Vietnam has so far documented 348,059 Covid-19 cases, ranking 68th out of 222 countries and territories.

Vietnam records 11,214 new Covid-19 cases on August 22

The Ministry of Health on August 22 reported 11,214 new Covid-19 infections in Vietnam, including six imported cases. This was the fourth day running with a daily increase surpassing 10,000.

Of new 11,208 locally transmitted cases, 4,193 cases were in Ho Chi Minh City, 3,795 cases in Binh Duong, 849 in Dong Nai, 709 in Tien Giang, 365 in Long An, 183 in Da Nang, 160 in Khanh Hoa, 142 in Dong Thap and 107 in Ba Ria-Vung Tau. A total of 6,387 cases were detected in communities outside of lockdown areas or concentrated quarantine areas.

Also on August 22, the Soc Trang Centre for Disease Control registered an additional 138 cases which were detected in previous days to the Ministry of Health’s data system.

Vietnam receives 50,000 more Remdesivir vials against Covid-19

A Malaysian Airlines plane carrying 50,000 vials of Remdesivir, a much-sought-after drug to treat Covid-19 globally, touched down at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City late August 21. The shipment is part of the 500,000 Remdesivir vials Vingroup, a leading Vietnamese multisectoral conglomerate, has imported from India and donated to the Ministry of Health for emergency treatment of Covid-19.

Remdesivir is a broad-spectrum antiviral drug, manufactured by India’s Cipla Pharmaceutical Company with permission granted by US-based Gilead Sciences, the developer of the drug. The drug was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat Covid-19 patients from October 22, 2020.

Remdesivir, which is said to shorten treatment time and speed up recovery in critically ill patients, has been included in the treatment protocol by 50 countries such as the US, the EU, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and India. The drug is used for moderate and severe Covid-19 patients according to the instructions in the treatment protocol of the Ministry of Health.

Ho Chi Minh City approves new US$113 million Covid relief package

HCMC has approved an additional financial aid package of over VND2.577 trillion (around US$113 million) to help more households and informal workers in difficulty. The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City said it expected the third Covid-19 financial support package this year to help 1,048,500 poor working households living in poor neighborhoods and about 670,000 informal workers facing difficulties because of the pandemic, Tuoi Tre reported.

The payment of relief funds should not discriminate between permanent or temporary residents, or the basis of number of members in the household or occupation. The local authorities should also ensure no duplication or omission happens in the distribution of relief. The list of informal workers must be of those residing in HCMC with legal papers, having no income or an income of less than VND4 million per month.

In the past two months, aside from a government relief package of VND26 trillion in July, HCMC has issued two of its own packages valued at VND1.8 trillion in total to help the poor as well as businesses hit by the pandemic.

Vietnam has so far documented 348,059 Covid-19 cases, ranking 68th out of 222 countries and territories. The number of infections recorded since the fourth wave began in late April was 343,972.

The total number of people who have died of Covid-19 complications now stands at 8,277, accounting for 2.4 percent of the total infections in the country – the same as the world average rate.

A total of 17,065,896 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered so far, with 15,274,648 people receiving the first shot and 1,791,248 getting full two jabs.

Valerie Mai