A medical worker prepares medicines for COVID-19 patients at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases' Intensive Care Unit. —. VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Health has ordered health departments to strengthen the management and reporting of new COVID-19 cases.

The move came after a series of fast-spreading sub-variants of Omicron were reported in Việt Nam.

According to the ministry’s General Department of Preventive Medicine, the number of COVID-19 cases has been on the rise in both Việt Nam and around the world.

Việt Nam has recently reported the emergence of new sub-variants of the Omicron variant (BA.4, BA.5, BA.2.75 and BA.2.12.1) with the ability to spread rapidly, according to the department.

The country is currently recording an average of about 2,000 new cases each day. The number of new cases is believed to be on the rise again.

Therefore, in order to actively prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic, the department told leaders of health departments nationwide to regularly and promptly review and report new cases of COVID-19.

The localities must comply with regulations on reporting new cases and fully declare new cases of COVID-19 within 24 hours as prescribed by the ministry so that the figures can be sent to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control and the Prime Minister.

The localities should avoid reporting additional numbers of new COVID-19 cases that could lead to an inaccurate reflection of the pandemic and cause difficulties for forecasting, the department said.

Recently, Hải Phòng City has registered an additional 402,830 new cases of COVID-19 that had not been previously reported. Thái Nguyên Province registered an additional 152,485 new cases and Nghệ An Province has registered an additional 4,400 new cases.

Localities must continue to declare and obtain patient codes on the ministry's automatic code-granting system right after the test results show patients are positive for SARS-CoV-2, the department said.

The localities were required to closely follow the pandemic developments in the area, especially the appearance of new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The localities needed to regularly assess risk levels to promptly adjust measures to prevent and control the pandemic according to Resolution 128/NQ-CP; strengthen surveillance, early detection and treatment of new COVID-19 cases to limit severe cases and deaths.

Data from the ministry shows that Việt Nam has confirmed 11,367,479 cases of COVID-19, ranking 12th out of 227 countries and territories since the beginning of the pandemic.

The total number of recoveries rose to over 10 million. There are 106 patients in serious conditions needing breathing support.

The country has so far administered more than 251 million doses of vaccines. — VNS