Vietnam on Monday confirmed 32 additional Covid-19 cases of local transmission, mostly in the northern province of Hai Duong, the outbreak that broke out on January 28.

To support Hai Duong, the Ministry of Health has sent a group of leading health experts to ease burden for the local forces.

Army soldiers are buidling field hospital in Chi Linh outbreak. Photo: Zing

As the infections rise, a 1,000-bed field hospital, the third of its kind, is under construction in Hai Duong’s Chi Linh, the city which is under the three-week lockdown.

The latest cases include six in Hanoi, totaling 19 in the locality over the last few days. All the infections in Hanoi are linked to Hai Duong and Quang Ninh outbreaks.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam and Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long have worked with Hanoi’s top leaders, asking the city to raise the warning level one step ahead of the reality.

Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long works with Hanoi's authorities on February 1. Photo: Tran Minh

In another move, the Ministry of Health has finalized procedures for the circulation of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.

Accordingly, the UK-based AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine will be used in Vietnam. The producer pledged to supply 30 million doses in 2021.

Late last month, AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine has been recommended for conditional marketing authorization (CMA) in the European Union (EU) for active immunization to prevent Covid-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in individuals 18 years of age and older.

According to Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long, the ministry will also work with Pfizer, Moderna, and other vaccine producers to get more doses for Vietnam.