Vietnam to Commemorate Covid-19 Victims Nationwide

Ashes of Covid-19 victims are returned to their families in HCMC's Binh Tan District, November 3, 2021. Photo: VNE

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue made the announcement at the ongoing National Assembly session in Hanoi on November 11.

The ceremony will be held in an online format and connected to cities and provinces, said Hue, adding that the idea has received support from senior Party and State leaders.

"This is an issue many National Assembly deputies have proposed,” Hue was quoted by VNE.

This is a great loss to Vietnam, said Nguyen Anh Tri, former director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, who suggested having national mourning for those who had lost their lives during the Covid-19 fight. Tri added that many countries have already done so.

Deputy Nguyen Huu Thong from the central Binh Thuan Province suggested taking April 27, the day when the fourth wave hit Vietnam, as the day of remembrance.

Transfering COVID-19 victims' ashes to their family in HCMC. Photo: VNE

A Buddhist requiem has been scheduled for Nov. 18 at a pagoda in HCMC’s District 10 to commemorate those who have succumbed to Covid-19.

The event will take place at Vietnam Quoc Tu (National Pagoda of Vietnam), Venerable Thich Quang Chon, deputy head of the ceremonies department under the Ho Chi Minh City Buddhist Sangha, said Friday.

The sangha will work with local authorities to decide the scale of the event depending on the actual pandemic situation in the city, VNE said.

Military personnel prepare to hand over ashes of Covid-19 victims to their families in HCMC, October 2021. Photo: VNE

As reported by VOV, so far more than 22,500 people, including officials and soldiers, have died of Covid-19 and related diseases in Vietnam, with most of the cases recorded in HCMC and other southern localities. The number accounts for 2.4% of the nation’s infection tally.

The fourth pandemic wave, which has yet to be fully controlled, has been the most challenging the nation has faced.

Its infection tally has climbed to 987,758. In the country, 60.8 million people have got at least one dose, with 28.8 million getting two.

The country on November 10 approved India's Covaxin vaccine for emergency use, making it the ninth Covid-19 vaccine to get the domestic green light. Others comprise British AstraZeneca, American Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, and Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac.

In Vietnam, three other vaccines have been approved, namely Russian Sputnik V, Cuban Abdala, and Hayat-Vax that was developed by China and produced in the UAE. It has so far received 125 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines.

Hanoi is expecting to vaccinate nearly 792,000 children aged from 12-17 years old in the fourth quarter of 2021 and first quarter of 2022. The city has said it would deploy mobile vaccination stations in schools, in addition to administering the vaccines at medical centers.

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