Vietnam Covid-19 Updates (September 18): Vietnam Records 11,521 New Covid-19 Cases

Photo: VN Express

Vietnam records 11,521 new Covid-19 cases on September 17

Vietnam reported 11,521 new Covid-19 cases from 5 pm on September 16 to 5 pm on September 17, including 15 imported ones, according to the Ministry of Health.

Ho Chi Minh City still logged the highest number of daily new infections with 5,972, followed by Binh Duong with 4,013, Dong Nai 345, Long An 273, and Kien Giang 180. The capital city of Hanoi saw 15 cases on the day.

On September 17, as many as 9,914 patients were given the all-clear, raising the total recoveries to 433,465. There were 212 fatalities on the day, taking the total number to 16,637, or 2.5 percent of the infections.

Photo: VN Express

Ho Chi Minh City to conduct mass testing till month-end

City-wide testing will be carried out in HCMC from now until the month's end, with higher frequency for very high-risk and high-risk areas. In a statement sent to district authorities, the city’s administration said the upcoming testing campaign would help assess the pandemic situation toward reopening.

For red and orange zones, or very high- and high-risk areas, each household would be tested thrice per week, with at least two members in one household having their samples taken. Households in areas at lower risk (yellow, near-green, and green zones) will be tested every five-seven days. Each household will send one member for testing, while those with more than five must have at least two members tested. For people taking samples for the quick test by themselves, local authorities must ensure all kit tests are collected afterward to avoid the situation where people who have tested negative did not return their kits for general assessment.

Since the new wave emerged in late April until mid-September, the city had collected more than 9.5 million samples for rapid screening and conducted almost two million PRC tests. So far in the wave, the city, which is also the nation’s epicenter, has recorded more than 320,800 infections and over 12,700 fatalities.

Photo: VN Express

Khanh Hoa eyes mid-October tourism reopening

Khanh Hoa is planning to reopen tourism for its own residents on October 15 if the pandemic situation is under control. The central province is home to several tourist attractions including the famous beach towns of Nha Trang and Cam Ranh.

In the first phase, the central province will only allow tourist destinations to welcome back intra-provincial tourists who have got at least one dose of a Covid vaccine and can furnish a negative PCR test certificate, said Nguyen Thi Le Thanh, deputy director of Khanh Hoa's Department of Tourism.

Tourism business establishments in 'green zones' with low Covid risk will be allowed to resume operations, ensuring that 100 percent of their staff are fully inoculated, with the second dose taken at least 14 days prior to resuming work, Thanh said, as cited by the Phap Luat newspaper.

If the pandemic situation in the country improves further, the province would consider allowing visitors from outside the province. To be eligible for travel to Khanh Hoa, tourists from outside should also have had at least one dose of the Covid vaccine and show a negative PCR test certificate.

Photo: Hospital 115

Additional 100,000 vials of Remdesivir for Covid-19 treatment arrive in Vietnam

Approximately 100,000 vials of Remdesivir produced by Mylan pharmaceutical company under Pfizer group have arrived in Vietnam in order to treat patients. The latest batch is being delivered under the sponsorship order of DB Group, the founding shareholder of Ecopark Group. The shipment has been delivered to various localities nationwide that have been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

A representative of Ecopark Group revealed that a further batch of 100,000 vials of Remdesivir will also be transported to the nation in the near future as part of treating patients suffering from severe conditions caused by the disease. Moving forward, the 200,000 vials of Remdesivir are anticipated to help localities provide effective treatment for between 20,000 and 30,000 coronavirus patients.

Remdesivir is an anti-virus drug that was granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States to treat patients back on October 22, 2020. Having the ability to shorten the treatment time and speed up the recovery of patients whose condition is severe, Remdesivir has been included in the treatment regimens of 50 countries, including the US, the EU, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and India, and it has since become one of the leading hard-to-access specialized drugs in the world.

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