Vietnam records the highest-ever daily coronavirus infections on Sunday [August 8] with 9,684, including 40% in Ho Chi Minh City and 33% in Binh Duong.

Today, 4,860 patients have recovered, the highest daily convalescents since the pandemic broke out in early 2020. It drives up the total recovered to 71,497, accounting for one-third of the national confirmed cases.

Covid-19 claimed 147 lives with the majority in HCM City, totaling 3,397 nationwide so far.

On August 8, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long asked all health facilities to train health workers with first aid, active resuscitation, and ventilator use, considering it “very urgent work”. On the same day, the ministry announced the daily bonus for volunteers joining the anti-pandemic fight.

In another move, the health ministry allows areas having high coronavirus infections to keep asymptomatic or mild confirmed cases (F0) at home instead of hospitalizing them all like before or discharge mild F0 after they test negative for the virus on the 7th day of the treatment.

Accordingly, local authorities need to keep medical surveillance on and provide them with emergencies when needed.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020, Vietnam has maintained a policy that required all confirmed coronavirus cases to be hospitalized in medical facilities.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a meeting on August 8. Photo: VGP

Vaccination drive

At an online meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Sunday, a number of associations and businesses called for the government to vaccinate workers to avoid a halt in the global supply chain that many Vietnam-based companies are joining.

Speaking at the meeting, Hong Sun, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Business in Vietnam, said the Government should prioritize the vaccination in foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) to enable them to maintain stable manufacturing chains.

He said FIEs operate in line with the global value chain, which means that both large companies and their vendors, though small with dozens of workers, are all important in the entire chain. So far, the disruption and impact of Covid-19 in Vietnam have hurt the global market share of some big corporations.

Do Thi Thuy Huong, a member of the Board of Directors at the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association (VEIA), expressed concerns that many companies are about reaching their limit and facing the increasing number of workers leaving jobs.

Therefore, the quickest vaccination is the best solution to bring workers back to work, helping businesses continue running amid the health crisis, Huong said, adding that companies should be active in ensuring safety themselves without rigidly following “3 on-site” schemes (on-site eating, on-site working, on-site sleeping).

Sharing the same idea, Nguyen Chanh Phuong, deputy chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA), said the vaccination campaign together with medical surveillance via QR code enable companies to operate without risk of Covid-19 attack.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính said the Government is committed to making its best to support enterprises in terms of policies for production recovery and expansion. It will set up a task force to address concerns from businesses and people affected by the pandemic.

“The Government stands ready to support businesses during the current Covid-19 outbreak with the goal of sharing both the risks and the benefits with them,” he said.

A bus-based mini store in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Chau Tuan/ Tuoi Tre

Ho Chi Minh City is making efforts to raise the supply of essential goods to facilitate locals during the lockdown. Accordingly, local authorities have increased the presence of mobile shopping places in different residential areas.

Meanwhile, Hanoi, together with isolating the affected areas, has done its best to protect the “green zone” (safe zone) by setting checkpoints in unaffected places to prevent disease transmission.

So far, there are thousands of “green zone” checkpoints set up in many districts following the request by the Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, Chu Ngoc Anh.

Associate Prof. Tran Dac Phu, a senior advisor to the Vietnam Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC), supported the idea during the city’s strict social distancing, saying the model can be imposed at the grassroots levels citywide.

In another move, police have tightened control over the movement of locals to minimize the number of people going outside unnecessarily.

Hanoi confirmed 114 new cases today, totaling 2,001.

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