HCMC – The Ministry of Health confirmed 26,487 new Covid infections today, February 11, including 16 imported cases and 26,471 domestic transmissions in all localities nationwide but Gia Lai Province, rising by nearly 450 cases against yesterday.
Six localities reported over 1,000 fresh infections each. Hanoi took the lead with 2,908 cases, followed by Nghe An with 1,501, Hai Duong with 1,447, Haiphong with 1,398, Bac Ninh with 1,390 and Nam Dinh with 1,287.
Thai Nguyen, Ninh Binh, Danang, Bac Giang, Hoa Binh, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Thanh Hoa and Binh Dinh detected 503-976 new infections each, while other cities and provinces the balance.
The country’s domestic transmissions have amounted to some 2.45 million in the fourth Covid wave, which began in late April 2021, and over 2.457 million cases in total.
This afternoon, the Ministry of Health also confirmed 96 more Covid deaths, taking the nation’s death toll to 38,688. Hanoi, Kien Giang, Binh Dinh, Hoa Binh and Vinh Long reported the most fatalities today.
To date, nearly 2.213 million Covid patients in the country have fully recovered, while there are currently some 2,590 critically ill Covid patients.
The country has administered over 184.8 million doses of Covid vaccine nationwide so far, with some 74.6 million people having got two shots and more than 31 million people triple-dosed.
Up to now, Vietnam has found 225 people with the Omicron variant, mostly in HCMC, Quang Nam, Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Khanh Hoa and Danang.
The HCMC Department of Health announced on Friday that the city has recently detected five Omicron cases in the community through random screening.
They were among 72 samples taken randomly for virus gene sequencing from several hospitals in the city between January 31 and February 2.
The results were confirmed by the HCMC Oxford University Clinical Research Unit. These five cases included one person from the north central province of Nghe An, one returning to HCMC from the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap after the Lunar New Year holiday and three residents of the city.
All of them were fully vaccinated against Covid. Among nearly 20 people that had direct contact with them, three have tested positive for Covid.
According to the HCMC Center for Disease Control, these Omicron cases might be the result of community transmission.
In related news, the city will close its largest intensive care unit for Covid patients, which is located in Thu Duc City, as the number of critically ill patients has fallen sharply.
“The HCMC Covid Resuscitation Hospital has accomplished its mission. Patients at the facility will be transferred to field hospitals No. 14 and 16 for continued treatment,” said Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, chief of office at the HCMC Department of Health.
Besides this intensive care unit, field hospitals No. 6, 8 and 12 will also be closed soon.
The HCMC Covid Resuscitation Hospital was established at the Oncology Hospital 2 in July 2021 at the peak of the fourth Covid wave. It has treated more than 5,000 critically ill Covid patients.
