The COVID-19 pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City has been showing promising signs given the declining numbers of infections and deaths over the past days, according to Pham Duc Hai, deputy head of the municipal steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control.

During a press conference on Monday, Hai stressed that the southern metropolis has been categorized as a green zone, or a locality at low risk of virus transmission, for three consecutive weeks.

The city recorded only 138 cases on Sunday, a sharp decrease compared to the 214 and 227 cases on the previous days, the official elaborated.

The number of COVID-19 deaths decreased from 10 on Friday to six on Sunday, he added.

Nguyen Hong Tam, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), confirmed that the metropolis has logged 88 cases of the Omicron variant, of which five were community infections while the rest were imported.

The five community-based infections are linked to an imported case, Tam added.

Among the patients carrying the strain, only seven showed symptoms including a mild fever, chills, and a sore throat.

Most of these patients recovered after six to seven days, the HCDC official stated.

Regarding passenger transport for the coming Lunar New Year, which falls on February 1, Bui Hoa An – deputy director of the municipal Department of Transport – stated that Ho Chi Minh City had resumed long-haul bus routes with 50 provinces and cities.

Local bus stations are capable of serving up to 15,000 vehicles, equivalent to about 341,000 passengers, per day.

However, the number of passengers during the peak period is expected to reach only 60,000 a day, which is much lower compared to previous years, An elaborated.

Nguyen Van Lam, deputy director of the Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, said at the meeting that about 2,200 children in the city have lost their parents to COVID-19.

Municipal authorities are planning to spend VND6 billion ($264,500) taking care of these children, Lam added.

Ho Chi Minh City has documented over 512,000 local infections since the fourth virus wave hit the country on April 27.

The city of nine million has administered about 8.1 million first vaccine doses, 7.2 million second shots, and 4.4 million third jabs, according to its COVID-19 information portal.

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