Covid-19 situation:

Vietnam Nationwide

• The United States has provided Vietnam with an additional 1.5 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine via the COVAX Facility. The vaccine batch arrived on Oct 2.
• On Oct 4, the Vietnam government has decided to buy 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from Hungary.
• Australia’s Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie on Oct 6 joined Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong at a ceremony to formally hand over 300,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses, while promising to assist Vietnam to purchase another 3.7 million doses.
• The Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology under the Vietnamese Ministry of Health has decided to allocate an additional 20 million Sinopharm and 992,160 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine doses to 60 provinces and cities.
• People who have got at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot can travel by air or train without having to undergo screening tests, according to an interim fiat signed by Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The.
• Overloaded quarantine camps and fear of outbreaks amidst burgeoning number of returnees have prompted Mekong Delta provinces to ask that unsupervised return of migrant workers be suspended.

Ho Chi Minh City

• Only 50 percent of employees have returned to work at industrial parks and export processing zones, causing a severe labor shortage. Many businesses in HCMC are continuing to have workers live on-site since the risk of Covid-19 infection in the community remains high.
• Supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City have started welcoming shoppers on Oct 1 after city authorities eased COVID-19 movement curbs.
• Thousands of people have tried to get through checkpoints on the roads leading from Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong Delta as the city announced the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions on Oct 1.

Hanoi

• The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has asked authorities in Hanoi to allow the resumption of domestic flights to and from Noi Bai International Airport from Oct 5.
• Authorities in Hanoi brought over 1,000 people who came into contact with COVID-19 cases linked to Viet Duc University Hospital to quarantine facilities on Oct 2 night and early on the next morning.
• Hanoi plans to hold various activities to celebrate the Liberation Day on Oct 10.

Khanh Hoa (Nha Trang)

• According to the Provincial Steering Committee for Human Disease Prevention and Control, 77,494 doses of Covid-19 vaccines were administered in Khanh Hoa on October 5, raising the total to 867,348 doses, making up 96% of the population, including 167,038 second shots. Khanh Hoa’s vaccination rate has ranked 6th nationwide.
• Khanh Hoa Province has just issued the 1st phase of the plan on safe adaption and response to Covid-19 and socio-economic recovery from October 1 to October 15, 2021. People in red and orange zones remain indoors except for emergencies. Those in green and yellow zones may go out for essential purposes and with compliance with the 5K regulations.

Da Nang

• The COVID-19 outbreak has been brought under control in Da Nang. There have been very few cases of COVID-19 to report in the community in Da Nang in recent days. However, the risk of COVID-19 resurgence remains very high in Da Nang amid the city’s reopening.
• The Da Nang government leader called on citizens across the city to continue to comply with the recommended health and safety protocols, especially the 5K recommendations of the Ministry of Health, in order to protect themselves and others.
• The Da Nang leader highlighted the need to maintain tight controls at entry points in the city. In addition, he remarked that the city is willing to provide the best possible support for people who go through Da Nang on their way home from the Southern localities.