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| COVID-19 is no longer an infectious disease in Group A but downgraded to Group B from October 20__Photo: VNA |
The COVID-19 epidemic has officially been downgraded to Group B, instead of the current Group A, according to a decision released on October 19 by the Ministry of Health.
Under Decision 3896/QD-BYT, from October 20, the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic will follow the process applicable to Group-B diseases specified in the 2007 Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases.
Previously, the Ministry of Health classified the coronavirus disease as a Group A infectious disease under Decision 219/QD-BYT issued in 2020.
According to the 2007 Law, Group A comprises particularly dangerous infectious diseases that can spread very fast and on a large scale and have a high mortality rate or unclear causes. Meanwhile, Group B covers the infectious diseases that can spread fast and cause death.
Since the pandemic broke out, Vietnam has undergone four waves of COVID-19 infections with 11,624,065 cases, ranking 13th among 231 countries and territories. With an average of 117,470 cases per 1 million people, it ranks 120th in this regard.
Among the infections, it has recorded 10,640,953 recoveries and 43,206 deaths, accounting for 0.4 percent of the total.
The country has administered 266,532,582 doses of COVID-19 vaccine so far, statistics show. (VLLF)
