Million students sit for exams in Vietnam amid virus fears

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) – Close to a million students sat for two-day national exams for high school in Vietnam on Wednesday amid rising COVID-19 cases.

The government, however, has put in place strict anti-virus measures to stem the spread of the infection, state-run Vietnam News Agency reported.

According to the country’s Ministry of Health, Vietnam has reported 20,183 domestic cases and 1,881 imported cases since the outbreak of the pandemic. Around 94 people have died due to the COVID-19.

The Southeast Asian nation registered 1,029 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with main Ho Chi Minh City reporting majority of the cases.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday asked all local officials and ministries to “strictly implement solutions to prevent, detect, isolate, suppress outbreak and provide active treatment.”

The rising cases have also triggered panic buying among the people.

The country received first shipment of 97,110 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines early Wednesday.

Authorities said Vietnam will receive 31 million doses this year.

Vietnam has approved at least five vaccines, including Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Sputnik, Oxford/Astrazeneca and Sinopharm.