Ho Chi Minh City has seen an increase in the number of Covid-19 patients over recent days partly because local authorities have sped up testing according to the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Diseases Control (HCDC).
Speaking at a meeting held on August 19 on the issue, vice director of HCDC, Nguyen Hong Tam, reported that on Thursday 4,371 infections were confirmed in the city of which 3,603 cases were detected in the community, which represented an increase of 888 infections compared to Wednesday's figure.
Tam pointed out three reasons for the rising numbers. The first was the speed of Covid-19 testing. Second, more people were trying to test themselves using fast testing methods.
The last reason is that some areas have failed to follow prevention rules which had resulted in the fast spread of the virus.
The official said that people should not be too worried as the number is expected to fall after local authorities completed the widespread testing programme.
Tam also said that the city had invested more in taking care of Covid-19 patients at home which is hoped to reduce the fatality rate.
"We've just launched 400 mobile medical stations in populous areas and those hardest-hit by Covid-19 from today," he said. "Each station with one doctor, two nurses and three other staff will take care of between 50-100 patients. The number of stations is expected to rise to 1,000 in the coming time."
