Vietnam on May 15 recorded 165 Covid-19 infections, the highest number since the coronavirus outbreak broken out in early 2020.

Covid-19 infections in Vietnam. Source: MOH. Chart: Minh Vu

On the day, the Ministry of Health (MoH) announced one person died of Covid-19, who was the 36th coronavirus death in Vietnam and the first since September 2020. The deceased, who is an 89-year-old woman in Bac Ninh province, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on May 13. She has some underlying diseases namely hypertension and diabetes.

Regarding infections, Bac Giang topped localities for the case with 109, mainly linked to Japan-invested Hosiden Vietnam Co., Ltd in Quang Chau Industrial Park (IP), Viet Yen district. So far, the province has reported 216 infections.

Due to the increasing infections, Bac Giang imposed social distancing in Viet Yen district from May 15 until further notice. Viet Yen is located Quang Chau and Van Trung IPs. The majority of Bac Giang's Covid-19 infections are detected there. 

Quang Ninh's health professionals before leaving to help Bac Giang. Photo: Baobacgiang

To help Bac Giang improve testing capacity, the Ministry of Health on May 15 sent a team of leading testing experts to support the local government in this process. Meanwhile, a group of 200 health professionals in Quang Ninh province also came to Bac Giang to assist the province in testing.

On the same day, the Ministry of Health announced two Covid-19 variants detected in Vietnam, namely B.1.222 and B.1.619 after genomic sequencing conducted by domestic scientists.

According to the ministry, B.1.222 variant has been reported in 12 countries, mainly in the UK while B.1.619 was likely from Cameroon and spread to the Europe. The local experts attributed the country's rising infections to the presence of some variants. 

Vietnam’s total caseload has climbed to 3,981.