A health quarantine staff monitors body temperature of arriving passengers on a computer screen at a local airport

The Deputy PM asked the ministries and departments to intensify health quarantines at border gates, airports and seaports to prevent the disease from striking the country, reported Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper.

The Ministry of Health was urged to have a contingency plan to cope with the disease, as regulated and based upon the World Health Organization’s warning; to monitor activities to prevent and combat the disease; to ensure an adequate amount of vehicles and equipment, and instruct localities to stay alert for the disease.

Also, Deputy PM Dam ordered the Ministry of Information and Communications to cooperate with the health ministry to provide local residents with comprehensive and accurate information about the disease.

Amid the outbreak of pneumonia, believed to be caused by the new coronavirus in the Chinese central city of Wuhan, the health ministry, on January 17, issued a set of instructions on how to diagnose and treat acute pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (nCoV).

People testing positive for nCoV will have common symptoms, including coughing, fever, shortness of breath, and in some cases infected patients could die. Notably, there is no vaccine to protect against acute pneumonia caused by nCoV, said the health ministry.

Since December, the virus has led to the outbreak of pneumonia in the Wuhan region. To date, the Chinese city has recorded 59 individuals contracting the disease, seven cases labeled as acute conditions and two having died.

Further, some countries have discovered several pneumonia cases thought to be associated with the new coronavirus. These patients came from the city of Wuhan.

In Vietnam, airport staff using thermal-imaging cameras at Danang International Airport have detected two Chinese nationals from Wuhan showing signs of fever, upon their arrival at the airport. SGT