Viet Nam remains vigilant against Omicron variant, says health minister
VGP - Viet Nam will continue to keep a close watch on and monitor foreign entrants in a bid to prevent community infections of Omicron, said Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.
All imported Omicron cases in Viet Nam have reported mild symptoms, according to Nguyen.
He however said Omicron is at least three times more transmissible than the Delta variant among the group of fully vaccinated people, seven times among the group of unvaccinated one.
This is why the country has sustain vigilance against Omicron and all entrants should be strictly put under medical surveillance as spike of new cases would lead to rising number of critically-ill patients, thus resulting in health system overload and unexpected fatalities.
He called on people to seriously comply with the ministry's 5K message: khau trang (face masks), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distancing), khong tu tap (no gatherings), and khai bao y te (health declarations), especially during the ongoing Lunar New Year festival.
So far, Viet Nam has detected 185 Omicron cases in HCMC (92), Quang Nam (27), Quang Ninh (20), Ha Noi (14), Khanh Hoa (11), Da Nang (eight), Kien Giang (four), Thanh Hoa (two), Hai Duong (one), Hai Phong (one), Long An (one), Ba Ria-Vung Tau (one), Binh Duong (one), Lam Dong (one), and Ninh Binh (one).
Ha Noi and HCMC were the first localities to confirm community infection cases of Omicron.
