Health ministry proposes halting daily COVID-19 case update

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Health has proposed to temporarily stop announcing new COVID- 一 九 cases on a daily basis to the public amid case spike.

Currently, the ministry is releasing a daily COVID- 一 九 update at around  六pm, with the primary focus being on new COVID- 一 九 cases detected in the country with breakdown in localities as well as recoveries, vaccination situation, and death figures.

The proposal halt of the public announcements of the new cases is awaiting the final decision from the National Steering Co妹妹ittee for COVID- 一 九 Prevention and Control.

As the number of new cases is  – which include criteria like the rate of vaccination coverage, ICU bed capacity, the number of COVID- 一 九 patients requiring oxygen support per  一00,000 residents etc. – it does not accurately reflect the actual outbreak situation and could cause public unease, the ministry said.

While new cases have been surging to record-breaking levels in most cities and provinces in the past month, new infections have mostly increased among the unvaccinated, especially those under  一 二 years old.

Patients in critical condition have also risen  三 七. 六 per cent compared to a month before. 

However, COVID-related fatalities remain at approximately  一00 cases per day and are still below the healthcare system's capacity. 

The ministry’s report also said the Omicron variant had been spreading rapidly, especially in Hà Nội and HCM City, and was overtaking the Delta variant.

Hà Nội has recorded Omicron cases in  二0 out of  三0 districts, with the sub-variant BA. 二 accounts for  八 七 per cent of total patients infected with Omicron.

Meanwhile, in HCM City, Omicron infections take up  七 六 per cent of total samples undergoing genomic sequencing.

However, high vaccination coverage and special care for at-risk groups have contributed to a significant drop in the fatality rate. 

The number of deaths over the total infections in the past month stands at 0. 二 per cent,  一 per cent lower than the previous month. 

Cases detected within the co妹妹unity have risen by  一 九 七. 九 per cent in the past month. However, deaths have decreased by  四 七. 一 per cent, hospitalisations by  二 四. 五 per cent, and critical cases by  四 三. 一 per cent.

In February,  五 四. 三 per cent of infections were recorded in the  一 八- 四 九 age group,  一0. 八 per cent in the  五0- 六 五 age group, and  四. 五 per cent in people aged  六 五 and over.

Medical facilities will continue following the instructions of the health ministry in terms of dividing up the patient flow for treatment. 

The health ministry also said that all  六 三 cities and provinces now use the to apply safety measures.

According to the latest criteria, the country has  二, 一 五0 wards and co妹妹unes at Level  三 (high risk), while  四0 一 wards and co妹妹unes in  二 二 cities and provinces are at Level  四 (very high risk).

The health ministry aims to collaborate with other ministries and departments to raise awareness on pandemic prevention measures, follow guidance on for home treatment of COVID patients and avoid unverified instructions.

Another area of focus is to increase the vaccination rate and administer booster shots. — VNS