Vietnam News Today (August 22): Shippers to Halt Services in Eight HCM City Districts
	Vietnam News Today (August 21): Military to Oversee Food Provision in HCM City During Lockdown
	Vietnam News Today (August 20): Vietnam Records Highest Single-day Covid-19 Tally at 10,639

A health worker administers Covid-19 vaccine. Photo: VNA

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, cited VNA.

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 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 same day, 7,580 patients were given the all-clear, raising the total number of recoveries to 147,667.

Among those under treatment, 687 are being cared for in ICUs and 24 are treated with ECMO.

Over the weekend, the country recorded 737 Covid-19 related deaths, with 599 in HCM City.

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.

Ministry of Health allows distribution of 30,000 Remdesivir vials

The Ministry of Health on August 21 allowed the distribution of 30,000 more vials of the antiviral drug Remdesivir to treat Covid-19 patients in a number of localities.

Recipients include 11 hospitals, 12 departments of health in cities and provinces consisting of HCM City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long, Da Nang, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Soc Trang, Ben Tre, Kien Giang and Hau Giang, and the health division of the Military Medicine Department.

Treating a Covid-19 patient. Photo: VNA

Earlier, 10,000 vials were distributed on August 8 for Ho Chi Minh City and a number of southern provinces. Another 30,000 vials of the drug were recently distributed on August 17 for 17 hospitals and health departments in the south.

Remdesivir was the first antiviral drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October, 2020 for treating Covid-19 patients. It has the ability to shorten treatment times and speed up recovery for critically ill patients, reported VNA.

The drug has been approved and authorized for use in approximately 50 countries worldwide. It is now one of the world's leading specialized drugs.

On August 2, with the ministry’s guidance, conglomerate Vingroup had successfully negotiated for 500,000 vials of Remdesivir from Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla under licensing agreement from US-based Gilead Sciences. The first batch arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City on August 5.

Home vaccinations for HCM City residents in high-risk areas

Starting Monday, HCMC will deploy mobile vaccination teams to visit people's homes in "red" and "orange" zones, very high risk and high risk areas for Covid exposure.

The city's Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control has issued a document guiding implementation of its vaccination campaign from August 22 to September 6, especially covering the "red" and "orange" zones, which cover Thu Duc City and Districts 8, 12, Go Vap, Binh Tan, Binh Thanh, Binh Chanh and Hoc Mon.

The campaign will have mobile vaccination reach people's homes for inoculation. To do this, teams will organize themselves at a suitable location, inside or near areas under lockdown. From there, medics will visit each house and invite people to get vaccinated, VnExpress reported.

A mobile vaccination team inoculates Covid-19 vaccine for people living in HCMC's Go Vap District on August 14, 2021. Photo: VnExpress

In apartment complexes, medics will coordinate with the apartment management board to organize locations for inoculation and then invite households on each floor to come down and get the jab.

On home treatment for Covid-19 patients, the municipal Health Department has advised the administration to set out a plan for deploying mobile medical stations.

The department has developed a roadmap for establishing mobile medical stations with the agreement of each locality, divided into two phases. The first phase will see 135 established before August 24 and another 223 established before August 27.

According to the health department, over 5.2 million people in HCMC have had at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, with over 177,000 fully vaccinated.

As of Saturday, the country had vaccinated over 14.8 million people with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot. More than 1.7 million have been fully vaccinated.

Vietnam has recorded 332,627 cases since the fourth Covid-19 wave began late April.

Epicenter HCMC has recorded 171,801 local cases and 5,939 deaths. The city will tighten its travel restrictions in high-risk areas from Monday while people in safe and low-risk areas would be allowed to go shopping once a week, and the rest should expect task forces to deliver food to their homes.

PM requests HCM City to test all residents as infection cases surge

Ho Chi Minh City must test every resident during its ongoing extended social distancing period, according to the Prime Minister’s telegram dated August 22.

The move is to early detect and separate all infection cases from the community, the PM said in the telegram.

HCM City has recorded approximately 4,000 new cases daily, becoming the largest coronavirus hotspot in Vietnam. It has so far documented more than 170,000 cases since the resurgence of the virus nearly four months ago, or more than half of the country’s total, cited VOV.

PM Pham Minh Chinh requests HCM City to test every resident to early detect and saparate all infections from the wider community during its ongoing extended social distancing period. Photo: VOV

The southern metropolis has recently decided to extend its ongoing social distancing measures for another month till September 15 to curb the spread of the virus. Experts say the city should make use of this golden time to isolate the virus in the community in the last, important battle.

In the telegram dispatched to HCM City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An, the PM asked the Ministry of Health to prioritise allocating Covid-19 vaccines to these localities and carry out the ongoing free vaccination campaign in a timely, safe and effective manner.

He requested the administrations of the designed localities to strictly implement social distancing measures. All residents are required to stay indoors, and on-duty staff at checkpoints are deployed to assist locals, including vulnerable groups, with basic daily necessities.

He also asked relevant ministries and agencies to provide adequate food, medicine and medical equipment to the Covid hit localities to ensure no locals are left hungry and patients are admitted to hospital on time.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread to 62 out of 63 cities and provinces across the country since its resurgence in late April. Daily caseload has hit more than 10,000 over the past few days, with August 21 seeing more than 11,300 cases detected, a record high figure.

The Vietnamese Government has set a goal of keeping the fresh coronavirus outbreak nationwide in check in September. Coronavirus hotspots like Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An are set to contain the outbreak before September 1, while the largest coronavirus hotspot of HCM City is expected to halt the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus before September 15.

Vietnam hotels, resorts nominated at 2021 World Travel Awards

A number of popular five-star hotels and resorts in Vietnam have been nominated in different categories at 2021 World Travel Awards for Asia.

Vietnamese candidates are in contention of many beach hotel and resort categories.

Haian Beach Hotel & Spa and Muong Thanh Luxury Hotel in Da Nang City, along with Imperial Hotel in Vung Tau beach town are among six nominees for Asia's leading beach hotel, while Vinpearl Resort & Spa Nha Trang on Hon Tre Island in Nha Trang Bay for Asia's leading beach resort.

The facade of five-star Hotel de la Coupole M'Gallery in Sa Pa Town. Photo: Hotel de la Coupole M'Gallery

Amanoi Resort in the south central province of Ninh Thuan, La Veranda Resort and Salinda Resort on Phu Quoc Island in southern Vietnam and Vinpearl Luxury Nha Trang on Hon Tre Island in Nha Trang Bay are in contention for Asia's leading boutique beach resort.

Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An Ancient Town, Premier Village Resort and Vinpearl Resort & Spa on Phu Quoc Island, and Pullman Danang Beach Resort in Da Nang City are four of five representatives in Asia's leading family & beach resort category, reported VnExpress.

Banyan Tree Lang Co in Hue got a nomination for Asia's leading luxury beach resort while InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort is nominated for Asia's leading green resort.

Capella Hanoi and Hotel de la Coupole M'Gallery in Lao Cai Province, home to tourist town Sa Pa, are the two Vietnamese representatives to compete in Asia's leading design hotel category.

Six Senses Ninh Van Bay in Khanh Hoa Province, home to Nha Trang beach town, La Veranda Resort on Phu Quoc Island and InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort are three of six representatives in Asia's most romantic resort category.

The winners will be determined by votes from travelers around the world on the World Travel Awards website.

The awards ceremony for Asia will take place on Oct. 6 in Dubai.

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