HCMC requires school teachers, students to wear masks as Covid returns

In a statement it issued Wednesday the department also called on schools to encourage parents to get their children vaccinated.

In its latest report it said the number of Covid-19 cases is increasing in the city, with most patients being senior citizens.

In the week from April 10 to 16 there were 33 cases, more than six times the average of the previous four weeks.

There were 12 on April 15 alone.

In March there had been only one to three cases a day.

Between April 3 and 11 there were only one or two hospital admissions a day on average, but the number rose to eight to 12 in the next five days.

A recent random survey on herd immunity in the city found only 94.2% carrying antibodies, down from 98.7% last September. The survey was carried out by the city’s Center for Disease Control in collaboration with the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Oxford University Clinical Research Unit.

Hanoi on Tuesday mandated the wearing of masks on public transport vehicles and at supermarkets, wholesale markets, malls, gymnasiums, restaurants, cinemas, theaters, circuses, and bars.