HCMC – Vietnam reported 31,814 new Covid-19 cases this evening, February 15, a single-day record, ưith infections reported in all localities countrywide but the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang, said the Ministry of Health.
Of the new infections, 31,787 were locally-infected cases, soaring over 2,300 cases day-on-day, and the remaining 27 cases were imported.
Hanoi accounted for the most, at 3,972 cases. Hai Duong, Haiphong, Nam Dinh, Thai Nguyen were among the 10 localities that recorded over 1,000 cases each.
More than 9,300 coronavirus patients were declared free of the disease while 85 others died in the day, sending the country’s total recoveries and fatalities linked to the virus to over 2.23 million and 39,122, respectively.
Also, the country up to now has reported 198 cases linked to the Omicron variant, with 97 in HCMC, 27 in Quang Nam, 20 in Quang Ninh, 14 in Hanoi, and the rest in 12 other provinces and cities.
As of February 14, up to 53 of the 63 provinces and cities saw their second-dose vaccination rates exceed 90%. The remaining 10 localities, including Thanh Hoa, Phu Tho, Hoa Binh, Cao Bang, saw their second-dose rates reaching from 82% to below 90%.
In related news, the Health Ministry has issued Dispatch No.655 on ramping up Covid vaccinations for children aged 12-17.
In another development, HCMC is set to administer Covid vaccines to 970,000 children aged 5-11. The city’s health authority had collected feedback from the municipal government on the vaccination campaign for children in this age group, said Nguyen Hong Tam, deputy director of the HCMC Center for Disease Control.
The city is expected to complete giving the first and second dose to this group in two months. The interval between the two doses will follow the Health Ministry’s guidelines.
