HCMC – The Ministry of Health this evening, March 7, reported 147,358 fresh Covid cases, with 23 of them imported and 147,335 locally infected in all 63 cities and provinces nationwide, surging 5,207 cases over yesterday.

Hanoi still recorded the highest number at 32,317, followed by Nghe An with 10,153, Bac Ninh with 7,873 and Phu Tho with 4,326. Hung Yen, Son La, Hoa Binh, Hai Duong, Binh Duong, Nam Dinh and Lang Son reported infections in the range of between 3,000 and 4,000 cases each. In the fourth Covid wave, Vietnam has had nearly 4.6 million Covid cases, including more than 2.7 million recoveries. Today alone, some 37,000 Covid patients were announced to have recovered from the disease. Meanwhile, 78 more Covid deaths were confirmed. Hanoi, Quang Binh, Kien Giang and Ha Nam recorded the most Covid deaths today. At a recent meeting of the national anti-Covid steering committee, the Ministry of Health has proposed that tallying the daily Covid caseload be dropped out as it is just one of the eight indicators to assess the Covid transmission risk and it fails to reflect the nature of the pandemic. According to the ministry, the number of new locally-infected Covid cases in February surged 197.9% month-on-month, while the numbers of Covid deaths, hospitalizations and critical cases fell 47.1%, 24.5% and 43.1%, respectively. The pandemic has been brought under control nationwide and all cities and provinces have been safely and flexibly adapting to and effectively controlling Covid-19 in line with the Government’s Resolution 128. The Omicron variant has become widespread, especially in Hanoi and HCMC. In Hanoi, Omicron cases have been detected in 20 out of the total 30 districts, while Covid patients infected with the Omicron variant have accounted for 76% of the total cases undergoing gene sequencing. Moreover, the country has completed administering the second shot to local residents aged 12 and older and the third shot to 37.4% of eligible residents.