Single-day count climbs to nearly 8,000 across 55 localities

The country’s COVID-19 tally rose to 976,672 cases since the start of the pandemic following the Health Ministry confirmed the detection of 7,988 new infections on November 8, while a total of 1,073 patients were also released from hospitals nationwide.

The three places to record the highest number of new cases were Ho Chi Minh City with 1,316 infections, the southern province of Dong Nai with 969 infections, and Binh Duong province with 823.

Hanoi reported the detection of an additional 111 new cases related to a number of recent outbreaks. Amid growing infection numbers over recent times, the municipal health sector stated that the capital must therefore prepare standard procedures in which to implement home quarantine and treatment in the event that the pandemic spreads on a large scale.

The capital must therefore remain flexible and poised for worse numbers head, although it should strive to safely adapt to the pandemic.

The Ministry also announced an additional 67 COVID-19 deaths. The total death toll caused by the virus has therefore increased to 22,598, accounting for approximately 2.4% of all infections.

Over the course of the past 24 hours, a further 1,073 patients were declared free from the virus, taking the overall number of recoveries to 841,475.

As of November 8, the country had injected over 90.68 million vaccine doses, with more than 29.3 million people now being fully inoculated.

Recent days has seen a number of localities in the Mekong Delta continuously record more new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections, with some even having to upgrade the medical isolation level of an entire town in order to trace down F0 cases.

The number of SARS-CoV-2 infections has seen a sharp increase in recent times, with the vaccine coverage rate in some Mekong Delta provinces remaining low. Indeed, some localities have yet to reach 70% of the population getting their first shot.

Amid an unpredictable situation moving forward, the Ministry of Health has been requested to quickly distribute vaccines to southern and Central Highlands provinces in a bid to ensure all adults get their first shot this week.

The Government Office also said that the Ministry must ensure enough vaccine doses across the two regions as a means of providing the second doses as scheduled, as well as the first doses for children aged 12 to 17.

According to Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, the country has agreements and contracts in place for the supply of 195 million vaccine doses, with 124 million doses having already arrived.

Most notably, 95% of adults across 19 southern localities have received at least one vaccine shot, with over 50% now being fully vaccinated.