Number of Covid cases quadruples over single week in Vietnam

From April 3 to April 9, Vietnam officially recorded 419 more Covid-19 cases, the highest number of cases recorded within a single week in recent times. On April 8 alone, 122 new cases were recorded. Every week, around 70-120 new cases are recorded, according to the Ministry of Health.

There has been no known change to coronavirus variants in Vietnam, the ministry added.

Hanoi recorded the highest number of cases, with 67 cases observed from March 31 to April 7, up 44 cases from the previous week, the municipal Center for Disease Control (CDC) said Monday. The number of Covid-19 patients being hospitalized also increased. For example, the Thanh Nhan hospital received around 10-15 cases a day on average, mostly young people with symptoms like fever, coughing and sore throat.

Nguyen Trung Cap, deputy director of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, said the number of severe Covid-19 cases has been rising recently. The hospital is treating 74 severe cases, with 15 requiring either ventilation or oxygen supply, he added.

Tran Dac Phu, senior advisor at the Public Health Emergency Operations Center, on Tuesday said the rise in the number of cases might be due to waning immunity, either through vaccination or infection. Changes in weather conditions might also be an opportunity for viruses to thrive, and many people no longer wear masks like they used to, he added.

“The virus isn’t gone; it still exists and is spreading in the community,” Phu said, adding that actual numbers of cases are higher than what the health ministry confirmed as not everyone would test themselves, and certain people who test positive would stay home and do not report their infection to authorities.

Phu said the Covid-19 situation this time would follow a similar trajectory: rising number of cases before declining. The health ministry needs to assess risks and cooperate with the WHO to get ahold of the Covid-19 situation as it is. Plans for Covid-19 vaccination should also be looked into, aiming at protecting vulnerable populations, including elderly people, those with underlying conditions and those with compromised immune system.