Highschool students in Nam Dinh Province wait for their turns to have their nasal swabs collected for Covid-19 testing. The Ministry of Health confirmed 30 new Covid-19 infections this afternoon, May 17– PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – The Ministry of Health confirmed 30 new Covid-19 infections this afternoon, May 17, including two imported cases in Hanoi and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and 28 locally-infected cases that had been sent into quarantine earlier.

The fresh community-infected cases were detected in Bac Giang, Dien Bien, Ha Nam, and Lang Son provinces, with Bac Giang recording the highest number of cases at 14.

The ministry today also announced that 1,449 Covid-19 patients are under treatment at 61 medical facilities in the country. Of them, 16 are in critical condition, with the two most severely ill patients being placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as they suffered from underlying health conditions. ECMO is a life support machine which allows patients' lungs and hearts to improve and function properly

In related news, the management board of industrial parks in Bac Ninh Province has asked companies to suspend employing workers coming from Bac Giang, which is now the hardest hit locality during the latest Covid-19 resurgence in Vietnam, starting from today until further notice.

These businesses were told to inform workers from Bac Giang that they were allowed to stay at home, self-quarantine, and monitor their health conditions starting from today. Regarding people returning from Bac Giang-based industrial parks since May 3, they were required to implement home-quarantining and contact the nearest medical centers or hotlines for Covid-19 preventive measures.