According to the doctors, the woman showed signs of going into labour since early morning. They had quickly called a doctor and a nurse from the Department of Surgery - Obstetrics to the Department of Virus and Parasites to help. The doctors already prepared a separated operation room for her since late August in case of emergency.

"She had given birth prematurely before so it was highly likely that she would have another premature birth. That's why we have to prepare everything early," said Dr Tran Thuong Viet. "The staff were also ready for any situation."

The baby was born at 8.25 am and weighed 3.1kg. Nurse Hoang Thi Thu Hang said this was one of the most special cases for her. They had prepared, even for the worse scenarios. Luckily, everything went smoothly and the baby and the mother are in good health. The staff involved will be quarantined for 14 days before they can resume working.

"We all had to wear protective suits for hours so it was really hot. The face shields also hindered our eyesight," she said.

Since the mother was tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the baby was brought to another sector and incubated. A family will arrive to take care of the baby in the quarantine area. The doctors said the mother only had mild symptoms and her health is stable.

The mother returned to Vietnam from Russia on July 17. She was quarantined at Nam Dinh Hospital. However, during this time, she was in the 30th week of pregnancy and her test results were confusing with both negative and positive results. She was later transferred to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

PM: Vietnam remains highly vigilant against COVID-19

With the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic being brought under control nationwide, various ministries and localities must remain vigilant against the resurgence of the virus, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said.

Addressing permanent Cabinet members during a meeting in Hanoi on September 11, PM Phuc noted that the country has registered no new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections for the past nine days in a row. A new normal has therefore been established, while economic and business production has also resumed.

According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam has so far recorded a total of 1,059 COVID-19 cases, including 402 involving individuals returning from overseas, along with 657 locally transmitted cases. In addition, as many as 893 patients have gone on to make a full recovery and have since been discharged from hospital.

Most notably, up to 551 cases involving community transmission have been confirmed since the resurgence of the virus in late July. The death toll caused by the virus has also risen to 35, with the majority of deceased cases also suffering from underlying health issues.

The ministry has recently declared that the outbreaks which have hit hotspots such as Da Nang and Quang Nam have been brought under control. This is also the case with the latest outbreak in Hai Duong province, with travel restrictions previously imposed on Ngo Quyen street where the virus had originally been detected being lifted on September 11.

PM Phuc attributed the successful results achieved in the COVID-19 fight to drastic measures taken by the Government, alongside efforts made by various ministries, agencies, and localities, which ultimately prevented the virus from spreading wider among the community.

Despite this success, the PM requested that ministries and localities remain highly vigilant due to the virus evolving in a complicated manner. He therefore urged them to encourage local residents to continue imposing preventive measures aimed at keeping the virus at bay in the community.

He reminded designated agencies, especially those in the health sector, of the possibility of a virus resurgence in September and the remaining months of the year when the country opens its borders to a number of commercial international flights.

Vietnam is scheduled to reopen six international routes starting from September 15 to Taiwan (China), Guangzhou in China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Cambodia, and Laos. Indeed, the number of visitors in isolation is estimated to stand at approximately 5,000 per week in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son, the health sector is devising a plan aimed at testing hordes of foreigners once the country resumes international air routes, with the sector having the capability of carrying out testing.

Students in Da Nang to return to school after COVID-19 break

Schools in Da Nang are due to reopen on September 14 following the loosening of social distancing measures in the central city that were implemented due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Elsewhere, secondary, high school, and college students in Da Nang will return to school on September 14, while those at kindergarten and primary schools will go back on September 21.

Upon the reopening of schools, both students and teachers will be required to wear face masks at all times, whilst also ensuring that they maintain a distance of at least one metre from each other.

According to a document issued on September 10 by the Da Nang People’s Committee, the central city will continue to implement preventive measures to halt the potential spread of COVID-19 even with the epidemic being brought under control, starting from midnight on September 10.

Local authorities in Da Nang will also continue the ban on gatherings of 30 people or more, whilst urging residents to remain at home and only go out for essential needs.

Furthermore, a ban on festivals, along with religious and sporting events, in addition to non-essential services activities such as entertainment, beauty, karaoke, dancing, gaming, and filming, will remain in place.

Restaurants will be permitted to reopen, but will be required to ensure that people maintain a safe distance inside the premises, with customers being encouraged to order food for takeaway or delivery.

Local people will be asked to continue making use of coupons when purchasing goods, with the aim of preventing large gatherings at markets. Indeed, each family has been requested to only visit the market once every three days.

Recent COVID-19 outbreaks in Vietnam under control: WHO representative

It appears that Vietnam has been able to put the recent COVID-19 outbreaks under control, which started in the central city of Da Nang in late July, WHO representative in Vietnam Kidong Park has said.

World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in Vietnam Kidong Park (Photo: VNA)

In a recent interview with the Vietnam News Agency, he named the factors that have contributed to this result.

The first is the rapid activation of the response system. After detecting the first case, Vietnam quickly activated its rapid response systems nationwide. Therefore, the country was able to detect and isolate suspected cases and those having close contact with travellers returning from pandemic-hit areas quickly, curbing the further spread of the SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19.

The health system capacity on the ground was rapidly scaled up. The Vietnamese Government promptly deployed a specialised team of experts in outbreak investigation, laboratory and clinical management. With this move, the country was able to provide high quality public health and clinical care to patients and minimise the loss of lives.

Park also spoke highly of Vietnam’s continued transparent information sharing and communications of risk messages. Accordingly, most people closely complied with guidelines by health authorities, attributable to contain the spread of the virus.

The Government’s strong leadership at all levels and high-level commitment have been clearly demonstrated since the start of the outbreak, he noted. In the same way, Vietnamese people have been doing their part to support the Government in protecting themselves and their loved one.

The successful control over the COVID-19 outbreak in Vietnam so far reflects these collective efforts, the WHO official affirmed.

Regarding the development of vaccines in Vietnam, he said WHO welcomes all vaccine development programmes around the world, including Vietnam.

As of September 8, there had been 179 COVID-19 candidate vaccines under development, including those in Vietnam. Of which, 34 are at clinical evaluation stage, he said.

WHO is working with partners across the world to facilitate research and development, approval, mass production and equitable distribution of effective and safe vaccines.

He said that Vietnam can gain access to COVID-19 vaccine via internationally coordinated aid through COVAX facility mechanism co-led by WHO, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI); procurement through a bilateral deal; or its own development.

He emphasised that the recent COVID-19 outbreaks remind people that COVID-19 is far from over and everyone should remain vigilant.

WHO is working with the Ministry of Health to promote “safe coexistent with COVID-19”, which aims to achieve dual goals of outbreak management and economic recovery.

The WHO official advised people to continue closely following heath guidelines, such as practicing hand hygiene and keeping away from crowded places with many people.

Vietnam reports no COVID-19 cases in past 12 hours

Vietnam recorded no new COVID-19 cases in the past 12 hours as of 6 am of September 11, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control said.

The country has documented 1,059 SARS-CoV-2 infections so far. Of the total, 691 were locally transmitted, including 551 linked with Da Nang city since the latest coronavirus wave began there on July 25.

As many as 893 patients have recovered while 35 died from complications related to the disease. Most of the fatalities were the elderly with serious underlying health conditions.

Among 166 still under treatment, 19 have tested negative for the novel coronavirus once, 15 others twice and 22 thrice. Currently, four patients are in critical conditions.

There are 35,799 people having close contact with confirmed cases or coming from pandemic-hit regions under quarantine at present, including 603 in hospitals, 16,432 in other quarantine sites and 18,765 at home./.

No new COVID-19 case on September 10 afternoon

With no new case of COVID-19 recorded over the past 12 hours, the total number remained at 1,059 as of 6pm on September 10, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

So far, Vietnam has 691 locally-transmitted cases, 551 of whom are related to Da Nang since the pandemic broke in the central city on July 25.

Three more patients were given the all-clear on September 10, raising the total number of recovered patients to 893.

Among patient receiving treatment in health care facilities, 19 have tested negative for SARS-Cov-2 once, 15 twice and 22 others thrice.

Four COVID-19 patients are on critical conditions with high risk of death.

The country has so far recorded 35 COVID-19 related deaths, the majority of the cases were the elderly with severe diseases such as end-stage chronic kidney failure, cancer, sepsis and diabetes.

As many as 36,126 people nationwide who had close contact with patients or entered from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine, 621 of them are in hospitals, 15,874 in other establishments and 19,631 at homes.

Singapore to roll out COVID-19 tracing devices

Singapore will roll out its TT Token (Trace Together Token) to the public for free from September 14 and pilot its Safe Entry programme using TT Token devices or app in several venues.

During a press conference on September 9, Singaporean officials said as the COVID-19 has been basically under control, Singapore will take new measures to trace infection sources when the island state begins to reopen economy in the near future.

The distribution is expected to be completed in late November.

Furthermore, a new Self-Check service and SMS service will be introduced from September 10 so that people can be alerted if they have visited the same venues at the same time as COVID-19 cases, based on their own SafeEntry records.

This Self-Check service will be available on the TraceTogether app. Individuals can also access the Self-Check service via SingPass Mobile.

On September 9, the Singaporean Health Ministry announced that from September 17, all travellers from India who are not Singaporeans and permanent residents will have to take a COVID-19 test before departing for Singapore.

Vietnam calls for protection of civilians in COVID-hit countries with conflicts

Vietnam has called for the protection of civilians in countries with conflicts and COVID-19 pandemic during an online session of the United Nations Security Council on the implementation of Resolution 2532 on the pandemic on September 9.

Addressing the session, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnamese permanent mission to the UN, held that the resolution should be fully implemented through the effective response to the call for ceasefire by the UN Secretary-General and the resolution.

It is necessary to focus on protecting people in countries experiencing conflicts and humanitarian crisis, along with the strengthening of solidarity and coordination of efforts at national, regional and global levels as well as relevant parties during the preparation, response and recovery after the pandemic ends.

He stressed the need to maintain peacekeeping operations in the “new normal” situation, contributing to the long-term solutions to maintain sustainable peace and development.

Resolution 2532 was adopted by the UN Security Council on July 1, 2020 with 15/15 votes. It calls for the ceasefire in all countries included in the council’s agenda, while supporting the UN Secretary-General’s call for global ceasefire to create favourable conditions for the control of COVID-19 pandemic.

At the session, UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo held that COVID-19 pandemic has caused risks of erosion of trust in public institutions, the aggravation of certain human rights challenges during the pandemic, which in turn can fuel conflict, and impacts to political and peace processes.

She underlined the significance of Security Council’s decisive engagement in follow up to the ceasefire call.

Meanwhile, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said that alongside assistance from humanitarian agencies, others, in particular the international financial institutions, have an important role to play in helping the most vulnerable countries cope through the crisis.

He held that beyond the economy, the biggest indirect effect of the virus is on public services, especially health and education.

Members of the UN Security Council called on all parties involving in conflicts to fully implement Resolution 2532, while effectively responding to the UN Secretary-General ceasefire call, and supporting and giving humanitarian assistance to countries with conflicts.

They also lauded UN efforts to adjust the operations of peacekeeping missions to maintain their operations, support the host country and protect themselves.

Vietnam mitigates COVID-19 impact on employment

Vietnam, as ASEAN Chair in 2020, has joined hands with member nations to push employment recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung has said.

He made the statement while attending the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers Meeting held by Saudi Arabia on September 10.

The bloc built the ASEAN declaration on social work development, which prioritises social workers’ role in responding to formidable challenges like the coronavirus pandemic, Dung stressed.

He went on by mentioning the ASEAN Declaration on Human Resources Development for the Changing World of Work adopted at the 36th ASEAN Summit, adding it focuses on the enormous impacts of technology changes, aging population, climate change and disease on employment and jobs, and outlines sufficient activities to ensure that ASEAN workers are well prepared in the “changing world of work”.

The Vietnamese Government recently passed a 2.7 billion USD financial support package for workers and businesses affected by the pandemic, he said, adding his ministry is recommending the Government carry out more packages to help local firms to restore, maintain and develop production and business.

Dung was invited to the meeting as Vietnam is playing the role of the ASEAN Chair this year. The event drew the participation of G20 member countries and many international organisations like the ILO and the WB.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of unprecedented turmoil in global labour markets, with a decline in working hours equivalent to the loss of 400 million full-time jobs worldwide in the second quarter of 2020. Over 1.6 billion works in the informal economy, and youth, women and persons with disabilities have been among the worst hit.

Labour ministers adopted the “Realising Opportunities of the 21st Century for All” declaration, in which countries will work closely in response to the coronavirus outbreak to ensure that efforts to recover the economy will give priority to sustainable and inclusive growth in quality employment.

Over 340 Vietnamese citizens return from Russia

More than 340 Vietnamese citizens from Russia were brought home on a repatriation flight which landed safely at Cam Ranh International Airport in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on September 10. 

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the flight was arranged by authorities of the two countries and the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines.

Passengers are  mainly students with no residences due to dormitory closures.

After landing at the airport, all passengers and crew members of the flight were given health check-ups and sent to quarantine areas.

To date, over 120 repatriation flights have been arranged by Vietnamese authorities since April 10 to help nearly 36,000 local people stranded abroad due to Covid-19 return home, the ministry said, adding that more such flights are set to be conducted in the coming time.

230 Vietnamese citizens arrive home safely from Chinese Taiwan

230 Vietnamese citizens from Taiwan (China) were repatriated home safely on September 9 on a flight conducted by budget Vietjet Air in coordination with Vietnamese and Taiwanese authorities and the Vietnam Economic-Cultural Office in Taipei.

Passengers on board are mostly the elderly, pregnant women, workers with expired labour contracts, those suffering from underlying diseases and labour injuries, students who concluded their curricula, travellers and other especially disadvantaged cases.

Upon landing at Can Tho international airport, they were put under quarantine in line with regulations.

Security, safety and hygiene measures were strictly implemented during the flight to protect their health and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Upon landing at Can Tho International Airport in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, those on board received health check-ups and were sent to concentrated quarantine facilities in line with regulations regarding COVID-19 prevention and control.

There will be more repatriation flights in the coming time to bring home Vietnamese citizens with disadvantaged circumstances, depending on their need and the country’s quarantine capacity.