Vietnam detects highly contagious new coronavirus variant as infections surge

A secondary school student receives a COVID-19 vaccine in southern Vĩnh Long City. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Thúy Hằng. HÀ NỘI — A total of 740 new COVID-19 infections were detected in Việt Nam on Thursday, with zero deaths recorded. The latest update brings the total national caseload to 10,740,595 so far. All the new infections were domestic, while 634 of the transmissions were found in the community. New cases were detected in Hà Nội (154), Bắc Ninh (54), Nghệ An (51), Yên Bái (40), Đà Nẵng (40), Phú Thọ (39), HCM City (38), Quảng Ninh (33), Lào Cai (26), Vĩnh Phúc (22), Hải Dương (20), Hà Nam (18), Thái Nguyên (16), Thái Bình (15), Bắc Kạn (15), Hòa Bình (13), Điện Biên (13), Nam Định (13), Ninh Bình (12), Lai Châu (12), Sơn La (11), Hưng Yên (11), Tuyên Quang (11), Hà Giang (9), Quảng Bình (9), Cao Bằng (8), Quảng Ngãi (6), Hải Phòng (6), Thanh Hóa (5), Gia Lai (4), Lạng Sơn (4), Quảng Trị (3), Khánh Hòa (3), Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu (2), Hậu Giang (2), Lâm Đồng (1) and Bình Phước (1). … [Read more...] about 740 new COVID-19 infections, zero deaths logged on Thursday

Vietnam will keep a close eye on the emergence of new strains. Vietnam has detected imported BA.5 Omicron sub-variant after conducting gene sequencing of newly confirmed patients' samples, according to Dr. Phan Trong Lan, director of the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health (MoH). Lan underscored that initial research showed the Omicron sub-lineages BA.4 and BA.5 spread faster than the old sub-variants (BA.1 and BA.2). There has been no specific evidence of the new sub-variants’ virulence, but some studies indicated that there is an aggravation in the African region. However,  the director confirmed that Omicron sub-variant BA.2 still remains the dominant one in the country. “The emergence of new strains is inevitable as a result of border reopening and the new normal situation, in which precautionary protocols are relaxed,” Lan said. He added that the BA.5 sub-variant was first detected in South Africa in January. Since then, it has … [Read more...] about BA.5 Omicron sub-variant detected in Vietnam

A medical employee prepares to administer a COVID-19 booster dose to workers in HCM City's Tân Thuận Export Processing Zone. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vũ HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam on Wednesday announced 888 new COVID-19 infections. All the new cases were domestic, of which 747 were detected in the community. The capital Hà Nội continued to register the highest daily case count with 149 new transmissions. Other new infections were found in Hải Phòng (88), Đà Nẵng (61), Nghệ An (51), Bắc Ninh (50), Yên Bái (45), Phú Thọ (34), Quảng Ninh (28), Lào Cai (26), Vĩnh Phúc (25), HCM City (25), Quảng Bình (22), Sơn La (17), Bạc Liêu (16), Hà Giang (15), Thái Bình (15), Hà Nam (15), Thái Nguyên (15), Ninh Bình (14), Hà Tĩnh (14), Bắc Kạn (13), Hòa Bình (12), Hải Dương (11), Nam Định (11), Thanh Hóa (11), Tuyên Quang (11), Quảng Trị (10), Lâm Đồng (9), Đồng Tháp (9), Cao Bằng (8), Bến Tre (7), Thừa Thiên Huế (7), Bắc Giang (7), Điện Biên (6), Cà Mau (6), Hưng Yên (6), Bình Định (5), Lạng Sơn … [Read more...] about Việt Nam reports 888 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday

COVID-19 testing. VNA Photo HÀ NỘI  – The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant BA.5 has been detected in Việt Nam and may overwhelm the variant BA.2 which is dominant in the country, according to Prof. Dr. Phan Trọng Lân, Director of the Health Ministry’s Department of Preventive Medicine. Prof. Lân said that gene sequencing results showed that the sub-variant BA.5 of Omicron has been found in the country. “This variant may overwhelm the old sub-variants (BA.1 and BA.2)," he said. "The intrusion is inevitable because the sub-variant has been seen in countries in Europe and the US and travel activities among countries have been allowed," he said, adding that the Ministry of Health will continue to monitor pandemic developments. The number of COVID-19 cases has been falling with a very low ratio of infections and deaths. Patients mostly suffered Omicron’s sub-variant BA.2 with mild symptoms. The majority of the cases were recorded in the northern region with about 107,000 in the last two … [Read more...] about Omicron sub-variant BA.5 detected in Việt Nam

Medical staff transported a COVID-19 patient to a hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 9 last year. (Photo: XINHUA/VNA) Jakarta - Indonesia is confident that it can overcome another wave of COVID-19 infections caused by BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron in the context that most of the people in this country already have high antibodies due to a past illness or have been vaccinated. The country is ready to handle COVID-19 as a type of endemic disease no matter what new variant emerges, Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said at a press conference. Referring to the next wave of the pandemic, expected in July, Budi said that he believed the pandemic (if it breaks out) will be milder than the previous wave of transmission due to Delta and Omicron variants. His confidence stems from the fact that the wave caused by variants BA.4 and BA.5 – first detected in South Africa – peaked at a lower level than the original Omicron wave. Results of a survey in March … [Read more...] about Indonesia will overcome new wave of COVID-19: official

A health worker injects COVID-19 vaccine for a local resident in Selangor, Malaysia. (Photo: XINHUA/VNA) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia is not likely to see an exponential spike in daily Covid-19 cases despite the possibility of facing a new wave of infection in the next few months, local media said, quoting the opinion of a virologist. Dr Kumitaa Theva Das at Universiti Sains Malaysia said what set Malaysia apart from other countries currently facing the new wave of COVID-19 infections were high vaccination and booster rates. According to her, the vaccination and booster rates in Malaysia are one of the highest in the world, so it provides a certain amount of protection, at least against severity against re-infections. Malaysia also retain its indoor mask-wearing mandate and people are still wearing them outdoors, which are effective in keeping people safe, she said. Earlier, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin cautioned Malaysians to brace for a possible new … [Read more...] about Surge in COVID-19 cases unlikely in Malaysia: expert

Vietnam's economy grew at a 7.72% annual pace in the second quarter on the back of robust exports, government data showed on Wednesday, though authorities noted challenges such as rising inflation for the second half of the year. The Southeast Asian country's gross domestic product growth compared with an expansion of 5.05% in the first quarter and was the strongest growth rate for the April to June quarter since 2011, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said. For the first half of 2022, GDP grew 6.42% from a year earlier, faster than 2.04% growth in the first half of 2021. "This is a fairly high growth compared with other countries in the region and in the world, while macroeconomic stability has been maintained," the GSO said in a report. Vietnam, a regional manufacturing hub, started lifting its coronavirus restrictions late last year, allowing factories to resume full operations. Exports in the January-June period rose 17.3% from a year earlier to $185.94 billion, while … [Read more...] about Vietnam Q2 GDP growth quickens alongside price pressures

COVID-19 has yet to become an endemic illness and will not be downgraded from an ‘especially dangerous’ infectious disease to a lower level despite the declining number of infections, according to the latest announcement by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health. Although the disease’s mortality rate recorded across Vietnam has sharply decreased from 1.03 percent in January to 0.06 percent in May, it has yet to reach zero while many serious cases are still being monitored and treated, the ministry noted. Vietnam has recorded a total of five variants of the coronavirus since December 2019 while the Omicron variant has mutated into five sub-variants within the past six months, implying the emergence of a new lineage that can potentially cause a surge in infections and mortalities due to their ability to dodge immunity. Therefore, the ministry decided not to lower the severity classification of COVID-19 from an ‘especially dangerous’ infectious disease to a ‘dangerous’ one at present. … [Read more...] about COVID-19 is not endemic yet: Vietnam health ministry

Vietnam has recorded the appearance of the Omicron BA.5 sub-variant, according to the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the health ministry. At the health ministry’s press meeting on Monday, Phan Trong Lan, head of the General Department of Preventive Medicine, said that gene sequencing results showed that the BA.5 sub-variant of the Omicron has been found in the country. Lan said the intrusion was inevitable as a result of the reopening of the economy and the 'new normal' situation of relaxed precautionary protocols. The BA.5 sub-variant was first detected in South Africa in January. Since then, it has become a dominant strain in several countries. The health ministry said it continues to monitor new strains and World Health Organization (WHO) information, adjusting and implementing measures to prevent and control the spread of the coronavirus. The new strain emerged as Vietnam has recorded 142,000 COVID-19 cases in the past two months, with the BA.2 … [Read more...] about Omicron sub-variant BA.5 detected in Vietnam

Prof. Lan said that gene sequencing results showed that the sub-variant BA.5 of Omicron has been found in Vietnam. “This variant may overwhelm the old sub-variants (BA.1 and BA.2)," he underscored. The intrusion is inevitable because the sub-variant has been seen in countries in Europe and the U.S. and travel activities among countries have been allowed, he said, adding that the Ministry of Health will continue to monitor pandemic developments. The number of COVID-19 cases has been falling with a very low ratio of infections and deaths. Patients mostly suffered Omicron’s sub-variant BA.2 with mild symptoms. The majority of the cases were recorded in the northern region with about 107,000 in the last two months. Prof. Lan attributed the results to a high vaccination ratio and effective activities to protect high-risks groups. He said initial research showed the Omicron sub-lineages BA.4 and BA.5 spread faster than BA1 and BA.2. There has been no specific evidence on the new … [Read more...] about SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sub-lineage BA.5 enters Vietnam