At the meeting (Photo: SGGP)
Yesterday, the Ho Chi Minh City Steering Committee for Covid-19 prevention and economic recovery held a press conference to provide information on the epidemic situation in the city.
Speaking at the press conference, Mr. Hai said that as of 6 pm on January 16, the southern metropolis recorded 511,988 Covid-19 infection cases announced by the Ministry of Health, including 511,298 cases in the community and 690 imported cases.
Currently, roughly 3,631 patients are being treated in hospitals including 75 children under 16 years old, 270 critically ill patients on ventilators and 17 patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). On January 16, some 123 patients were hospitalized while 211 patients were discharged, and 12 others succumbed to the virus on the day.
Health workers have been administered 8,090,727 first doses of vaccine by January 16 and 7,252,335 second doses of vaccine, 564,841 additional doses, and 3,439,491 booster shots.
According to Nguyen Hong Tam, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Disease Control of Ho Chi Minh City (HCDC), all cases of Omicron variant recorded in Ho Chi Minh City are imported. HCDC is implementing quick tests for all people entering the gateway of Tan Son Nhat airport.
Visitors entering Vietnam must have a negative PCR test certificate within 72 hours and they must undergo a rapid test before boarding and after landing. HCDC conducts screening for Omicron cases in areas where more foreigners are living or where the number of Covid-19 cases has been on the rise.
Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, Chief of the Office of the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City, said that field hospitals have been shut down; however, if there are more cases of Omicron, these infirmaries will be re-setup within 24 hours.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Health documented an additional 16,378 Covid-19 patients on Monday, alongside 20,172 recoveries and 179 virus-related deaths yesterday.
Answering a question about the supply of goods at the three wholesale markets, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade in Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Thi Kim Ngoc, said that the operation of the three markets is now stable. Statistically, approximately 8 to 9 tons of goods are imported to each market a day, equal to the volume of goods before the fourth wave of Covid-19.
To prepare goods to serve people on the occasion of the Tiger New Year 2022, the Department of Industry and Trade has worked with distribution companies to prepare enough goods. According to the responsible department’s forecast, the demand for goods will increase 1-2 times higher in the upcoming days.
