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Vietnam’s ministry of health on Friday issued an urgent appeal for private hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients as the country battles a surge in infections driven by the highly contagious Delta variant.
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The South East Asian country has a population of 98 million and has so far administered over 5.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, but only around 550,000 people have been fully inoculated, the data showed.
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After successfully containing the virus for much of the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam has been facing record daily increases in infections since late April. As of July 31, the country has detected a total of 137.266 cases, 85% of which were recorded over the past month.
“The Delta variant is destroying all anti-pandemic achievements,” Nguyen Thanh Long, Vietnam’s health minister spoke at a cabinet meeting on Friday.
In a separate statement, health ministry asks private medical facilities should provide beds, equipment and manpower to treat COVID-19 patients when assigned to do so by authorities.
Vietnam had maintained a policy which required anyone who tested positive for the virus to be hospitalized at a state-run institution, Reuters reported.
Related: Vietnam confirms 8,622 new COVID-19 cases and nearly 300 deaths
According to health ministry, daily COVID-19 infections of the country hit a record 8,649 cases on Friday, taking its total tally to over 137,000.
With cases rapidly rising and the capacity of state hospitals stretched, however, asymptomatic cases in outbreak epicentre Ho Chi Minh City have been permitted to isolate at home on a trial basis.
During a visit to the city yesterday, Vietnamese president Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged authorities to speed up their vaccination campaign.
The South East Asian country has a population of 98 million and has so far administered over 5.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, but only around 550,000 people have been fully inoculated, the data showed.
Also read: Foreigners in Vietnam can now register for COVID-19 vaccine online. Here’s how!
“Authorities would carry the burden of guilt if the vaccination campaign continued at a slow pace. We are trying to extinguish the fire, not just prevent people from getting burnt,” president Phuc told city officials.
The rapid spread of Covid-19 infections has prompted strict movement restrictions in around one-third of Vietnam, with both Hanoi capital city and business hub of Ho Chi Minh City under lockdown.
All of 17 southern provinces of Vietnam are also subject to movement curbs, dozens of temporary COVID-19 wards have been set up in re-purposed farms and factories.
According to the data from Health Ministry, the country has reported more than 1.161 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began.