Vietnam registers 16 new domestic Covid-19 cases

The Health Ministry confirmed 17 new Covid-19 cases Monday evening, including 16 community transmissions and one imported infection. The 16 domestic cases, numbered 3445-3454 and 3456-3461, were recorded in quanrantine areas in northern Hung Yen Province (six cases), central Da Nang City (four), northern Bac Giang Province (three), Hanoi (two) and northern Vinh Phuc Province (one).The imported case, “patient 3455”, is a two-year-old girl of northern Ninh Binh Province. The baby is being treated at the Cau Treo Regional General Hospital in central Ha Tinh Province after test result Sunday confirmed she contracted the coronavirus.Vietnam recorded the biggest ever daily number of community transmissions on Monday since the disease first broke out in the country more than a year ago. Monday saw 125 new domestic cases, including 78 registered in the morning, 31 at noon time and 16 in the evening.Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said Monday that the UK Covid-19 variant is 1.7 times more contagious than previous strains. “The Indian variant is even faster since it can spread through the air. Therefore, we have to prepare for a worse scenario.”“While Covid-19 screening was previously done in the areas where the virus had just been detected, now we have been conducting mass testing even in the areas with no infections recorded for early detection and isolation to curb the spread of the virus.”Vietnam has recorded 458 community transmissions in 26 cities and provinces since April 27 as the country is experiencing one of its most challenging Covid-19 waves.