Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (middle) and intellectuals who have greatly contributed to the national health sector.

The leader made the praise at a ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of Vietnamese Doctors’ Day (February 27), where he described doctors and medical workers as “soldiers” on the front line of epidemic control.

Thanks to their contributions, Vietnam has achieved marked results in the fight against COVID-19, he noted.

“However, we should stay vigilant and keep up our strong measures until the epidemic is completely extinguished in order to ensure people’s life and health,” the PM warned.

On this occasion, he paid tribute to doctors and nurses who died on the battlefield during the past wars as well as during the struggle against diseases, saying Vietnamese people always remember their sacrifice.

The leader also acknowledged the contributions of professors, doctors and lecturers at medical schools nationwide and Hanoi Medical University (HMU) in particular to both the training and health care sectors.

He urged the 118-year-old HMU to strive to be on par with other medical training institutions in the region and meet international standards in the near future.

The HMU should gear towards a multi-sectoral medical university with a network of special schools and modern hospitals, while paying more attention to scientific-technological application, PM Phuc suggested.

He asked the university to maintain its leading position in medical training in Vietnam, and step up scientific research and technological transfer to health care facilities in the country.

PM urges strict concentrated quarantine to prevent COVID-19

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered the drastic implementation of concentrated quarantine in the fight against the acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

Chairing a working session between permanent cabinet members and the national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control on February 27, PM Phuc stressed the necessity to carry out compulsory quarantine for those who come from coronavirus-hit regions.

Vietnam does not close border gates and airports, or bans travelling, but all people coming from disease-hit areas must be quarantined to prevent the spread of the disease, he emphasised.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies are responsible for explaining the quarantine policy for these cases, while advising Vietnamese citizens to follow their host countries’ guidance, the PM said.

The Government leader also asked for the postponement of big festivals and conferences across the country to avoid mass gatherings.

Regarding students’ schooling which has been suspended since February, he assigned the Minister of Education and Training to work with the People’s Committees of provinces and cities to decide what suitable time they can come back to school to ensure effective study and absolute safety.

The PM cited forecasts as saying that COVID-19 will be well controlled in the second quarter of 2020 and the world economy will get better in the next few months.

Therefore, PM Phuc required ministries, sectors and localities to take actions to fulfill all socio-economic development targets assigned by the Party and the National Assembly, and prepare for breakthrough growth in the second quarter.

He suggested reducing interest rates, taxes and logistics fees, and rescheduling debts as concrete measures to support the national economy.

The leader also congratulated the country’s doctors and medical staff on the occasion of the 65th Vietnamese Doctors’ Day (February 27), and lauded their efforts in the fight against COVID-19.

Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen said that as of 9am on February 27, all 16 SARS-CoV-2-infected patients in Vietnam were successfully treated and discharged from hospitals.

Ninety-two suspected cases are being quarantined while 5,474 others who entered Vietnam from affected areas and had close contact with the infected patients are under medical supervision, he said.

Since February 13, no more new infection cases have been recorded in the country, Tuyen said.

Vietnamese localities working hard to prevent COVID-19

Localities across Vietnam are taking drastic measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Health Department in Khanh Hoa said on February 26 that the southern central province, a tourist magnet for Vietnam, had quarantined 36 people from the Republic of Korea (RoK), where the number of COVID-19 cases is rising fast. They include 19 from Daegu – the centre of the RoK’s coronavirus outbreak, seven from Gyongsang, five from Busan, and five from other Korean provinces. Some of them showed symptoms of coughing and mild fever, and their samples are being tested.

Meanwhile, two Korean visitors from Daegu who had refused quarantine in Phan Thiet city in the central province of Binh Thuan returned home from Cam Ranh International Airport on February 26.

Deputy Director of the department Le Tan Phung said the province’s disease control centre is investigating their travel history and listing people who had close contract with them.

The same day, the provincial People’s Committee sent an urgent dispatch to local departments, sectors and localities requesting them to step up measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 from the RoK.

In Binh Duong province – an industrial hub in the south of Vietnam, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Minh Hung on February 26 asked agencies, sectors and localities to stand ready to respond to the disease and consider COVID-19 prevention and control as a key political task.

He also told them to “go down every alley, visit each house and review every person” to prevent the disease.

Although Binh Duong hasn’t recorded any cases so far, its medical establishments have reportedly geared up with equipment and medicine for patient quarantine and treatment.

According to the province’s steering board for COVID-19 prevention and control, 2,050 cases have been quarantined at home in Binh Duong.

There are 2,557 Korean experts and labourers in Binh Duong. Besides, 43 people from the province are also working in the Northeast Asian nation, and 17 of them are preparing to return home, the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said.

Also on February 26, Le Ngoc Han, Director of the Department of Information and Communications in Quang Ninh province, which borders China and is also a tourist destination, rejected reports that Bao Minh Radiant Hotel in Ha Long city had received guests with COVID-19.

The local Department of Tourism chose some hotels in Ha Long and Mong Cai cities, including Bao Minh Radiant, to accommodate tourists from coronavirus-hit areas for 14 days.

Han said this hotel had actively coordinated with authorities. The local health sector and relevant agencies have also sent staff to check visitors regularly. Four tourists staying at the hotel have tested negative for the virus, and have exited Vietnam.

So far, Vietnam has confirmed 16 COVID-19 cases, all of whom have recovered. The last patient was discharged from hospital on February 26. There have been no new cases reported in the country since February 13./.

Hanoi steps up communications on coronavirus outbreak

All sectors, communes and wards in the capital city of Hanoi must promote communication work to raise awareness of local people and visitors of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in a move to prevent the novel virus’ spread.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung made the order at a teleconference on February 26.

He stressed competent authorities should be well informed of any cases with fever, cough and shortness of breath to have rational response measures.

Given the complicated development of the outbreak in the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan, as well as high-risk of COVID-19 infection in Hanoi, Chung said the city will decide the exact date of school resumption in the end of this week.

According to Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Ngo Van Quy, returnees who made entries or travelled to coronavirus-hit areas in the RoK will be sent to quarantine sites, while home-quarantine is applied for those coming from affected localities for less than 14 days.

The municipal Department of Health reported that as of 18:00 on February 26, 84 suspected cases tested negative for the virus. Among 2,170 people traveling from coronavirus-stricken areas, 329 were still under close health observation, including 26 from the RoK.

The health department and the municipal Military High Command have proposed the municipal People’s Committee establish two acute respiratory disease hospitals which are able to receive 3,000 patients.

Training course on COVID-19 prevention in hospital held in Hanoi

A training course on preventing the spread of COVID-19 at medical facilities is taking place in Hanoi from February 27-28, bringing together nearly 150 attendees from hospitals nationwide.

Speaking at the event, Director of the Ministry of Health’s Department of Medical Examination and Treatment and deputy head of the treatment sub-committee under the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, praised the role played by medical workers in the fight against the epidemic.

He stressed that every effort should be made to detect cases early in order to prevent cross-contamination and outbreak in the community.

Attention should be paid to effectively implementing infection control and isolation in medical establishments, he said, adding that each medical worker need to well understand the disease and work related to screening, receiving and isolating confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19.

At the training course, trainees have been taught on how to use personal protective equipment; the right way to wash hands and wear medical masks; measures to prevent COVID -19 infection in collecting, packaging, storing and transport samples for testing, and methods to prevent infection for patients’ relatives and visitors.

They are also provided with knowledge related to sanitation and disinfection of the environmental, surfaces, and means of transport.

So far, there have been 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Vietnam and all patients have been cured and discharged from hospitals.

As of February 27, 92 suspected cases are being quarantined while 5,474 others who entered Vietnam from affected areas or had close contact with infected patients are under medical supervision./.VNA

Hanoi to establish two field hospitals to prevent Covid-19

Each hospital with 600 beds for 3,000 patients belongs to a contingency plan to curb the spread of the Covid-19 disease.

Vietnam now has 6 units to test SARS-CoV-2

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