Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh today [September 7] asked the Ministry of National Defence and 10 northern cities and provinces to get ready to support Hanoi in the fight against Covid-19.

Hanoi vaccinates shippers. Photo: Khanh Huy/ The Hanoi Times

Under the request, the surrounding areas will be tasked with assisting the city in massive testing, classifying F0 for proper treatment, contact tracing, and vaccinating.

The 10 localities are Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Haiphong, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, and Hoa Binh.

In Hanoi, where detects average 50-70 infections per day, the risk of widespread outbreak remains high as health experts warned.

To address challenges, Hanoi vows to test all residents on September 6-12. Regarding the plan, health experts said it’s unnecessary to test on a large scale but selective.

Today, Hanoi vaccinated more than 103,000 shots, the highest number of doses administered since the city began its inoculation campaign.

The move shows the city’s determination to give the first doses to adults aged above 18 before September 15.

More than 2.4 million doses have been administered in Hanoi, covering around 56% of people above 18 years of age.

Director of the city’s Department of Health Tran Thi Nhi Ha said the city’s health sector can administer 200,000 doses/day, however, the vaccination pace depends on the doses allocated by the Ministry of Health.

To make the goal possible, Hanoi plans to offer shots in the evening.

“After receiving vaccines, districts must organize the inoculation as quickly as possible, without limiting the number of people at an injection site. At the same time, each site needs to extend the vaccination time to inject as more people as possible, however safety must be put first and foremost,” Ha said in a statement.

Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam works with Ho Chi Minh City's authorities on September 7. Photo: VGP

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)’s mayor said today that the city will consider relaxing restrictions for people holding “green vaccine” certificates.

It means that people who get one or two jabs would be subject to the reopening of some services like supermarkets, trade plazas, and transportation, the city People’s Committee Chairman Phan Van Mai said at the meeting with Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam on September 7.

He said the city is consulting health experts and economists for specific plans.

For that reason, vaccination is key to the recovery plans. Deputy Chairman of the city People’s Committee Duong Anh Duc said the local government needs about two million doses of vaccines.

Discharged F0 will be regarded as fully vaccinated people, Duc said.

The city continues the shelter-in-place order until September 15. Until then, it allows people in “green zone” to shop once a week while retaining shopping services in other zones.

Half of Vietnam’s 14,208 Covid-19 infections detected on Sept 7 are from Ho Chi Minh City and 80% of 316 daily deaths recorded there. So far, 94% of the city’s adults aged above 18 get the first jabs.

Regarding necessities to residents, PM Chinh today asked HCMC to stockpile enough goods and drug to make demand met amid the shelter-in-place order. Chinh also emphasized the treatment of F0 at home and speeding up the disbursement of welfare packages to vulnerable groups.

Vietnam's coronavirus infections. Source: MoH. Chart: Minh Vu