The ongoing Covid-19 outbreak in HCMC is yet to reach its peak and the numbers could keep rising in the coming days, the municipal CDC warned Thursday.
Within just 12 hours starting 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, the southern city had recorded 2,433 new Covid-19 cases, according to the Ministry of Health. In the fourth coronavirus wave which hit Vietnam in late April, HCMC has recorded over 43,700 cases so far to become the heaviest hit locality in the country.
Despite the rising case count, several positive signs have been seen, including the fact that no new cluster has been detected and almost all detected cases have been in quarantine zones and other locked down areas, the HCMC Center for Disease Control (CDC) said.
Going forward, the city has prepared several scenarios for following up on the 15-day social distancing order imposed since July 9. The most appropriate option would be to continue social distancing measures, even ramping them up in certain areas, according to Phan Van Mai, deputy secretary of the HCMC Party Standing Committee.
Stricter social distancing for another 7-10 days would help curb transmissions in the city and the infection count could peak, he said.
The ongoing social distancing order in HCMC, issued under Directive 16, requires residents to stay home and only go out for basic necessities such as buying food or medicines, or to work at factories or businesses that are allowed to open.
People must stay at least two meters from each other. No more than two people can gather at public places apart from workplaces, schools or hospitals.
This article was originally published in VNExpress
