Vietnam Hanoi Cannot Reduce Number of COVID Daily Infections: Expert

Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi now cannot decrease the number of COVID-19 daily infections, said Dr. Nguyen Huy Nga, former head of the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health. Hanoi health authorities can no longer count the number of infection clusters in the city and they only list wards and communes with high numbers of cases, Dr. Nga added. Mr. Nga proposed that local health authorities should not focus on new daily infections but pay attention to serious patients. They should call for support from central-level and field hospitals in case of overloads. Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Phong estimated the number of daily infections in Hanoi to rise to 5,000-7,000 cases, with the possible spread of the Omicron variant. As of January 3, Hanoi has remained to post the highest number of daily infections in Vietnam for 16 consecutive days, with a record high of 2,100 cases on January 3. Health authorities have provided medical care for 32,000 coronavirus patients, including 2,409 asymptomatic, 1,658 medium-level, and 363 serious cases at hospitals. The coverage rate of at least the first coronavirus vaccine dose for people aged over 18 in the city has reached 98.8% and the second dose 98.4%.  (Tien Phong, Thanh Nien, Kenh14, aFamily)