The number of people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Vietnam reached 20,261 as of Monday morning [July 5].

Up to 81% of the total cases have been found in the fresh outbreak that flared up in late April. So far, Covid-19 has claimed 86 deaths.

Testing in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: HCDC

Covid-19 has swept through 55 out of 63 cities and provinces nationwide, leaving Ho Chi Minh City the hardest-hit locality with 6,209 confirmed cases, followed by Bac Giang 5,561, Bac Ninh 1,617, Binh Duong 636, and Hanoi 468.

At present, the north brings the pandemic under control while the south is facing a surge in the infections count.

Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long attributed the rising cases in the southern region, typically Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Long An, and Tien Giang to the transmission at factories, industrial parks, and wet markets.

The Ministries of National Defense and Public Security are asked to support the city in terms of quarantine, contact tracing, and social security. Meanwhile, some localities with anti-pandemic experience extend their assistance to HCMC and several provinces like Binh Duong, Dong Thap, and Phu Yen.

Given surging infections in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said at the meeting on July 4 that the government will spare no efforts to help the southern economic hub stamp out the pandemic.

He said that without quick and effective measures, the situation might be out of control.

Deputy Prime Ministers Vu Duc Dam and Truong Hoa Binh are assigned to be responsible for the pandemic control in HCMC.

HCMC is racing against time to test five million residents in high-risk areas to detect local transmission as there remain a number of cases having been found via massive testing in the community.

Health experts said it’s necessary to improve testing capacity and shorten the testing time. The Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDC) said it strives to return testing results within 12 hours for first-generation contacts of the index cases (F1).

Associate Prof. Tran Dac Phu, the senior advisor to the Vietnam Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC), said the massive testing helps the city both find infections in the community and have an overview of the pandemic for adopting better measures.