Hanoi sees 'staggeringly high' infection rate for Covid close contacts

Chu Ngoc Anh, chairman of Hanoi People's Committee, said the rate in which close contacts contract Covid-19 from other patients lately is "staggeringly high," twice the rate recorded from the beginning of the pandemic to the end of October (around 7 percent).

From Nov. 11 to 17, Hanoi recorded around 8,630 close contact cases, with 1,134 eventually contracting Covid-19, he said. It means even fully vaccinated individuals should keep their guards up, as vaccines alone would only help lessen severity, not infection rates, he noted.

Hanoi has recorded around 3,000 new Covid-19 cases since Oct. 10, or around 76 new cases daily, Anh said, adding around 30 percent were recorded within the community.

Regarding Covid-19 vaccination for children aged below 18, Anh said a campaign would begin once doses are distributed, but that would depend on the Ministry of Health.

"Around 380,000 doses are expected to be available for children in another couple days. These doses are expected to be used up within two days," he said.

Hanoi has vaccinated 6.1 million people, or 93.5 percent of its adult population, with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot. As many as 5.1 million people have received two shots, or 79 percent of the adult population, according to Anh.

The capital has recorded over 7,300 Covid-19 cases in the fourth coronavirus wave so far, with 54 deaths.