Today’s Covid News: Viet Duc Hospital-linked cluster puts north Vietnam at risk
Vietnam has recorded more than 803,200 coronavirus cases, including 83% have recovered and more than 19,000 deaths.
An infection cluster linked to Hanoi-based Viet Duc Hospital detected on Sept 30 has caused more than 30 cases so far, with nearly 9,000 people involved.
The cluster has prompted the lockdown of some streets surrounding the facility. It also results in massive testing in the hospital and people who came to the facility over the past two weeks.
| Inside Hanoi's largest Covid-19 hospital. Photo: Pham Hung/ The Hanoi Times |
Accordingly, a number of localities started testing and giving medical surveillance to people who had come to the hospital. Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Hoa Binh, Nam Dinh, and Thai Binh are taking first preparations for the possible risk from the cluster.
To curb the spread of the virus from Viet Duc, Hanoi’s deputy mayor Chu Xuan Dung today asked the city to quickly test to detect infections. The city’s health sector, Hoan Kiem District where the hospital is located, and the Hanoi Capital High Command were required to get ready for relocating people in the hospital to minimize transmission.
Deputy director of the Hanoi Center for Disease Control Truong Quang Viet said “The cluster remains complicated as Viet Duc is a big hospital treating and offering checkups to a large number of people.”
Viet Duc Hospital, literally Vietnam – Germany Hospital, founded in 1904, is the largest surgical center of Vietnam with international standards by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), an independent professional body. The hospital is equipped with more than 50 operation rooms and 1,500 beds, performing over 70,000 surgeries each year. It has good cooperation and training programs with medical facilities in France, Germany, Australia, the UK, and some other countries.
Daily cases and fatalities drop
The number of daily cases and fatalities dropped to an average of 8,000 and 160, respectively, in the past week, down 19% and 22% from the previous week.
The number of patients recovered reached 80,000 in the past week, up 118% compared to a week earlier. However, the death rate is 2.5% of the total infections, a little bit higher than the world’s average of 2.1%.
The four most affected areas include Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Long An, accounting for 85% of the country’s total caseload and 90% of fatalities. After a month and a half of the shelter-in-place ruling, the aforementioned localities have gradually brought the pandemic under control, enabling them to reopen the economy.
| Covid-19 infections in Vietnam. Source: MoH. Chart: Minh Vu |
Accordingly, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) has relaxed restrictions in traveling and resumed the operations of some kinds of essential services namely food and drug, finance, banking, and securities, outdoor activities with small gatherings, construction, tourism, art, and sports performance. Most of the activities require semi or full vaccination as an essential condition.
To prepare for the reopening, HCMC – the business hub – has prepared for welcoming the return of laborers to the city after flows of non-residents returned to their hometown. In the past four months, about 37,000 workers left the largest city.
According to Chu Tien Dung, head of the HCMC Union of Business Association (HUBA), nearly 30% of laborers in the city lost their jobs. Of the affected sectors, footwear recorded 62%, apparel 42%, foodservice 38%, and hospitality industry 37%.
In the latest move, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc today [Oct 2] worked with local authorities, economists, and scientists nationwide to direct the upcoming recovery plans for major cities like Hanoi and HCMC, and the southern economic zones like Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Long An.
Both the leaders stressed the need to maintain the supply chain with a focus on vaccination, urging the manufacturing hubs to speed up the inoculation campaign, which now covers only 10% of the total population.
In the governmental meeting, Vietnam targets to vaccinate more than 90% of its adults aged above 18 with the first shots and starts inoculating children aged between 12 and 17.
