240,000 workers in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang vaccinated against COVID-19

Bac Giang had 300 workers receiving shots and Bac Ninh 100, with around 240,000 in both provinces in total to be vaccinated soon.

On the same day, a Ministry of Health (MoH) established a special taskforce on COVID-19 prevention and control in Bac Ninh, led by Deputy Minister Do Xuan Tuyen.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long has called on 125 medical schools nationwide to send personnel to the two provinces in a bid to support the fight against the pandemic.

This morning, an 83-member delegation of medical lecturers and students from Hai Phong University of Medicine and Pharmacy set out to support the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Bac Giang Province.

More delegations are expected to go to COVID-19 hotspots in the coming days.

So far, over 1,970 staffers and students at 15 medical schools have engaged in the fight in various localities.

Also on May 27, the Treatment Subcommittee under the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control confirmed the 46th COVID-19-related death – an 81-year-old male with underlying health conditions.

The patient, who was residing in the northern province of Bac Ninh’s Thuan Thanh District – a current hotspot of COVID-19 outbreaks, had a history of a broken rib and collarbone and liver abscess.

On May 15, he was transferred to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi's Dong Anh District with a diagnosis of septic shock and pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2.

The patient died on May 26 of septic shock, SARS-CoV-2-induced pneumonia, complications of progressive respiratory failure, and sepsis.

The MoH reported 53 new COVID-19 cases, all local infections, as of 12pm on May 27, raising the national tally to 6,164. Of the new cases, 30 were confirmed in Bac Ninh, 21 in Bac Giang, and one each in Dien Bien and Hai Duong.

Conduct tracing and collecting samples for COVID-19 testing in Hoc Mon, Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: NDO/Manh Hao)

In Ho Chi Minh City, facing the risk of dozens of new suspected COVID-19 cases in the community, the city’s Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control held an urgent meeting on the morning of May 27 to discuss measures to deal with the situation.

The city’s Department of Health informed that on May 26 and the morning of May 27, the city recorded 24 suspected cases of infection related to a religious group, with those in connection spanning across 16 districts so far.

Local health sector urged the local residents to raise their awareness and voluntarily make health declaration, while adhering to measures against the spread of COVID-19.

HCMC authorities also asked to suspend the operation of restaurants in hotels and temporarily stop selling on the spot for street eateries and sidewalk cafes, only for takeout, while suspending beauty salons, barbershops, hair washes, religious ceremonies and gatherings of 10 people or more at religious, belief and worship establishments.