Vietnam Covid-19 Updates (Feb. 25): Daily Count Skyrockets to 69,128

Photo: Suc Khoe & Doi Song

Covid-19: Daily count skyrockets to 69,128, tally surpasses 3 million

Daily coronavirus infections hit a new record high of 69,128 in Vietnam on February 24, an increase of nearly 9,000 cases compared to the previous day, the Ministry of Health said in its coronavirus update at 6 pm. These cases were detected in 62 out of 63 cities and provinces across the country, with 48,179 diagnosed in the community, or roughly 70% of the total.

Only nine people tested positive upon their return from overseas, and the remainder were recorded in the lockdown or quarantine areas. On the same day, the Ministry of Health also announced an additional 19,062 recoveries and 111 more coronavirus-related deaths in localities across the country.

February 24 saw most of the cases reported in the north. Official data from the Ministry of Health show Hanoi capital topped localities in infection numbers, registering 8,864 new cases - the highest figure in a single day.

Other northern localities that recorded between 1,000 and 5,000 cases each include Bac Giang, Hai Duong, Son La, Phu Tho, Nam Dinh, Hoa Binh, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Hung Yen, Hai Phong, Ninh Binh, Yen Bai, Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Thai Nguyen, Lang Son, Thai Binh, and Tuyen Quang, VOV reported.

The past 24 hours also saw new infections in Ho Chi Minh City – which used to be the largest coronavirus hotspot last summer – increase sharply to 2,466. Random testing shows 76% of the cases had contracted the Omicron variant.

Photo: Suc Khoe & Doi Song

Vietnam to receive mRNA vaccine technology transfer from WHO training hub

Vietnam is among five countries newly selected to receive mRNA vaccine technology transfer from a global biomanufacturing training hub established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in South Africa. Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Serbia will receive support from the hub in South Africa, the WHO said in a press conference late Wednesday.

The WHO also announced the establishment of a similar hub in the Republic of Korea. These hubs will serve all low- and middle-income countries wishing to produce biologicals, such as vaccines, insulin, monoclonal antibodies and cancer treatments.

He said he was glad the WHO had selected Việt Nam as one of the vaccine manufacturers, and the Government and the Ministry of Health of Việt Nam were committed to providing the “maximum facilitation” for Vietnamese vaccine producers to receive the transferred production technology.

With the capacity and enthusiasm of manufacturers as well as the determination of the Government, Vietnam hopes to continue receiving the support of WHO and partners to be able to master and update mRNA vaccine technology in the future. This will help enhance vaccine production capacity in the region, contributing to efforts to ensure national and regional health security, said the Vietnamese health official.

Photo: VNA

Passengers through Vietnamese airports up nearly 58 percent in February

The number of passengers through Vietnamese airports topped 6.1 million so far this month, a year-on-year surge of 57.8 percent, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam. Of the total, 105,000 are foreigners, a year-on-year increase of 350 percent. Domestic visitors exceed 6 million, up 56.1 percent. Meanwhile, cargo reaches 113,000 tonnes, up 27.6 percent year on year.

In the month, the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) has managed about 60,500 flights, up 157 percent against that in February last year, including 13,200 transit flights, up 67.4 percent. Also in February, domestic airlines have transported more than 3 million passengers, a rise of 56.8 percent year-on-year. Of the total, 39,400 are foreigners, and nearly 3 million are domestic, according to VNA.

Vietnam has reopened international routes to and from 20 countries and territories, while the number before the Covid-19 pandemic in the winter of 2019 was 28. The frequency of international flights at present is 53 flights each way per day, far lower than the 598 ones each way per day in 2019’s winter.

Photo: VNA

81 percent of people are willing to have children vaccinated against Covid-19

Up to 81 percent of people, in general, said that they are willing to get children aging from 5 to 11 years old vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a poll conducted in all 63 localities nationwide by the Social Opinion Institute under the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education.

The poll, taking place from February 11-15 and received 387,037 votes from all social classes and six socio-economic sectors, aimed to investigate people’s willingness to have their children at the age of 5-11 vaccinated against Covid-19.

Meanwhile, the ratio of willingness among parents with children aged 5-11 years old is 80 percent. At the same time, 12 percent showed hesitation and only 3 percent said that they are not willing to allow their children to get the vaccination.

78 percent of people said that they “are very interested” in the scheme. The ratio is similar among parents having children aged from 5 to 11 years old (79 percent). Meanwhile, 19 percent said that they are “relatively interested” in the issue and only one percent showed no interest.

Regarding the awareness of the necessity of Covid-19 vaccination among children aging 5-11, 78 percent said that it is “very necessary and need to be conducted as soon as possible, and Covid-19 vaccination is similar to the injection of vaccines against other diseases like pertussis, tetanus, tuberculosis, and measles."

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