Vietnam’s foreign investment picture in the first quarter of 2020 showed the hardest downtrend in over a decade since the 2003 SARS pandemic, as the current coronavirus continues to thrash manufacturing, real estate, retail, services, and tourism.

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIT) has proposed the Prime Minister consider support for businesses involved in information – communications and press activities.

The Health Ministry confirmed two new cases of COVID-19 in early morning April 8, taking the total number to 251.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung has symbolically handed over 550,000 made-in-Vietnam antibacterial masks as gifts from the Vietnamese Government and people to help their counterparts of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

Groups of Vietnamese nationals living in Germany have joined hands to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in their host country by sewing face masks for local residents and medical workers.

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2-caused acute respiratory disease (COVID -19) pandemic has cost many real estate firms trillions of VND from their market capitalisation value.

Social distancing is an important solution in containing the spread of COVID-19, members of the National Steering Committee for Preventing and Controlling COVID-19 said.

The Ministry of Health has issued an urgent notice to trace all people in close contact with the 237th COVID-19 patient, a 64-year-old Swedish man, who was reported infected with the coronavirus on April 1 after being hospitalised for a accident.

Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son emphasised the importance of international cooperation in the COVID-19 fight during the third phone talks with leaders of the ministries of foreign affairs

Vietnam had confirmed 204 COVID-19 cases as of 6:00 on March 31, with the latest patient a 10-year-old boy living in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 2, according to the Ministry of Health.

The most important task at this crucial time is promoting the unity, solidarity and cooperation of all people throughout the country to cope with any pandemic situation, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said. ​

Personnel working in quarantines, hospitals and centres for diseases prevention and control across the country have been working hard as thousands of Vietnamese return home from abroad amid the COVID-19 epidemic.

 The Vietnam Telecommunications Authority (VNTA) under the Ministry of Information and Communications asked network operators to ensure the quality of telecommunications services.

More than 300,000 cases have now been reported, as Covid-19 spreads to almost every country.

The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has announced it will reduce airline service fees for six months from March to August to support airlines suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adjustments to Vietnam’s entry regulations amid the rapid and complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic are based on the principle of non-discrimination, said spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang on March 20.

Vietnam and the World Health Organisation are in common on treatment regimens for COVID-19 patients. However, the country has its own innovative features when applied in practice.

The Ministry of Health on March 18 evening confirmed another case tested positive for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, bringing the total of the number of COVID-19 patients in Vietnam to 76.

Scientists are debating whether it is still possible to contain the new coronavirus.