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HANOI — Vietnam’s every day depend of recent COVID-19 circumstances hit a report excessive this week, with rising international concern over the omicron variant driving the Southeast Asian nation to contemplate steps resembling suspending all flights from Africa and now not issuing visas for some African nations.
Vietnamese authorities reported a every day report of 14,508 new COVID circumstances on Wednesday, with the dying toll rising to 196.
In response to Our World in Knowledge, the nation recorded a seven-day rolling common of 13,830 new circumstances on Wednesday, larger than the height of the final wave of infections in September.
“Vietnam has not recorded any circumstances of COVID-19 from the brand new [omicron] variant,” stated Well being Minister Nguyen Thanh Lengthy on Tuesday.
The surge comes because the newly detected omicron coronavirus variant emerges as a contemporary fear for Vietnam, the place 28% of the inhabitants stays unvaccinated.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Tuesday ordered authorities to ramp up measures towards the variant, together with intently checking arrivals who’ve traveled to or modified planes in international locations which have reported omicron circumstances.
The well being ministry final week really helpful halting flights to and from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho and Mozambique, together with suspending the issuance of visas for passengers arriving from these international locations.
Well being specialists have urged officers to hurry up vaccinations and tighten prevention and management measures on the nation’s borders. Folks have been informed to guard themselves and others by means of social distancing, sporting masks and swiftly declaring any sickness.
“Vietnam ought to restock well being gear, drugs and oxygen provides to organize for a worsening state of affairs,” stated Tran Dac Phu, a senior adviser on the nation’s Public Well being Emergency Operations Middle.
The federal government plans to start out rolling out booster pictures this month, prioritizing well being care staff and aged most cancers sufferers amongst others.
An outbreak of the delta variant of COVID that began in April took over 25,000 lives in Vietnam in simply seven months.
Le Dang Doanh, a Hanoi-based economist, stated authorities should do all they will to forestall omicron getting into the nation whereas ready for extra data on the variant and vaccines from the World Well being Group.
“Hanoi is able to apply social distancing or lockdown, however solely to the narrowest extent crucial. That ought to assist keep away from large-scale isolation and inflicting pointless financial harm, because the nation has not but recovered from the impression of the final delta outbreak,” he stated.
Extra reporting by Kim Dung Tong in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis.
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