Photo: Suc khoe & Doi song

Daily Covid caseload hits nearly 10,000, mostly in southern Vietnam

Vietnam has confirmed 9,849 new coronavirus infections in 56 cities and provinces across the country during the past 24 hours, mostly in the south, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in its coronavirus update on November 17. Official data from the MoH showed an additional 67 people have died and 3,873 more patients have recovered from the disease. Of the newly-detected infections, 4,956 cases were diagnosed in the community through random testing or test screening.

Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, and Binh Duong recorded the highest number of new infections at 1,337, 664, and 601, respectively. Other southern localities registering between 200 - 500 new cases each include An Giang, Tien Giang, Binh Thuan, Dong Thap, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Kien Giang, Tay Ninh, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Vinh Long, and Ca Mau.

Hanoi capital remains the largest coronavirus hotspot in the north with 239 new cases, followed by Ha Giang 134, Bac Ninh 107, Hai Duong 81, Bac Giang 79, Quang Ninh 79, and Thai Binh 60.

Photo: VNA

US donates another 1 million Moderna vaccine doses to Vietnam

Another batch of one million doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine donated by the United States arrived in Hanoi on November 17, according to the US Embassy in Hanoi. The shipment raised the total number of Covid-19 vaccines donated by the US to Vietnam to more than 16 million, making the US Vietnam’s largest vaccine donor.

The United States and Vietnam will continue to work as partners in combatting Covid-19 and building back better, said the embassy on its Facebook page. Earlier, more than 1.3 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine supported by the US through the COVAX Facility were delivered to Vietnam on November 6.

Vaccine donations by the US have made a practical contribution to Vietnam’s effective control of the disease, demonstrating the US’s commitment to supporting the country in the pandemic. In addition to vaccine donations, the US has pledged to provide Vietnam with US$26.7 million to help the country deal with the pandemic and more than US$1 billion to develop health infrastructure in localities. In June, US President Joe Biden pledged to share a total of 80 million doses of the vaccine worldwide. The White House said about 75% of the vaccines will be delivered through the COVAX Facility, while the remaining 25% will be directly distributed to recipients.

Photo: Zing News

Ceremony to commemorate Covid-19 victims in Hanoi, HCM City

A ceremony to commemorate people who lost their lives to Covid-19 will be held simultaneously at 8 am on November 19 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the organizing board for HCM City’s major celebrations told a press conference on Nov. 17. The event will be co-hosted by the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee.

Speaking at the press conference, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Culture and Sports Vo Trong Nam said the event will be live broadcast on the Vietnam Television channel. Several reportages and a speech by the President of the VFF Central Committee will be screened before a ritual starts at 8:30 to commemorate the victims of the pandemic.

Candle lighting rituals will also be performed in Thu Duc City and all districts of HCM City to pay tribute to victims in the pandemic. All religious establishments in the city will ring bells and vessels at ports will blow their horns. The city asks residents to turn off lights and lit candles in memory of the deceased at the same moment. Meanwhile, districts located along Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe and Tau Hu-Ben Nghe canals will release colored lanterns at 8:35 pm the same day.

Photo: Zing News

Vietnam mulls Covid prevention fund

The government will consider establishing a fund for Covid-19 prevention and control to add to the vaccine fund it set up earlier this year. It will be developed along the lines of the existing Covid-19 vaccine fund. All related units have been instructedto review the national demand for vaccines, drugs, test kits, and medical equipment related to Covid for this year and next to estimate the requirement of funding.

"The fund will be established in accordance with the law but it will be used in a flexible manner," PM Pham Minh Chinh said in the National Assembly on Nov. 12.

The vaccine fund was set up in May to create resources to combat the pandemic. Managed by the Ministry of Finance, it is used to buy vaccines and also fund studies into and the production of vaccines. As of Wednesday it had raised 8.795 trillion (US$387.84 million) and spent VND7.597 trillion. There have been more than one million Covid cases in Vietnam so far, the 37th highest in the world. In per capita terms, it ranks 150th with 10,609 cases per million population.

Vietnam Covid-19 Updates (Nov.17): Vietnam Logs Highest New Cases In Nearly Two Months Vietnam’s total Covid caseload currently stands at 1,045,397, of which 1,040,346 are the result of the fourth wave of infections that have swept the country ...

Vietnam Covid-19 Updates (Nov. 16): 8,616 New Cases Reported More than 99.7 million vaccine doses have been administered nationwide, with 35.3 million people getting their second Covid-19 shot.

Vietnam Covid-19 Updates (Nov. 15): Hanoi Shortens Time Between Two AstraZeneca Jabs By November 13, the nation had inoculated more than 98.9 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, with more than 34.6 million people now fully vaccinated with ...