The Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee in conjunction with the Party Committees of Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and localities nationwide held a ceremony on November 19 night to commemorate those who lost their lives to COVID-19.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong also sent a wreath to the ceremony in memory of COVID-19 victims.

The event aims to express sympathy to bereaved families over their pain and loss, and remind people of their responsibility in the pandemic combat, organisers said.

At 8:30pm, the memorial ritual began. In HCM City, which was the epicenter of the fourth resurgence of COVID-19, pagodas and churches rang the bell, and candles were lit at public places to commemorate the victims.

According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam’s COVID-19 death toll exceeded 23,500 as of November 19, of which more than 17,200 were recorded in HCM City./.

VNA/VNP