August 23: Vietnam’s Covid-19 death toll rises to 27
Vietnam kept death-zero profile until late July when SARS-CoV-2 locally resurfaced.
Vietnam today reported one more death of coronavirus, taking the casualty toll of Covid-19 to 27, the Ministry of Health has announced.
The latest dead victim is a 73-year-old man in Danang. Causes of death are septic shock, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), and pneumonia caused by Covid-19.
The patient suffered end-stage renal disease, hypertension, and cardiovascular failure.
| New coronavirus infections and deaths in Vietnam since the country suffered first casualties. Source: MOH. Chart: Linh Pham |
Vietnam had reported no coronavirus-caused deaths until July 31, a few days after the virus locally reemerged in the beach city of Danang.
Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son attributed the deaths to the patients' chronic diseases, aggravated by Covid-19, after SARS-CoV-2 attacked several hospitals in Danang.
The majority of Covid-19 deaths are old adults suffering end-stage kidney failure, hypertension, cardiovascular failure, or cancer.
The health ministry also informed that the Covid-19 case count reached 1,016 as of August 23, with 15 cities and provinces having found coronavirus. Among them, Danang remains the epicenter with the highest number of cases and deaths, followed by the neighboring province of Quang Nam.
Currently, some 55% of Covid-19 patients have recovered.
The situation has prompted Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to demand tougher precautionary measures, including widespread testing and strict sanctions on offenders of safety regulations.
