Vinh Long in the delta recorded around 580-790 cases. The remaining infections were found in 51 other provinces and cities across Vietnam.
The country also reported 242 more Covid deaths today, mostly in southern localities, raising the country’s death toll to over 28,000 cases.
In related news, the southern province of Binh Duong has rescheduled its Covid vaccine booster shot campaign to early January next year. Earlier, the provincial health authority said the province had planned to give the booster shot to its residents from the middle of this month.
In Hanoi, the government of Dong Da District has issued an urgent dispatch about the district’s new anti-Covid measures, as the Covid transmission risk in the district has increased. The new measures took effect at 12 p.m. today.
Specifically, the inner-city district asked restaurants, eateries, coffee shops to offer take-away services only and to close at 9 p.m. daily. Local residents are advised against going out for non-essential purposes.
The district also imposed limits on large gatherings. Participants must receive full vaccination or be recovered Covid patients. Further, they must test negative within 72 hours before joining the gatherings, in addition to following anti-virus regulations and making health declarations.
In Ca Mau Province, the anti-Covid authorities of Ca Mau City today launched a massive testing campaign as the Covid situation in the city remains complicated. From December 1 to 10, the city had reported over 2,400 new infections.
Accordingly, the city called on local households to conduct a self-funded Covid rapid test every three days and report their test results to local anti-Covid teams in their areas. As for disadvantaged families, they need to contact the local authorities for receiving financial support to take the test.
