Death followed septic shock, pneumonia and progressive respiratory failure. The patient, a resident of HCMC’s Tan Binh District, suffered from high blood pressure, gout and cushing's syndrome.

He tested positive for Covid-19 on June 10 and was treated at the Tan Binh District Hospital. The same day, his condition worsened and he was moved to the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Disease with high fever and breathing difficulty.

He was placed in intensive care. He was put on a ventilator, given dialysis, broad-spectrum antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant medicine. However, his old age and serious underlying conditions made recovery difficult, and he died Saturday morning.

The octogenarian’s death was Vietnam’s 40th Covid-19 death in the new wave that began April 27. The country has recorded a total of 11,995 domestic transmissions of the disease since.