That was also the third highest number of infections worldwide after South Korea and Germany, but according to local health authorities the maximum will be reached by mid-month.

On Wednesday, Hanoi, the capital, reported 31,365 cases – slightly less than the previous day – but remains the epicenter of the current fourth wave of the disease.

The Ministry of Health also reported 109 deaths, bringing the numbers to 41086.

Until the end of April last year, this was one of the countries that was coping best with the disease (3,428 cases, 35 deaths), but first the irruption of the Delta strain of SARS-CoV-2, and since the end of December the Omicron pushed the statistics up to the current level.

Vietnam is focused on achieving herd immunity through vaccination. To date, four-fifths of 98 million people have completed the two-dose immunization schedule and more than 41 percent have completed a third booster.

The Health Ministry is considering declaring Covid-19 an endemic disease, because although the number of cases is high, the number of hospitalizations and deaths is quite low.

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