A woman receives a COVID-19 vaccine. More than 94 million doses of COVID vaccines have been administered in Việt Nam. VNA/VNS Photo

Paul Kennedy

More than a million people have now tested positive for COVID-19 in Việt Nam.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Health announced 8,162 new cases taking the total number of infections to 1,000,897.

It’s been 658 days since the first case of coronavirus was detected in the country.

On January 23, 2020, a Chinese national tested positive and was treated at a hospital in HCM City.

A month later, cases reached 100, and at the beginning of April 2020, the first set of social distancing measures came into play after a cluster of cases came to light in Hà Nội.

Since then, the country has suffered four waves of the virus, the most damaging by far being the latest which emerged in late April this year.

More than 99 per cent of the total number of infections nationwide have occurred in wave four, caused by the extremely contagious Delta variant.

Fatalities also increased on a huge scale during the fourth wave. In early April, there had been just 35 deaths related to coronavirus, today that figure stands at more than 22,000.

This sparked officials to take a new approach, and the Government adopted a policy of living with COVID-19 instead or trying to eradicate the virus.

But despite the huge spike in the past six months, the country has rapidly administered vaccines to the nation.

More than 95 million inoculations have been given out in recent months with a little over 32 million people having now had two doses. Plans are in place to begin administering booster shots by the end of this year.

In the early stages of the virus, Việt Nam received international praise for the way it had handled COVID-19. While many countries elsewhere in the world enforced strict lockdown measures, it was very much a case of ‘business as usual’ in Việt Nam.

Although social distancing measures were imposed, and at times buildings locked down, day-to-day activities continued.

However, come April this year, things took a turn for the worst.

It was the southern economic hub of HCM City that suffered the most – and today the new cases there continue to increase.

The Government acted fast, and strict social distancing measures were quickly brought it. For many it meant staying at home, and the authorities quickly implemented a plan of action to ensure safety for all citizens.

Army patrols were seen on the streets, and even in supermarkets, as members of the military shopped for those stuck indoors.

A nationwide call was made for medical staff to head south to the epicentre of the fourth wave, and that call was answered wholeheartedly.

Field hospitals were built, empty apartment blocks turned into emergency quarantine centres, and mobile testing stations dispatched as the country tried to contain the virus.

Inevitably it spread, industrial parks were hit hard, and eventually as case numbers rose in Hà Nội, the capital was also locked down.

But with the new policy in play of living with COVID, it became all about vaccinations.

Government departments worked in tandem to secure as many doses from around the world. Millions were bought, donated and accessed through international partners.

And as the world starts opening up travel routes, Việt Nam knows, for its economy to recovery, it too must put plans in place to welcome back tourists from afar, which is exactly what has happened.

As the year draws to a close, Việt Nam’s only option is to live with the virus and adapt to the consequences it brings.

And it was inevitable the day would come when the number of patients who have tested positive reached the one million mark.

Thursday update

As well as topping the million case mark, there were a further 84 fatalities announced on Thursday bringing the total number of fatalities to 22,849.

Of the new infections, the most were in HCM City, with 1,185.

The rest of the cases were discovered in: Đồng Nai (930), Tây Ninh (656), Bình Dương (615), An Giang (595), Tiền Giang (417), Kiên Giang (399), Đồng Tháp (352), Bạc Liêu (291), Bình Thuận (237), Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu (185), Cà Mau (181), Đắk Lắk (162), Vĩnh Long (159), Hà Nội (154), Long An (130), Khánh Hòa (128), Trà Vinh (121), Bình Phước (108), Hà Giang (97), Bắc Ninh (68), Hậu Giang (68), Bến Tre (64), Bình Định (63), Phú Thọ (61), Đắk Nông (60), Nam Định (59), Cần Thơ (55), Lâm Đồng (54), Thanh Hóa (49), Gia Lai (43), Quảng Ngãi (41), Hải Dương (26), Thừa Thiên Huế (41), Ninh Thuận (35), Nghệ An (32), Quảng Nam (27), Bắc Giang (26), Quảng Ninh (24), Lạng Sơn (20), Quảng Trị (18), Phú Yên (16), Điện Biên (15), Quảng Bình (15), Hưng Yên (14), Đà Nẵng (13), Hà Tĩnh (9), Thái Nguyên (5), Vĩnh Phúc (5), Kon Tum (4), Ninh Bình (4), Sơn La (4), Hà Nam (2), Tuyên Quang (1), Hòa Bình (1) and Yên Bái (1).

A total of 1,894 people were given the all-clear, taking the total amount of recoveries to 845,948.

The amount of doses of vaccines administered has now surpassed 95 million, with just over 32 million receiving two shots. — VNS

From zero to one million – a timeline of COVID in Việt Nam:

• January 23, 2020: Two Chinese become first COVID-19 cases in Việtnam
• February 1, 2020: The government declares the outbreak an epidemic
• March 11, 2020: World Health Organisation declares COVID-19 a global pandemic
• March 22, 2020: Total number of patients surpasses 100
• April 1, 2020: First 15-day social distancing is put in place nationwide
• July 25, 2020: Việtnam enters second wave of infection
• July 31, 2020: Việtnam records first two deaths related to COVID-19
• August 20, 2020: Patient tally surpasses 1000
• December 10, 2020: Made-in-Việtnam COVID-19 vaccine Nano Covax begins human trial
• January 28, 2021: Third wave of infection begins
• March 8, 2021: Vaccinations commence
• April 27, 2021: Việt Nam experiences fourth wave of infection
• July 24, 2021: Second social distancing in Hà Nội begins.
• May 31, 2021: HCM City imposes second social distancing
• June 12, 2021: Total patient tally exceed 10,000
• July 7, 2021: Death counts reach 100
• July 26, 2021: Total cases surpasses 100,000
• August 27, 2021: Nano Covax gets biomedical approval
• September 3, 2021: Total caseload tops 500,000
• October 6, 2021: Death toll hits more than 20,000
• October 15, 2021: Health ministry gives greenlight to inoculating children
• November 11, 2021: Total caseload tops one million