Vietnam news daily

Medical workers take COVID-19 samples from residents in residential area No 1 in Ward 15, HCM City’s Gò Vấp District. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — HCM City broke its record daily increase of new COVID-19 cases on Friday with 149 locally-transmitted infections. A day earlier, it reported 137 cases, according to the Health Ministry.

Việt Nam confirmed 264 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, including five imported and 259 locally-transmitted infections.

Among the domestic infections, 149 were found in HCM City, 76 in Bắc Giang, 16 in Bắc Ninh,12 in Bình Dương, three in Hà Tĩnh, two in Hòa Bình and one in Lào Cai. Of them, 232 were detected in quarantine or locked down areas.

So far, the country has recorded 12,414 COVID-19 cases, including 10,755 domestic and 1,669 imported infections. The number of cases since the fourth wave of the pandemic began on April 27 has reached 9,172.

The ministry said as many as 4,733 patients have recovered from COVID-19 so far, as 80 of them were given the all-clear on Friday. Meanwhile the death toll reached 62 as the latest death was reported on Friday afternoon.

Twenty-four provinces have gone 14 days without detecting new cases.

By Friday evening, nearly two million vaccine doses have been administered, with 89,833 people fully vaccinated with two shots. About 14-20 per cent of the vaccinated people experienced post-vaccination reactions, equal to the proportion stated by vaccine producers and the World Health Organization.

Regarding vaccination against COVID-19 for elderly people and people with underlying medical conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity, Dương Thị Hồng, deputy director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said that they were among vulnerable groups facing a high risk of COVID-19 infection, so they needed to get vaccinated. However, the vaccination would be delivered to them only when they were in stable health conditions with health indicators in normal limits, Hồng said.

HCM City’s vaccination drive with nearly 800,000 vaccine doses donated by Japan to Việt Nam would begin on Saturday. —VNS

A worker at a construction site in Hà Nội in the hot weather. — VNA/VNS Photo Thành Đạt

HÀ NỘI — Northern and north-central provinces are sweltering under a severe hot wave, with temperatures in some places topping 40 degrees Celsius, announced the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The extreme weather, which will cause temperatures to stay above 35 degrees Celsius from 10 to 19 hours per day, will also cause low humidity of between 40 and 60 per cent.

Hà Nội will experience extremely hot days, with the lowest temperatures around 29 – 31 degrees and the highs reaching 39 – 40 degrees. There will be places where the temperatures will exceed 40 degrees.

The heatwave is forecast to last through June 21.

Demand for electricity is likely to increase during the day. Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has advised agencies, production establishments and households to use electricity safely, economically and effectively.

Nguyễn Tiến Toàn from the Weather Forecast Office of the National Hydrometeorological Forecast Centre told Lao động (Labour) newspaper that the heatwave was caused by a low-pressure system in the west combined with the foehn effect.

The foehn effect makes the heat last longer during the day and lowers humidity, posing a high risk of fires, he said.

The hot weather has negatively affected the daily activities of people and threatened residents’ health.

Nguyễn Văn Nam, a shipper in Hà Nội, said he had to refuse many orders due to the hot weather. “It is too hot, particularly between 11am and 2pm. Many shippers like me have to stop working during that time to avoid the heat. It will be very tiring and you easily get dehydrated,” he said.

Medical experts warn of dehydration, exhaustion, and heat stroke as the human body is exposed to high temperatures for a long time.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting also warned that Hà Nội and other provinces in the north will see a high ultraviolet (UV) index.

The maximum UV index usually occurs from 10am to 1pm.

A UV index of 2.5-5.4 is moderate, 5.5-7.4 is high risk, 7.5 -10.4 is very high, and more than 10.5 or higher is considered dangerous.

From June 17 to 19, the UV index in Hà Nội and other localities was forecast to reach 9-10.

The country is projected to face more widespread heatwaves this month. — VNS

Health authorities recorded almost 150 locally-transmitted coronavirus infections in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, as Vietnam has been struggling with the fourth transmission wave – and the worst so far – since late April.

One hundred and forty-nine cases were detected in the community, the municipal Center for Disease Control (HCDC) said in a report.

This is the biggest-ever daily case increase the city has reported since the virus first emerged in the country early last year.

The patients were related to about 20 transmission chains, with a dozen cases showing no clear source of infection.

The southern economic hub has found 1,346 community cases since April 27, when the fourth virus wave broke out in Vietnam.

The pathogen is silently spreading in the community so everyone should adhere to social distancing rules, reinstated on May 31, and limit unnecessary interactions, the HCDC said.

Those finding that they are at risk of infection should immediately contact local medical providers for help, it added.

The Ministry of Health documented 259 local COVID-19 cases nationwide on Friday, including 149 in Ho Chi Minh City, 76 in Bac Giang Province, 16 in Bac Ninh Province, 12 in Binh Duong Province, three in Ha Tinh Province, two in Hoa Binh Province, and one in Lao Cai Province.

A total of 232 cases were logged in quarantined or isolated areas, the ministry noted, adding 80 recoveries were recorded the same day.

Vietnam has registered 9,173 domestic infections in this wave, 1,840 of which has been found since Monday.

Bac Giang is leading with 5,083 patients, followed by Bac Ninh with 1,470 and Ho Chi Minh City.

By comparison, Vietnam confirmed 106 community cases in the first wave from January 23 to April 16, 2020, 554 in the second from July 25 to December 1, 2020, and 910 in the third from January 28 to March 25, 2021.

The Southeast Asian nation has reported an aggregate of 12,414 patients, including 10,742 local and 1,672 imported cases.

The number of recovered patients stands at 4,733 while 62 have died, most having suffered critical underlying conditions.

Nearly two million AstraZeneca vaccine shots had been administered and almost 90,000 people had been fully inoculated by Thursday, according to the health ministry’s data.

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