Leaflets sent out at Cam Ranh International Airport to raise public awareness of the novel coronavirus (Photo: VNA)

The ministry asked the provincial People’s Committee to direct competent agencies to continue prevention and control measures in line with the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases in 2007.

A receptionist at a hotel in the province’s Nha Trang beach city was put into quarantine on January 27, and tested positive for the virus four days later. She had reportedly come into close contact with the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Vietnam, a Chinese father and son from China’s Wuhan city, the epicenter of the virus outbreak.

The ministry had subsequently declared a coronavirus epidemic in Khanh Hoa province in light of this case.

Since the receptionist was discharged from hospital on February 4 after making full recovery and tested negative for the virus, Khanh Hoa province has reported no new COVID-19 cases.

COVID-19 is classified as a Class A contagious disease, a group of extremely dangerous infectious diseases that can transmit very rapidly and spread widely with high mortality rates, including the likes of influenza A-H5N1, SARs, Ebola or smallpox. The incubation period for the virus is around 14 days.

As of February 26, 16 people in Vietnam infected with the coronavirus were cured, while no new cases have been recorded in the past 14 days.

Currently, 31 suspected cases are quarantined while 5,675 people who had close contact with the suspected are under close medical observation.

On February 26, a representative from the health ministry said Khanh Hoa and Thanh Hoa provinces are eligible to announce disease-free status./VNA

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