The fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, starting from April 27, is considered the most severe in Việt Nam since the pandemic began.

Doctors of Huế Central Hospital check the conditions of COVID-19 patients daily. — VNA/VNS Photo Tường Vi

Different from the previous waves, most of the first cases of the fourth wave have originated from isolation areas or those who completed a 14-day quarantine period.

Border guards in the northern province of Điện Biên have stepped up patrols of the border to prevent illegal entry. The province shares more than 455km of border with Laos and China. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Tiến

Worryingly, the sources of infections in many hotspots of COVID-19 like the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, National Cancer Hospital in Hà Nội, Đà Nẵng City or Hải Dương Province have not yet been clearly identified.

In addition, new variants are spreading more quickly in cities and provinces, especially in industrial parks.

People who had close contact with COVD-19 cases are taken to isolation areas in the central province of Quảng Bình. The province has recorded no positive cases in the fourth wave of the pandemic in Việt Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo Võ Dung

This is also the first time in one and a half years fighting the pandemic that 10 national key medical facilities have been locked down in less than 10 days due to new cases.

The entire political system and Vietnamese people nationwide have been fighting the fourth wave together.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính has urged the entire political system and people to take a more swift and drastic approach to drive back COVID-19 because it could spread anytime if our guard is let down.

A doctor of the Oncology Hospital checks a patient in the temporary isolation room. Amid the fourth wave of the pandemic that has hit many key hospitals in Việt Nam, the central province of Thanh Hóa has identified cases with close contact to positive patients or linked to locked-down hospitals like the National Hospital for Tropical Disease or the National Cancer Hospital in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoa Mai

He also asked agencies and sectors to adapt to the new situation in the spirit of “fighting the pandemic is like fighting the enemy”, learn from experience from the previous three outbreaks, and continue following the directions of the Ministry of Health.

Ministries, agencies and localities must pool resources to step up COVID-19 testing, use modern technology as instructed by the Ministry of Information and Communications to fight the pandemic, and prepare medical supplies and financial resources for the effort.

Since the outbreak of the fourth wave, border guard forces and medical workers nationwide have worked day and night on the front lines to trace infections and treat patients.

A healthcare worker takes a sample for COVID-19 testing in an isolation area of Vị Thanh City in the southern province of Hậu Giang. — VNA/VNS Photo

“The medical teams and border guards have to work in such difficult and dangerous conditions in the fight against the pandemic. I hope that the pandemic will be over soon so that they and other people could resume their normal life instead of constantly suffering from constant stress like these days,” said Trần Huyền Anh, a citizen from Hoàn Kiếm District, Hà Nội.

“Those who deliberately disregard the national regulations on pandemic prevention and therefore spread the virus to the communities, against the joint efforts of the whole nation and people, should be strictly punished,” Anh said. — VNS