The COVID-19 pandemic has been basically controlled well across the nation as evidenced by the drop of new cases in recent days, said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.   

Deputy PM made the above statement at a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. 

Hai Duong, one of the 13 cities and provinces experiencing the third wave of local transmissions, has only recorded three new cases in the areas not placed under lockdown, he added.

Hai Duong has raised its testing capacity to 80,000 samples a day the figure may be further increased to 120,000, said Dam.

Effective containment efforts have allowed 51 out of 63 localities to have reopened schools while the rest, including Hai Duong, planned to resume in-person classes from March 1.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam chairs a meeting of the National Steering Committee for
COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Ha Noi, February 23, 2021. Photo: VGP


The Deputy PM, however, emphasized the necessity to sustain vigilance and be 100% ready to cope with new resurgence of the virus as the country still needs to open borders to foreign experts for economic activities. 

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen continued calling on people to seriously implement its 5K message: Khau trang (facemask) – Khu khuan (disinfection) – Khoang cach (distance) – Khong tu tap (no gathering) – Khai bao y te (health declaration).

Last week, the Government said importing COVID-19 vaccine was a foremost priority in February, with the first five million vaccine doses expected to arrive in Viet Nam this month.

The Ministry of Health announced this morning that health workers, diplomats and teachers will be among the first to be vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Viet Nam confirmed nine new community infection cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, raising the national patient tally to 2,401 in a population of almost 100 million people.

The country ranked 173th in the world in terms of patient tally and 213th in terms of the ratio of COVID-19 cases to population./.