COVID-19: Vietnam records 80 more cases over 12 hours as hotspot cases rise
VOV.VN - The northern province of Bac Giang, Vietnam’s largest COVID-19 hotspot, logged 55 out of 80 more cases detected in four localities nationwide as announced by the Ministry of Health (MoH) on May 26 morning.
All new cases in Bac Giang were recorded at its industrial parks and in lockdown areas, the MoH said in its 06.00am COVID-19 update.
With hundreds of cases documented during the past few days, including nearly 400 cases on May 25 alone, leaders of Bac Giang and the MoH held an urgent meeting to change the testing strategy.
Accordingly, quick antigen tests will be used to replace rRT-PCR tests to detect people in high-risk areas. The new testing strategy is in effect as of May 26 in Viet Yen district, the epicenter of the latest COVID-19 outbreak.
Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long stated the number of positive cases is likely to rise in Bac Giang in the coming days, posing a great challenge to epidemic control.
Top priority will be given to containing the Bac Giang outbreak, or the virus will spread to many other neighbouring localities, stressed Minister Long, citing large numbers of employees from other localities working at industrial parks in Bac Giang.
Elsewhere, the MoH announced 23 more cases in Bac Ninh, another COVID-19 hotspot, and one each in Thanh Hoa and Hai Duong.
Vietnam has recorded as many as 2,872 locally transmitted coronavirus cases in 30 cities and provinces nationwide since the virus recurred in late April.
