COVID-19 deaths hit two-month record high in HCM City

As many as 94 COVID-19 patients in Ho Chi Minh City died on December 6, the highest figure recorded in the city over two months, according to the municipal Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

This brought the city’s COVID-19 linked death toll to 18,498, or two thirds of the country’s total.

The number of COVID-19 related deaths has increased again over recent months, warned Pham Duc Hai, deputy head of the committee.

The city’s daily death toll gradually decreased from hundreds to dozens in October when COVID-19 restrictions were eased. Even only 21 cases were recorded on October 30 alone.

However, Hai said the number of fatalities has gradually increased at an average of 60-70 cases per day over the past few days.

Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, an official of the HCM City Department of Health, said that most of the deaths recently recorded were the elderly aged over 65, those with underlying medical conditions, and those who have not been vaccinated or have not received enough doses.

The municipal administration recommends that people, especially those of high-risk groups should be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to reduce new virus infections and deaths, said Mai.

As of December 5, the city was giving treatment to 13,681 patients, including 497 children under 16. Of the total, 431 critically ill patients were on ventilators, and 14 patients with ECMO intervention.

HCM City remains the largest coronavirus hotspot in Vietnam, confirming nearly 480,000 new infections in the latest coronavirus outbreak or one third of the country’s tally.