Less than two percent of samples taken in Ho Chi Minh City during the ongoing second round of COVID-19 testing have returned positive for the coronavirus, down from 3.6 percent in the previous phase.

Nguyen Hoai Nam, deputy director of the municipal Department of Health, announced the figure at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

City authorities carried out the first phase of testing in very high- and high-risk areas, collecting about two million samples for rapid antigen testing, Nam reported.

Of the two million taken samples, 3.6 percent came back positive, the health deputy director said.

As the second round is dedicated to lower-risk areas, the infection rate has decreased to under two percent.

Nam added that in recent days, the number of serious patients in the city has remained high.

However, the health sector believes that rapid testing and early infection detection will help decrease that number in the near future.

More than 70,000 COVID-19 cases under 65 years old, with no underlying disease, asymptomatic or with mild symptoms, are self-isolating at home and will take medicines supplied by local authorities.

The municipal administration has allocated 110,850 bags of medications, including 50,000 doses of antiviral drug Molnupiravir, to local authorities in 21 districts and Thu Duc City.

The city has received 98,220 vials of COVID-19 treatment medicine Remdesivir, which can shorten treatment time and speed up recovery in critical patients.

“Most fatalities reported recently were patients who had developed severe conditions before,” Nam said.

“Currently, the number of critical cases is gradually decreasing.”

By Wednesday evening, Vietnam had documented 473,530 coronavirus infections, with 248,722 recoveries and 11,868 fatalities, the health ministry reported.

Since April 27, a new wave of infections has spread to 62 out of the country’s 63 cities and provinces, except Cao Bang.

Ho Chi Minh City has the highest caseload with 226,622 patients, followed by Binh Duong Province with 118,228, Dong Nai Province with 24,525, Long An Province with 22,638, and Tien Giang Province with 9,846.

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