Photo: VNA

Daily Covid-19 infection tally continues to see sharp rise as over 36,200 cases recorded

The Health Ministry announced a further 36,200 new domestic Covid-19 patients across 62 cities and provinces nationwide, an increase of 1,467 cases from the previous day. The majority of new cases were detected in Hanoi with 3,893, followed by the northern provinces of Thai Nguyen with 2,478 infections and Quang Ninh with 2,477 cases.

The past 24 hours saw 90 Covid-19 patients die, raising the overall number of fatalities to 39,278, representing 1.5% of all infections.

In the latest wave that hit the country in late April, more than 2.63 million cases have since been confirmed, with 2.25 million of them now having fully recovered. A total of 5,810 patients were declared free from the virus, pushing up the total number of recoveries to 2.254 million.

Photo: Suc khoe & Doi song

Home quarantine for Covid-19 patients shortened to 7 days

The Covid-19 patients under home treatment will no longer be isolated after undergoing quarantine and treatment for seven days, instead of 10 days like in the past, and their rapid antigen test result is negative. This is part of the Ministry of Health’s latest guidance on Covid-19 diagnosis and treatment, according to VNA.

Accordingly, the patients with no or mild symptoms eligible for home treatment will be no longer subject to quarantine or treatment after seven days if the result of their rapid antigen test, conducted by a health worker or by themselves under a health worker’s supervision, turns out negative.

If the test result remains positive for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 after seven days, the quarantine period will be extended to 10 days for the fully vaccinated ones and 14 days for those not. Healthcare stations in the places managing patients are responsible for certifying their Covid-19 recovery.

Photo: Suc khoe & Doi song

About 153,000 foreigners fly from/to Vietnam since the pilot resumption of int'l flights

About 153,000 foreign passengers flew from/to Vietnam from the time the country launched a pilot program to resume international flights in January to February 14, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV). With the lifting of restrictions on international passenger flights, foreign arrivals to Vietnam are expected to surge in the coming time and gradually recover from that before Covid-19 broke out, the authority said.

On February 15, or the first day of the reopening of regular international flights, Noi Bai airport in Hanoi saw 80 international flights, including 23 passenger flights. Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City served 94 international flights on the day. Budget airline Vietjet Air and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines have announced plans to increase flight frequency and resume international networks.

Earlier, the CAAV has asked the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) to issue a Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) on the lifting of all restrictions on international flights from February 15, returning to the normal situation as before the outbreak of Covid-19.

According to the authority, limits on the number of inbound and outbound international flights in Vietnam will be removed. Meanwhile, regulations on entry and pandemic prevention and control for passengers entering Vietnam will continue to be implemented in line with guidelines of the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Health, it said. Except for China, all the countries receiving Vietnam’s proposal have agreed to restore the aviation links with Vietnam.

Photo: Suc Khoe & Doi song

Over 19 percent of children in Vietnam contract Covid-19

About 490,000 children in Vietnam were confirmed to have contracted Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son. Speaking at a recent national conference on guidance and care for Covid-19 infected children, Son said the number accounts for 19.2 percent of people aged under 18 years in the country.

4.8 percent of children between 13-17 years have tested positive for the virus; 8 percent aged 6-12; 2.8 percent aged 3-5, and 3.6 percent aged 0-2, he noted. Only 165 child deaths have been attributed to Covid-19, accounting for 0.42 percent of the country’s total Covid-19 deaths – 0.11 percent in the 13-17 years group, 0.1 percent in the 6-12 range, and 0.18 percent in the 0-2 range.

While the death rate remains low, there are many cases of long-Covidsymptoms, including post-Covid complications and some serious but rare multisystem inflammatory syndrome cases, the health official said.

Nguyen Trong Khoa, deputy head of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment under the health ministry, said as of February 7, among 516,163 cases of Covid-19 detected in HCM City, the former epicenter of the fourth wave in Vietnam, 32,429 were children or 6.3 percent of the total.

Vietnam Covid-19 Updates (Feb. 17): Daily Count Hits New Record High of Nearly 35,000 As of 6 pm on February 16, Vietnam has detected 2,606,824 Covid-19 cases since the start of the outbreak, ranking 34th out of 225 countries ...

Vietnam Covid-19 Updates (Feb. 15): Close to 30,000 New Infections in Single Day As of 6 pm on February 14, Vietnam has detected 2,540,273 Covid-19 cases since the start of the outbreak, ranking 34th out of 225 countries ...

Vietnam Covid-19 Updates (Feb. 14): 26,379 New Cases in 24 Hours As of February 12, 185,731,134 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been administered. The infection tally now stands at 2,510,860.