No new COVID-19 infections were recorded in Vietnam on July 16 morning, making the 91st day in a row without any transmissions in the community, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The total number of infections still stood at 381, including 241 imported cases who were quarantined upon their arrival.

There are currently 10,123 people under quarantine nationwide, including 81 at hospitals, 9,634 at concentrated quarantine facilities and 408 at home.

A total of 353 patients have recovered fully. Among the remaining patients, three have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once and two negative at least twice.

Three more COVID-19 patients recover, total hits 358

Three more Vietnamese patients with COVID-19 have made a full recovery and were released from the treatment facility at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases on Thursday morning.

The recovered patients have lifted the country’s total cases being given the all-clear to 358, making up nearly 94 per cent of total COVID-19 patients in Việt Nam.

They are all Vietnamese citizens, including Patient 349, who returned home from Europe on June 6 and two others, Patient 368 and Patient 369, who returned home from Bangladesh on July 6.

Patient 349, female, 12, residing in Bắc Từ Liêm District, Hà Nội, was admitted to the hospital on June 19. She had two tests and both came back negative for SARS-CoV-2. At present, the patient is in a stable condition.

Patient 367 is a 26-year-old man, living in Đông Hòa Town, Phú Yên Province. Patient 368 is a 36-year-old woman, living in Bình Tân District, HCM City. They all were admitted to the hospital on July 5. The two patients passed two tests and all tests were negative for SARS-CoV-2.

The two patients currently have no cough, no fever and no breathing difficulties, well ventilated lungs and are in a stable condition.

They will continue to be isolated and monitored at the hospital for the next 14 days.

As of Thursday morning, Việt Nam reported no COVID-19 community transmission cases over the past 91 days. The country confirmed total 381 COVID-19 cases and no fatalities have been reported. 

350 Vietnamese citizens fly home from Japan

Vietnamese authorities, representative agencies and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines partnered with Japanese authorities to carry 350 Vietnamese citizens home on July 15.

The passengers included children aged below 18, the elderly, pregnant women, the sick, workers whose visas and labour contracts expired, students without residences due to dormitory closure and other especially disadvantaged cases.

The airline implemented security, safety and quarantine measures during the flight.

After landing at Nội Bài international airport, the passengers were put under quarantine in line with regulations.

In accordance with Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc’s directions, similar flights will be conducted in the near future to bring citizens home, taking into account domestic quarantine capacity. 

Vietnam records eight new imported COVID-19 cases

Vietnam reported eight new imported COVID-19 cases on July 15, said the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The eight new imported cases are foreign experts flying to Vietnam from Russia on July 11. They have been quarantined in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau since their arrival, posing no risk of infection for the community. 

The new cases brought the total number of COVID-19 infections in Vietnam to 381, including 241 imported cases.

As of July 15, Vietnam has gone through 90 straight days without any COVID-19 infections in community. 

According to the committee's treatment subcommittee, one more patient was announced to fully recover on July 15, lifting the total of cured patients to 353. No fatalities have been recorded.

There are currently 12,337 people under quarantine nationwide, including 79 at hospitals, 11,855 at concentrated quarantine establishments and 403 at home.
Among the remaining patients, three have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once and two negative at least twice.

COVID-19: 350 Vietnamese citizens safely repatriated from Japan

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on July 15 successfully brought home another 350 Vietnamese citizens stranded in Japan due to the impact of the COVIDF-19 pandemic. 

The majority of passengers onboard the repatriation flight were minors under 18, elderly people, pregnant women, sick people, guest workers with expired visas and labour contracts, students who had completed their academic year but were unable to stay due to expired visas or the closure of their campus, and other cases in specially difficult circumstances. 

The Vietnamese Embassy in Japan dispatched officials to the airport to assist citizens with all necessary measures before they boarded the flight.

Vietnam Airlines strictly implemented security, safety and epidemiology measures during the flight, in order to protect the passengers’ health and prevent the possible spread of the virus.

After landing at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi capital, all the passengers and crew members underwent medical check-ups and were transferred to quarantine facilities according to regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control.

Under the Prime Minister’s instructions, Vietnamese agencies, Vietnamese representative agencies abroad and domestic airlines will continue to conduct flights to bring overseas Vietnamese citizens back to Vietnam.

Vietnam to evacuate over 100 COVID-19 workers from Equatorial Guinea

The Ministry of Health said on July 15 it is well prepared to receive 219 Vietnamese guest workers, including 116 people with COVID-19, to be repatriated from the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

All the to-be-repatriated citizens are working at Sendje hydropower plant in Equatorial Guinea under labour contracts between Duglas Alliance Ltd of the UK and three Vietnamese companies, Tan Dai Loi, CMVIETNAM and LILAMA 10. 

As many as 116 out of the workers had tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus and another one worker had tested positive but turned negative the other day. Two infected workers had to be transferred to the recovery room and put on oxygen masks.

The Ministry of Health said its Medical Examination and Treatment Department has had a working session with national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines to drawn up an evacuation plan.

A special flight is in the pipeline to evacuate the workers and the repatriation flight is scheduled to take off in at least 10 days due to difficulty in registration procedures.

The ministry said it will dispatch a contingent of doctors and orderlies to Equatorial Guinea to assist the guest workers on the repatriation flight.

At a recent Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc requested relevant agencies to conduct a special flight to evacuate the guest workers from Equatorial Guinea.

Mê Linh Point donates 20 thermal cameras to help fight Covid-19

Mê Linh Point Ltd., a joint venture between brewer Sabeco Group and Frasers Property Vietnam, on Tuesday donated 20 thermal cameras worth more than VNĐ1 billion (US$43,300) to the Việt Nam Fatherland Front Committee’s HCM City chapter to support the country’s efforts against COVID-19.

The committee said the cameras would be donated to crowded places like hospitals and medical centres, TV stations, museums, and university dormitories.

Thermal cameras use infrared technology to scan body temperature accurately and without contact, and can cover a larger distance compared to hand-held thermometers.

People working on the frontline, like medical professionals and volunteers, and government organisations, as well as visitors, will benefit from the installation of these thermal cameras.

Lim Hua Tiong, general director of Mê Linh Point and CEO of Frasers Property Vietnam, said: “We are grateful to the frontline heroes for their tireless dedication and great sacrifices to keep the community safe. We recognise there is an ongoing need for health and safety technologies. We hope this support will help in the country’s ongoing efforts to fight the pandemic.” 

Ministry of Health presents 200,000 face masks to Lao counterpart

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health presented 200,000 medical face masks to its Lao counterpart on July 15 to support the country in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the hand-over ceremony, Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long highlighted the special relationship between the two countries, saying the two governments have coordinated closely in the fight against the disease.

Vietnam highly valued the efforts of the Lao Government and people in preventing and controlling the pandemic, he said, adding that the two sides are considering when to resume activities in all respects.

The minister said it is necessary to establish a regular information channel between the two sides, with technical and equipment assistance, to cope with the pandemic as well as other diseases, adding that the two ministries should coordinate closer in the time to come.

For his part, Lao Ambassador to Vietnam Sengphet Houngboungnuang thanked the Ministry of Health for its meaningful gifts and spoke of the support provided by the Vietnamese Government and people to his country.

He congratulated Vietnam on its achievements in responding to the disease, saying that the Government and people of Laos are still carefully working towards controlling the outbreak.

Indonesia promotes support for people affected by COVID-19

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on July 15 directly presented cash assistance to small and micro-sized enterprises, business households, freelance workers, and street vendors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to help them overcome the difficult time.

According to Widodo, about 12 million businesses and individuals whose income have been cut by 50 percent due to the impacts of the disease, were supported under the programme with each of them receiving 2.4 million rupiah (175 USD).

Before the pandemic broke out, the income of freelance labourers and small traders could reach 500,00-800,000 rupiah a day. However, their income is now reduced to only 200,000 rupiah.

Widodo said he hoped the support can be used effectively, helping small and micro-sized enterprises increase business efficiency when the disease is under control.

Supporting small and micro-sized businesses, and freelance workers has actually become one of the President's priorities amid the pandemic.

Earlier, at the Cabinet meeting in June 2020, Widodo asked relevant ministries to immediately deploy support packages for small and micro-sized businesses so that they would not be discouraged and try their best to recover their business and production.

In its national economic recovery programme, the Indonesian government prepared a fund of 6,600 billion rupiah to prevent the pandemic and respond to its impacts on the national economy.

VNS/VNA/VOV/VNN