People get COVID-19 shots at a vaccination site in Thủ Đức City. HCM City plans to administer booster shots to all adults aged 18 and above in the first quarter of 2022. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — HCM City has seen positive signs in the fight against pandemic with a drop in the number of daily cases to under 1,000 and deaths falling to under 50, according to its Steering Committee for Pandemic Prevention and Control.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Phạm Đức Hải, deputy head of the committee, said the number of serious cases requiring hospitalisation has also decreased.

On Dec 26 for instance there were only more than 436 admissions and 30 deaths.

The number of new cases in the week until December 26 ranged between 979 and 544, and the number of deaths, between 58 and 30.

“These numbers accurately reflect the situation in the city based on testing high-risk groups,” Hải said.

Nguyễn Hồng Tâm, deputy director of the HCM City Centre for Disease Control, said people continue to be tested in communities, schools, and factories, and the number of admissions in hospital, severe cases and deaths have all dropped.

“This is an optimistic sign in the fight against the pandemic.”

He said the public should continue to stay vigilant, especially during the upcoming New Year holidays.

“As more students return to school, the number of cases is expected to increase. The city needs to have a plan for pandemic prevention under the new normal.

“People need to continue to comply with all the measures recommended by the Ministry of Health.”

City spends $399m on pandemic fight

The city People’s Committee said it spent more than VNĐ9.1 trillion (US$398.678 million) on pandemic prevention, including VNĐ5 trillion it received from the central government.

In a report on pandemic prevention the city sent to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, it said 292,000 migrant workers who left the city during the lockdown had not returned.

It provided VNĐ12.8 trillion in relief to more 7.4 million people and administered more than 14 million doses of COVID vaccines.

It planned to administer booster shots to all adults aged 18 and above in the first quarter of 2022.

So far there have been more than 500,000 cases and nearly 20,000 deaths. Nearly 8,000 patients are receiving treatment, including 241 children aged under 16, 403 critically ill people who are on ventilators, and 16 with ECMO intervention. — VNS