Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has urged authorities across the nation to prevent gathering in the public on the occasion of the National Day, which will fall on September 2.

The upcoming four-day vacation might be an occasion for the spread of Covid-19 if no tough measures are taken, he said in a statement.

Chinh reminded people of the national vacation on the Reunification Day on April 30 that led to the nationwide outbreak since then.

The fresh outbreak that has lasted for four months has put brakes on the economy, bringing production to a standstill.

Today, Vietnam confirms 12,607 Covid-19 infections, keeping the country updated with five-digit daily cases for the 13th consecutive day. Its total caseload hit 462,096, including more than 11,000 deaths. The death rate is 2.5% of the infected people.

Hanoi

Covid-19 Hospital in Hanoi. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Today, a 500-bed coronavirus hospital was inaugurated in Hanoi’s downtown.

PM Chinh came to check the hospital before it will start treating patients from September 1.

The hospital operates as the final terminal in the treatment system for patients in Hanoi and some areas namely Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Haiphong, Quang Ninh, and Lang Son, according to Associate Prof. Nguyen Lan Hieu, director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital.

The well-equipped hospital will also train health workers in first aid, resuscitation, and treating Covid-19 patients.

On the same day, PM Pham Minh Chinh came to check the infection chain in Thanh Xuan District that has caused nearly 400 cases. He asked local authorities to tighten control over quarantine of affected areas and boost testing in the hotspot and surrounding places.

Recommending solutions for Hanoi, Dr. Nguyen Thu Anh, Country Director, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Sydney University, Australia, said it’s necessary for Hanoi to vaccinate the elderly before it has enough vaccines for herd immunity.

“We need to define the goal of protecting people’s health and life, which is to curb the number of infected people (F0) and minimize deaths. A lesson learned in Ho Chi Minh City shows that if the health system is overloaded, the group of patients who become seriously ill and die are mostly unvaccinated elderly,” she said.

Given outbreaks in some parts of Hanoi, the doctor stressed the importance of vaccination, regard it as critical as contact tracing and quarantining.

On August 31, Hanoi reported 77 cases, totaling more than 3,200. Half of the total is detected in the community.

After five weeks of lockdown, the pandemic situation in Hanoi still remains complicated with 60-70 cases per day.

Shopping remains problematic in areas imposing shelter-in-place orders. Photo: Khanh Huy/ The Hanoi Times

Ho Chi Minh City

The epicenter of coronavirus outbreak has recorded 221,000 infections with a daily average of 4,000. Covid-19 has claimed more than 8,700 lives in the city.

The city’s death rate out of the total infections is at 4.2%, nearly reaching the highest range in the World Health Organization (WHO)’s guidance, according to Dr. Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, deputy director of the municipal Department of Health.

The world’s death rate out of the total Covid-19 infections varies between 2.1% and 4.4%.

“The fatality in HCMC is within the world’s statistical rate, but at a high limit. This is also something the city is trying to reduce,” Chau said.

Currently, the city has more than 9,300 Covid-19 patients are on the critical list, he said, adding that the death toll might fall in the next week.

To better treat F0 at home, the city is operating more than 400 mobile medical stations to provide “home-based care” and supply medicine.

Regarding the supply of necessities, HCMC has allowed ride-hailing shippers to resume services in the “red zone” (very high-risk zone) to make demand met.

Shippers are tested every morning before their working day.

With an aim to support shippers, Gojek, one of the ride-hailing companies working in Vietnam has announced the launch of a VND-4.15 billion (US$180,000) fund to support tens of thousands of its active Vietnamese driver-partners who have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is the ride-hailing industry’s first and largest cash support scheme in Vietnam during the current outbreak, and is aimed at supplementing the income of Gojek’s driver-partners amid the ongoing lockdown in Vietnam, the company said.

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