A nurse receives rapid test kits used on a family in Binh Thanh district of HCMC on August 23, 2021. Photo by VnExpress / Quynh Tran
The Ministry of Health on Tuesday confirmed 4,583 new patients with Covid-19 in 34 localities, marking the lowest daily count in the country since July 20.
The provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai which border Ho Chi Minh City accounted for most of the new infections, respectively 2,575 and 787, followed by the southern metropolis with 377.
However, in the past 24 hours, HCMC has detected 3,417 positive cases via rapid antigen testing as part of its mass screening campaign. These cases have yet to be added to the national database.
As of August 20, HCMC has detected around 150,000 cases via the rapid antigen test. The city reviews these cases before adding them to the national database to avoid duplication.
“A person could have tested positive several times or some have already undergone RT-PCR tests and have already been added to the national list,” said Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, spokesman for the municipal health department.
The Ministry of Health also confirmed 178 new Covid-related deaths on Tuesday, including 131 in HCMC and 15 in Binh Duong.
The number of coronavirus deaths in Vietnam has risen to 18,936, including 18,901 recorded during the fourth Covid-19 which struck the country five months ago.
So far, 766,111 fourth wave infections have been recorded nationwide, of which 554,762 have recovered.
More than 40 million people have received at least one injection of the Covid-19 vaccine and nearly 8.6 million have been fully vaccinated.
