A week-long random screening conducted by health authorities in Ho Chi Minh City recently found that variant Omicron coronavirus dominates new infections.
The director of the GGD, Tang Chi Thuong, told the aforementioned finding in a meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
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In the randomized screening, 70 of the 92 samples taken tested positive for the Omicron variant, representing a ratio of more than 76 percent, while the Delta variant was less than 30 percent.
To examine the accuracy of the method, health professionals proceeded to randomize the gene sequence on 26 of 70 samples contaminated with the Omicron variant.
The results later showed that all 26 samples carried the Omicron mutant, which was designated a variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) in November 2021.
“This is the scientific basis showing that the number of infections with the Omicron strain is increasing and predominant in Ho Chi Minh City,” Thuong said.
“This also partly explains the rising COVID-19 cases in the city.”
Thuong added that the weekly number of coronavirus infections in the city has accelerated from 3,000 to 4,000 cases three weeks ago to 15,000 this week.
Currently, approximately 14,000 patients are isolated and treated at home. However, the number of serious cases requiring ventilators shows little change.
New cases among children, especially those who have just returned to school for offline study, are also on the rise.
The city recorded nearly 500 cases of COVID-19 among students at 117 schools from Feb. 7-13 and more than 6,000 infections at 201 schools last week.
Three children’s hospitals in the city, with a total capacity of 450 normal beds and 150 CPR beds, are treating 100 children infected with the corona virus, including 15 from other places. Most of those child patients have mild or no symptoms.
Thuong noted that 93 percent of children under 12 have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The city’s health sector pays special attention to this age group, and plans are in place to treat a large number of them, the health director confirmed.
Ho Chi Minh City has diagnosed more than 522,100 infections since the fourth wave of virus broke out in Vietnam on April 27, 2021.
The metropolis of nine million people has gradually resumed socio-economic activities since early October last year after being placed in strict lockdown for nearly six months and welcoming students back to school on February 14.
More than 8.1 million adults in the city have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while more than 7.5 million of them have been stung twice.
By the newspaper Tuoi Tre
