Could September 15 be the day some sense of normalcy returns?

VnExpress reports that on Tuesday, the central government issued a resolution setting targets for several localities to get their COVID-19 outbreaks under control.

Specifically, the document calls for Saigon's leadership to bring the city's outbreak, which is by far the largest in the country, to heel by September 5.

Binh Duong, Long An and Dong Nai have been given deadlines of September 1, while the many other provinces experiencing outbreaks of varying sizes have until August 25 to control their situation.

While it is not clear what steps will be taken if these cities and provinces don't meet their given target, officials have also been ordered to strictly enforce the social distancing orders currently in place, while provincial leaders are also empowered to tighten or loosen local rules depending on the outbreak situation there.

Saigon is currently under stringent Directive 16 regulations, including a nightly curfew, that is currently scheduled to last until this coming weekend, though it can be expected to be extended once again. The city is in its fifth week of Directive 16 stipulations.

According to VnExpress, this ongoing outbreak has accounted for 228,939 cases of community infection, with Saigon accounting for 131,879 infections. Thus far, there have been 80,348 recoveries in this wave as well, though the pandemic death toll has increased significantly, from 35 on April 27 to 4,145 as of this writing. 

On the positive side, vaccinations have also accelerated, with the Ministry of Health's vaccine portal stating that 11,414,784 doses have been administered nationwide, with hundreds of thousands of doses going into arms around the country on a daily basis over the last week.

The data also shows that 51.66% of Saigon residents over the age of 18 have received at least one vaccine dose, with the city government aiming to reach 70% by the end of this month.