Covid-19 weekly update in Vietnam - Week 3 September, 2021

Thanks to the great efforts of medical staff and the authorities, Vietnam has achieved positive results in the prevention of the pandemic. In the past week, the number of recovered cases was recorded to be higher than the number of new covid-19 infections. The number of deaths decreased to 17% compared to the previous week.

GENERAL SUMMARY
Since week 3 September, the pandemic in Vietnam has been substantially  controlled. The total number of Covid-19 cases and deaths this week has a tendency to decrease more than last week. At the same time, the number of recoveries has increased significantly.  This is a good sign which shows the effectiveness of disease control measures in Vietnam.
Southern provinces such as Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Long An are still the areas with the highest number of covid-19 cases in the country. Therefore, 19 southern localities will continue social distancing under Directive 16 for another 14 days to contain the coronavirus.

On the basis of a stable epidemic situation, the Da Nang authorities relaxed Covid-19 restrictions from 8am on September 16. The essential services have been resumed, however, local people have to comply with the coronavirus prevention measures. On September 18, Da Nang did not detect Covid-19 cases after 50 days of applying strong measures to prevent and control the epidemic. This positive news gives us hope that tourism will recover in Da Nang as soon as possible.
Vietnam continues implementing the mass vaccination campaign for all people over 18 years old. Currently, 27.2 million people in Vietnam have been vaccinated, accounting about 28.2% of the total population. Especially in two big cities Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, vaccination rates are respectively 99.2% and 97%, reaching nearly 100% of the vaccinated population.

HANOI PANDEMIC UPDATES
In the past week, Hanoi recorded a decrease in the number of new infections compared to the previous week, averaging about 15 to 20 cases per day. Due to the implementation of vaccination and Covid-19 testing throughout the city, the epidemic situation in Hanoi is basically under control at a gradual speed.

On September 16, the Hanoi police dismantled 39 checkpoints on the main roads in and out of the city and stopped checking the road permits in the "green zone". From 12 am on the same day, 19 districts and towns that had not recorded any cases of infection in the community since September 6, allowed the resumption of essential business services. However, the city requires these facilities to create QR code scanning points to manage information of people entering and leaving and provide them to the authorities in case of need. Besides, food and beverage services only sell takeaway and close before 9pm daily. 19 districts and towns that are relaxed, including  Ba Dinh, Ba Vi, Bac Tu Liem, Cau Giay, Dan Phuong, Gia Lam, Hoai Duc, Long Bien, Me Linh , My Duc, Nam Tu Liem, Phu Xuyen, Phuc Tho, Quoc Oai, Soc Son, Son Tay, Thanh Oai, Ung Hoa and Tay Ho.
On the other hand, Hanoi maintains strict social distancing in the red zones, including Thanh Xuan, Dong Da, Hoang Mai, Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem, Ha Dong, Dong Anh, Thanh Tri, Hoai Duc. Therefore, the tourist destinations in these red zones such as Temple of Literature, Hanoi Old Quarter, Hoa Lo prison and Hoan Kiem lake are still temporarily closed. During the closing time, these destinations continue being cleaned, infected and ensure safe conditions to welcome tourists back after the epidemic.
HO CHI MINH CITY PANDEMIC UPDATES
Up to now, Ho Chi Minh city is still the focus of the coronavirus pandemic in Vietnam. The number of infections is the highest in the country. However, through the rounds of testing, the infection rate decreased significantly.

Ho Chi Minh City continues lockdown according to Directive 16 from September 16th to September 30th but there are adjustments to suit each specific ward, district or region.The areas that have basically controlled the epidemic include District 7, Cu Chi district, Can Gio district, the export processing zones, the industrial parks in the districts and the Hi-Tech Park (Thu Duc city) are piloted for people to go to the market once a week. These areas are piloted to implement the "Covid green card" associated with personal QR codes. However, that still has to ensure the implementation of the 5K rules and antigen testing.
Ho Chi Minh City also completed the first dose of vaccine, the rate of new infections through the rounds of testing has decreased. The city is rushing to inject the second dose for those who have received the first dose as recommended by the vaccine manufacturer. The level of vaccine coverage is one of the very important conditions for restoring a new normal life and expanding economic and social activities.

Shippers are allowed to deliver goods across districts. The control is through identification, characteristics, costumes, cards, orders and wristbands. They must declare health online and have a negative test certificate within 2 days. The city will continue to support testing costs for shippers from September 16th to September 30th. This is to reduce the cost of people's ordering. At the same time, many districts and Thu Duc city still maintain the form of going to the market to help locals, so many families are provided with goods.

TOURISM UPDATES
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism coordinated with the People's Committee of Kien Giang province to implement a pilot to welcome international tourists to Phu Quoc. In the first stage, they select some destinations which are capable of separating and being safe for international tourists. The service providers including travel, transportation, accommodation and tourism service will also be selected according to specific criterias to ensure anti-epidemic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in collaboration with the People's Committee of Kien Giang province.
On the tourist sides, international tourists entering must meet the following conditions:
      - Having a certificate of full dose of COVID-19 vaccine recognized by a competent authority in Vietnam.
      - The time for injection 2 is at least 14 days and not more than 12 months from the time of entry.
      - Having a certificate of recovery from COVID-19 recognized and the time from discharge to the entry time is not more than 12 months.
      - Must be tested for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR/RT-LAMP method within 72 hours before departure and certified the results negative.
       - Registering to participate in the package tour program of the travel agency.

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* Source: Báo VnExpress, Báo Thanh niên, Báo Công an nhân dân, Mặt trận tổ quốc Việt Nam, HCDC, Báo Giao thông, Vietnamnet, Tổng Cục Du lịch Việt Nam, TTXVN.
Previous weeks updates:
- Week 2, September 2021
- Week 1, September 2021