Among the total 355 infections, 215 are imported and quarantined upon arrival.

Vietnam had no new COVID-19 cases to report on June 29 morning, marking 74 days in a row without new local transmissions, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Among the total 355 infections, 215 were imported and quarantined upon arrival.

At present, 10,027 people having close contact with patients or arriving from pandemic-hit areas are being quarantined at hospitals, concentrated quarantining facilities, and homes.

The committee’s treatment subcommittee reported that 330 patients have given all-clear and there is no death.

Twenty-five patients are being treated at health facilities nationwide and most are in stable condition. Five have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once and five others tested negative at least twice.

Vietnam continues repatriating citizens amid travel restrictions

So far, more than 10,000 Vietnamese nationals have been brought home.

Vietnam continues to bring home hundreds of people from different parts of the worlds in recent days as coronavirus infections and deaths keep going up worldwide, including Singapore, one of the coronavirus hotspots in Southeast Asia.

On June 27, more than 300 Vietnamese citizens arrived in the home country from Singapore. Earlier on May 31, more than 340 were brought home from Singapore where coronavirus infections have surpassed 43,000.

Passengers on the priority list were children under 18, the elderly, the sick, laborers with expired working contracts, students with dormitories closed, and others of special cases, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

After landing in the southern city of Can Tho, all passengers have been quarantined in government-run centers.

On June 25, a group of more than 130 people from Malaysia (more than 40), Nigeria and Cameroon (90) were repatriated on a flight operated by Ethiopian Airlines and Vietnam Airlines.

The returnees, mainly stranded laborers, were quarantined in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City.

On June 19, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines brought 309 people from Angola to Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

On way from Hanoi to Angola, Vietnam Airlines transported personal protective equipment (PPE), face masks, and hand sanitizer for the Embassy of Vietnam in Angola.

So far, Vietnam has repatriated more than 10,000 citizens from abroad.

As of June 28, Vietnam has confirmed 355 infected cases and zero deaths, without infection in the community for 73 days running.

More COVID-19 patients discharged, including a boy of six

An additional five COVID-19 patients were successfully discharged from hospital on June 29, including a six-years-old child, with the country’s total number of recoveries rising to 335 cases, equaling a recovery rate of 94.4%.

The three were recently released, including cases No. 344, No. 346, and No. 348, in addition to one six-years-old boy, with many Vietnamese citizens being repatriated from Sweden and Finland. Once the group arrived at Noi Bai International Airport, many tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus on June 19.

Elsewhere, the country’s other two COVID-19 patients, No. 351 and No. 352, returned from Kuwait on flight KU1513 and tested for the virus on June 24.

The entire group was immediately placed into quarantine upon arrival.

Members of the group had originally tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease, before later being re-discharged and formally discharged from the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

Each of the cases now remains in a stable health condition, therefore displaying no symptoms of the virus, such as a fever, a cough, or shortness of breath.

Each of the five patients will now be placed into isolation in order to undergo a mandatory 14-day observation period in an attempt to ensure  that there is no possibility of the virus reoccurring or being transmitted among the wider community.

As of June 29, the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi had given treatment to 182 COVID-19 patients, including 18 foreigners. Furthermore, 176 patients have gone on to make a full recovery, with the remaining six currently undergoing treatment.

Vietnam has also gone over 74 consecutive days without any locally transmitted COVID-19 cases.

Most notably, as many as 335 individuals out of the nation’s total of 355 COVID-19 cases have since gone on to make a full recovery from the virus, equal to 94.4% of all patients, with no deaths recorded as a result of the virus so far.

More than 280 Vietnamese citizens repatriated from France, Europe

Vietnamese agencies in and outside the country worked with the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and French agencies on June 28 and 29 to arrange a flight for more than 280 Vietnamese citizens in France and some other European countries to return to Vietnam.

Passengers on the flight were those under 18, the elderly, the ill, workers with expired labour contracts and students without accommodations due to school closure, and other people in difficult circumstances.

Pandemic prevention measures were implemented strictly during the flight, and crew and passengers were quarantined upon arrival at Van Don International Airport in northern Quang Ninh province, as per regulations.

At the direction of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vietnamese agencies at home and representative offices abroad will continue to conduct flights bringing citizens home based on their needs and domestic quarantine capacity.

Singapore, Malaysia agree to reopen borders for essential travel

Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to reopen cross-border travel for essential business and official purposes, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on June 27.

This decision was made following the phone talks between Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Muhyiddin Yassin a day earlier.

The two leaders agreed to establish a Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and a Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) for different groups of travellers.

The RGL will facilitate cross-border travel for essential business and official purposes, while the PCA will allow the two countries’ citizens who hold long-term immigration passes in the other country to return home for short-term leave.

Singaporean and Malaysian relevant agencies are still discussing specific measures to implement the RGL and PCA, especially preventive ones against COVID-19 transmission.

Vietnam sees no new community COVID-19 infections since April 16

Vietnam has recorded no new COVID-19 infections in the community since April 16, said the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on June 28 evening.

Chinese citizens receive certificates confirming their completion of quarantine in Vinh Phuc province (Photo: VNA)

Among 355 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Vietnam to date, 215 are imported ones and were quarantined upon their arrival in the country, posing no risk of transmission in the community.

As many as 9,048 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients or entering Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions are being now quarantined across the country, including 107 at hospitals, 8,051 at other establishments and 890 at home.

According to the treatment subcommittee, 330 out of the 355 patients, or 93 percent, have fully recovered and there was no death from the disease.

Five out of the remaining patients undergoing treatment at medical establishments have tested negative for the novel coronavirus SAR-CoV-2 once and five others tested negative twice or more./.

COVID-19: Two more imported cases reported, total hits 355

The Ministry of Health said on June 27 two more Vietnamese returnees from Kuwait have been diagnosed with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 355.

Both new cases are women aged 48 and 43 who were among Vietnamese citizens repatriated from Kuwait on June 18.
They were placed in quarantine in Hung Yen province, bordering Hanoi capital, as soon as they landed in Vietnam.

They tested positive for the coronavirus on June 26 and were transferred to Hanoi-based National Hospital of Tropical Diseases for medical observation and treatment.

As a result, Vietnam has recorded 355 coronavirus cases as of June 27, of which 330 cases have gone on to make a full recovery and have been discharged from hospital.

The remaining 25 cases are receiving treatment at different hospitals across the country, with 10 having tested negative at least once.

June 27 also marked the 72nd consecutive day that has seen Vietnam detect no community infections. No deaths have been reported so far.

More than 300 citizens fly home from Singapore

A Viet Nam Airlines flight carrying more than 300 Vietnamese citizens in Singapore landed in Can Tho International Airport Saturday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The passengers include children under 18, the elderly, sick people and workers with expired labor contracts among others, said the ministry.

This is the 31st repatriation flights organized by Vietnamese competent authorities in collaboration with diplomatic missions and airlines since April 24, bringing home at 7,910 citizens stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed.

As the pandemic has been put under control in Viet Nam, the Government tasked the competent authorities to increase the frequency of special citizen repatriation flights in the time to come.

The Government also decided to open door to foreign experts, business managers, and skilled workers to enter Viet Nam in a move to reboot the economy after the nation became one of the first economies got back to "new normal" situation.

As the pandemic is still evolving complicatedly around the world, Viet Nam still closes borders to foreign tourists for fear of the second COVID-19 wave.

Addressing a meeting on COVID-19 on June 24, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc reaffirmed the guiding viewpoint of fending off the second COVID-19 wave in order to pursue the dual goal of the pandemic containment and economic recovery.

COVID-19: Vietnam only has 15 positive cases left

Vietnam has reported no new coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours after confirming two imported infections on June 27, and the country only has 15 positive cases left.

The cumulative number of confirmed cases remains unchanged at 355, of which 330 cases have fully recovered and have been discharged from hospital, making up 93% of the total. 

The remaining 25 cases are receiving treatment at hospitals across the country, with 10 having tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

As many as 215 cases returned from epidemic hit countries, but they have not posed any risk to the community as they were placed in quarantine upon their arrival.

On June 27, two returnees from Kuwait were confirmed to have carried the virus.

Currently, more than 9,000 people who had close contact and returned from overseas are being quarantined for medical observation at hospitals, concentrated quarantine facilities and places of residence.  

The British pilot is the last out of 50 foreign patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Vietnam. The patient, who is being treated at Cho Ray hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, is recovering substantially. He is expected to return to Scotland, his hometown, on July 12.

Aviva Group donates funds to support COVID-19-affected people

The Aviva Group, an international savings, retirement and insurance business, has donated over 1.4 billion VND (60,000 USD) to the Vietnam Red Cross Society to support an initiative to help people recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The donation is part of the 10 million pounds (12.4 million USD) committed by the Aviva Group and the Aviva Foundation so that the global Red Cross movement can ensure those who were made most vulnerable by the COVID-19 pandemic get the right support at the right time.

The Vietnam Red Cross Society will use this fund to organise the "Humanitarian Market" programme in 26 cities and provinces across the country.

The "Humanitarian Market" programme is designed to support vulnerable people who were directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically families covered under specific policies, the poor, the unemployed, the disabled, and people with no temporary income or loss of income caused by the pandemic.

Agricultural products supplied to the programme will be purchased by Vietnam Red Cross from farmers affected by revenue loss caused by COVID-19. With this approach, the programme can effectively support both poor families and struggling farmers at the same time.

Nguyen Thu Thuy, human resources director of Aviva Vietnam, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic is still complicated in many parts of the world, and we are very lucky that the situation in Vietnam is under control. In this context, Aviva is very honoured to join hands with Vietnam Red Cross in supporting the disadvantaged group of people affected by the disease. We look forward to continuing to accompany the Vietnam Red Cross in other humanitarian and community development activities in the near future."

From 2017 to the present, Aviva has cooperated with the Vietnam Red Cross to organise programmes of the Aviva Community Fund with total funding of over 4.5 billion VND (192,000 USD). The programme has helped to realise many community development projects in Vietnam, while encouraging groups of people to provide solutions to specific and urgent problems in their respective localities.

Face masks sent to help OVs in Canada prevent COVID-19

As many as 50,000 face masks were presented to overseas Vietnamese (OVs) in Canada as the gift from the Vietnamese Government to help them effectively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is unpredictably developing in the world, especially in North America.

Addressing the hand-over ceremony in Ottawa on June 27, Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Cao Phong promised that the embassy will continue accompany OVs in the country in the fight against COVID-19, and do its best in the citizen protection work amid the outbreak.

He highlighted the significance of the donation, saying that it is a vivid demonstration of the policy "OVs are an inseparable part of the Vietnamese nation”.

Protecting citizens is one of the embassy's important tasks as the COVID-19 pandemic is raging around the world, Phong said, adding that the embassy has done its best to protect citizens and support Vietnamese students studying in Canada to find flights back home.

Notably, its website has updated the COVID-19 epidemic questionnaire for Vietnamese students in Canada, attracting more than 4,000 visits and is highly appreciated by the community.

In addition, the embassy has cooperated with the Vietnamese community in Canada to provide accommodations for disadvantaged students, while working actively with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada to suggest local universities open dormitories for students until the end of the school year.

Apart from organising three flights to bring about 900 Vietnamese people from the country back home safely, the embassy has also worked closely with agencies of the host country and asked for health protection measures for Vietnamese expatriates living in the Northern American nation.

Over 300 Vietnamese citizens brought home from Singapore

More than 300 Vietnamese citizens were brought home from Singapore on June 27.

Vietnamese authorities, the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines coordinated with Singapore’s competent agencies to conduct the flight.

Passengers included children under 18, the elderly, the ill, workers with expired labour contracts and students without accommodations due to school closure, and other people with difficult circumstances.

Pandemic prevention measures were implemented strictly during the flight, and crew and passengers were quarantined upon arrival at Can Tho International Airport, as per regulations.

At the direction of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vietnamese agencies at home and representative offices abroad will continue to conduct flights bringing citizens home based on their demand and domestic quarantine capacity.

Vietnamese in Ukraine make efforts in COVID-19 fight

The Vietnamese community in Ukraine has been carrying out various measures to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 amid increasing infections in the host nation.

Nguyen Nhu Manh, head of the overseas Vietnamese association and the association’s COVID-19 prevention and control board in Odessa province, said the association began preparation for the fight against the disease in early March.

When two Vietnamese in the locality were found contracting the COVID-19, the board has conducted a series preventive measures and place under quarantine 76 people having contact with them, he added.

The two cases are a Vietnamese couple living in a Vietnamese residential area in Odessa city called Lang Sen (Lotus Village). They are the 304th and 305th patients of the city and are under treatment, with their health remaining stable.

The Lang Sen area has been frequently sterilised to prevent the spread of the virus, Manh said.

Meanwhile, in response to a call from the Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine, the association’s executive board established a COVID-19 fund to raise financial assistance for the community’s related prevention and control work, particularly in emergency situations.

To date, the fund has received more than 6,000 USD, including 400 USD from the embassy.

According to information sources of Vietnamese expats in Ukraine, the capital Kiev has so far recorded seven Vietnamese infected with the virus.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Health posted a total of 40,008 COVID-19 cases in the country on June 25, an increase of 994 cases compared to the previous day. The local death toll reached 1,067, with 17,758 patients recovered. Odessa and Kharkov, the two provinces with large Vietnamese populations in the country, recorded 1,465 and 1,947 infections, respectively.

More Vietnamese from Africa, Malaysia brought home

Vietnamese and Ethiopian airlines repatriated more than 130 Vietnamese citizens from Nigeria, Cameroon and Malaysia.

On June 24, 90 Vietnamese citizens were brought home from Nigeria and Cameroon, with support from the Vietnamese Embassy in Nigeria in collaboration with local authorities.

They were taken to Lagos where they boarded a flight operated by the Ethiopian flag carrier to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Later on June 25, the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia and Vietnam Airlines took them along with another 40 Vietnamese workers who were stranded in Malaysia.

After landing at Tân Sơn Nhất international airport in HCM City, they were immediately quarantined under close medical supervision in line with COVID-19 prevention and control regulations.

Considering the pandemic situation at home and abroad and quarantine capacity in localities, representative Vietnamese agencies and domestic airlines will continue to run more charter flights to bring citizens homes.

Man who escaped from quarantine centre caught by authorities

Vi Văn Hiến pictured after he was apprehended for fleeing a quarantine centre.

A man returning from China who fled a COVID-19 quarantine centre in the northern province of Quảng Ninh has been recaptured by the authorities.

Vi Văn Hiến escaped from the medical facility in Móng Cái City two days after he arrived.

Hiến, a resident of Mường Chanh Commune of Thanh Hoá Province, illegally entered Việt Nam from China via border area of Quảng Ninh Province in June 22.

He was caught by Vietnamese border soldiers and sent back to a quarantine facility on the same day.

Although he tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, he fled the facility and was subsequently apprehended trying to get back to his home town in Thanh Hoá Province in central Việt Nam.

Quảng Ninh currently has more than 1,000 people held in isolation in designated quarantine facilities.

Việt Nam on Friday has gone 71 days without any community infection cases, with the totally caseload standing at 352 and no fatalities.