Vietnam’s Ministry of Health today announced that it will treat index cases (F0) at home to ease burden on the healthcare system.

Vaccination in Safira Apartment Bloc, Phu Huu Ward, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: HCDC

The model will be piloted in the epicenter of Ho Chi Minh City and areas with high infections when the number of infections increases rapidly while medical facilities are reaching capacity, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said today.

The model will be taken care of by local health workers who provide consultation and treatment with the support of information technology.

Regarding the treatment, the ministry asked all hospitals nationwide to have at least 40% of their beds to treat Covid-19 patients and other hospitals need to be separated into two zones to provide treatment to both common patients and coronavirus cases.

The move is aimed to ensure all Covid-19 patients get access to healthcare timely and well enough.

A batch of Switzerland-donated medical equipment arrives in Ho Chi Minh City on August 13. Photo: Swiss Embassy in Hanoi

Donation and vaccine

Today, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh decided to set up a working group on vaccine diplomacy led by Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.

The group is tasked with promoting the donation of vaccines, Covid drug, medical equipment, and vaccine transfer from bilateral and multilateral partners.

On August 13, a batch of Switzerland-donated medical equipment worth US$5.5 million arrived in Ho Chi Minh City.

The donation including 30 ventilators, 500,000 test kits, and 280,000 surgical masks, comes just a week after the Vietnam visit paid by Swiss Vice President and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis.

In another move, a batch of 1.1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine imported by Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC) arrived in Ho Chi Minh City today. It is in the 30-million dose contract signed between VNVC and the supplier.

With the latest volume, Vietnam has around 19 million doses from three sources, including VNVC, the COVAX Facility, and direct donations.

As of August 13, more than 13.25 million vaccine doses have been administered, including 1.19 fully inoculated.

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said around 12 million doses will be delivered in August and September.

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City will extend lockdown after August 15 and likely last until September 15, Deputy Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Phan Van Mai said on Friday [August 13].

He attributed the extension to rising coronavirus infections and higher deaths, saying that the pandemic situation remains complicated while medical facilities are reaching capacity.

The extended lockdown will help the city curb the transmission in order to lower the number of infections, to treat patients better, and reduce deaths, Mai said.

To curb the spread of the pandemic, the city has to manage locals by tracing their traveling history via an app called “population mobility”.

Vietnam’s President Nguyen Xuan Phuc works with Hanoi authorities on August 13. Photo: Viet Thanh/ Hanoimoi

Hanoi

On August 13, Vietnam’s President Nguyen Xuan Phuc worked with Hanoi’s authorities to check the anti-pandemic work in the capital city. He said placing the city under strict social distancing is the right decision.

As of August 13, Hanoi has undergone 20 days of social distancing.

The operations of public Covid-19 prevention and control teams enabled local authorities to manage the situation in their places, Phuc said, adding that classifying areas based on its pandemic status is very effective.

In reality, Hanoi labels “green zone” (safe zone) and “red zone” (hotspots) to better protect the unaffected areas and curb the spread of transmission out of the affected ones.

According to Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung, the city is making efforts to protect the "green zone" to maintain the dual goal of containing the virus and developing the economy.

For that reason, the local government has to date maintained the supply chain and manufacturing by imposing a number of measures, typically massive testing. The rate of infections in Hanoi is one confirmed case per 10,000 people, rather low compared to other localities. Its total cases hit 2,355 now.

Daily infections

On August 13, Vietnam confirmed 9,180 Covid-19 infections, 3,593 convalescents, and 275 deaths, lifting the total to 255,748, 92,738, and 5,088, respectively.

Ho Chi Minh City tops localities for the infections with 140,539, Binh Duong 39,592, Long An 13,232, and Dong Nai 12,047.

Vietnam's Covid-19 cases. Source: MoH. Chart: Minh Vu