Three more COVID-19 patients were given the all-clear on May 18, the Treatment sub-section under the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control said.

The three patients, all Vietnamese, were treated at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

They are now in stable health conditions with no fever, no cough and no breathing difficulty.

The patients will continue to be quarantined for health monitoring for the next 14 days.

As of May 18 afternoon, the total number of recovered COViD-19 patients rose to 263.

According to the latest announcement on May 18 morning, the country had 320 cases of COVID-19, 180 of which were imported. May 18 is the 32nd consecutive day Vietnam has been clear of community transmission./.

HCM City honours individuals for COVID-19 fighting

Ho Chi Minh City’s Party Committee has honoured 233 outstanding individuals for their excellence in studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and lifestyle, particularly their efforts in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Tran Chanh Xuan, deputy director of Cu Chi district hospital in the city’s outlying area, was one of the outstanding models.

Xuan helped develop advanced techniques in traumatology and orthopaedics so that patients could be treated at the hospital instead of being transferred to city-level hospitals.

In November 2016, Xuan and his colleagues performed a high-tech total hip replacement surgery on a male patient with hip osteoarthritis due to complications from a traffic accident years ago. Since then, the doctors have performed hundreds of hi-tech surgeries on patients living in the district.

Dr Ho Hai Truong Giang, the hospital’s director, said: “In the past, patients who suffered from severe conditions relating to trauma and orthopaedics were transferred to People’s Hospital 115 and others. We are confident that we perform these surgeries well.”

Xuan added: “I want residents in the city’s outlying districts to be able to access high-tech healthcare services. This helps patients to reduce costs for treatment and time for travel.”

Xuan is one of 30 doctors and nurses at the hospital to volunteer to work at the Cu Chi hospital to treat COVID-19 patients.

The municipal Department of Health assigned Xuan to be deputy director of the Cu Chi hospital because of his expertise and prestige.

Dr Kim Phuc Thanh, head of the general planning division at Thu Duc district hospital in the city’s outlying area, is another outstanding individual honoured for excellence in studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and lifestyle.

Thanh, 35, has 12 years of experiences and is trusted by the hospital’s leaders and colleagues.

The hospital sees 6,000-7,000 patients every day, requiring its health staff to work hard to meet demand and not make mistakes.

Besides tasks at the hospital, Dr Thanh is known for his participation in charity health examination and treatment programmes.

“People in remote areas in the country cannot access healthcare services provided by hospitals. We give priority to them in the charity health examination and treatment programmes,” Thanh said.

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the Can Gio COVID-19 treatment hospital was set up by the Department of Health. Thanh was assigned to become head of the hospital’s general planning division.

Thanh saw that residents living on Can Gio Island had problems accessing healthcare services. He spoke with the leader of Thu Duc hospital about improving the quality of Can Gio District Health Centre.

Thanh volunteered to provide technical assistance to the centre’s doctors and nurses, which improved residents' access to healthcare services.

Dr Nguyen Ngoc Sang, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union at Cho Ray hospital, was honoured for his achievement in working for charity health examination and treatment programmes in the city and areas near border gates and islands nationwide.

Sang is one of the doctors treating COVID-19 patients at the hospital.

Speaking at the ceremony last week, Secretary of the Party Committee, Nguyen Thien Nhan said that the honorees' "useful work" helped people's lives. He said they were "enterprising people" who have shown silent dedication to the city's development./.

COVID-19 infections reach 320 after two imported cases confirmed

Two new COVID-19 cases confirmed on May 17 evening are Vietnamese people returning from Russia, and they have been quarantined upon their arrival, said the national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control.

The male patients were repatriated from Russia on Flight VN0062 on May 13. After landing at Van Don International Airport in northern Quang Ninh province, they were immediately kept in quarantine at the military school of Thai Binh province.

Patient 319, 26 years old, is being treated at the Hanoi-based National Hospital for Tropical Diseases No. 2. Meanwhile, Patient 320, 29 years old, is under treatment at the General Hospital of Thai Binh province.

They added up to 320 patients of COVID-19 in Vietnam at present, including 180 imported cases who were quarantined upon their arrival in the country.

As of 6pm of May 17, Vietnam had not recorded any COVID-19 infections in the community for 31 consecutive days.

There are 10,962 people under quarantine now, including 293 at hospitals, 8,631 at other quarantine facilities, and 2,038 at home./.

Vietnam praised for swift response and successes in COVID-19 combat

Vietnam has continued wining plaudits from the international community for its response to and results in containing COVID-19 being less wealthy than other nations and territories seen as relatively successful in the fight against the pandemic.

“Like its Asian allies, Vietnam’s swift response was based on a robust pandemic response plan that was forged after recent deadly brushes with other high-risk infectious diseases, including SARS and H5N1,” wrote Nicola Smith, Asia correspondent of The Telegraph.

Last week, Dr John MacArthur, Thailand Country Director for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), praised Vietnam’s response and attributed it to “strong public health systems, the whole-of-government approach” and a huge team of “disease detectives” to carry out contact tracing, she wrote.

Shashank Bengali, a staff writer of the Los Angeles Times quoted Huong Le Thu, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute as saying: “It’s pretty amazing. I’m cautious of calling Vietnam a success story. It’s too early to be out of the woods. But the measures have been quite effective so far.”

In article entitled “Vietnam may have the most effective response to COVID-19” posted on The Nations, George Black wrote: “Yet its handling of the pandemic has been strikingly transparent. It also has an enormous capacity for mass mobilization (not to mention a long history of it). It’s no coincidence that the government calls its campaign against Covid-19 the Spring General Offensive of 2020 - an obvious echo of the General Offensive, General Uprising of 1968 - the Tet Offensive.”

He also cited Todd Pollack, a professor at Harvard Medical School who directs the Partnership for Health Advancement in Vietnam in Hanoi as saying that: “I see no reason to mistrust the information coming out of the government at this time. Vietnam’s response was swift and decisive. If the epidemic were much larger than is being officially reported, we would see the evidence in increased emergency room visits and hospital admissions - and we’re not seeing it.”

“Nonetheless, what Vietnam has accomplished in these first three months is to buy precious time, and it has used it well,” Black wrote. “So when the second wave comes, as it surely will, Vietnam has a fighting chance of controlling it as well as it controlled the first. There are many lessons to be learned from its extraordinary success, although sadly it is much too late now for the United States to learn them.”

Vietnam praised for swift response and successes in COVID-19 combat hinh anh 2
A farmer rides a bycycle past a poster warning about the coronavirus disease outbreak in Hanoi on April 22 (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters also run article commending Vietnam’s successes in the fight against the pandemic. “The steps are easy to describe but difficult to implement, yet they’ve been very successful at implementing them over and over again,” it quoted Matthew Moore, a Hanoi-based official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who has been liaising with Vietnam’s government on the outbreak since early January. He added that the CDC has “great confidence” in the Vietnamese government’s response to the crisis.

“It is organised, it can make country-wide policy decisions that get enacted quickly and efficiently and without too much controversy,” Guy Thwaites, director of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Ho Chi Minh City was cited as saying.

In article entitled “Iron will: How Vietnam caged the coronavirus,” The Times of India also hailed Vietnam’s achievements in curbing the pandemic.

“How did this nation of 96 million with a common border with China manage this? It appears that Vietnam threw everything including the kitchen sink at COVID-19. It was quick to recognise the danger and geared up to tackle the outbreak in January itself - much before concern of the disease spread outside China,” it wrote.

“It then approached COVID-19 like a war, declaring that fighting the disease was akin to fighting an enemy.It mobilised all arms of the state including the army and started strict quarantine and contact tracing procedures even when the number of positive cases in Vietnam was low.”

“These measures were complemented by clear communication from the Vietnamese government and much publicity.”

“But the key to Vietnam’s success was the patriotic mobilisation of its people to fight Covid-19. As a nation that defeated two powerful countries in the not so distant past, the Vietnamese government could count on the Vietnamese people to fight the disease on a war footing. True, Vietnam’s measures to tackle the virus were tough. But the Vietnamese people accepted them and cooperated with the authorities for the larger good.”

“To be honest, most countries won’t be able to do what Vietnam did. Vietnam has specific political, social and historical conditions that allowed Hanoi to mobilise and undertake intensive measures. Nonetheless, Vietnam’s success holds out hope that Covid-19 can be contained and defeated. It is not something insurmountable. But the approach one chooses will certainly determine the time it will take. Vietnam has the socio-political means to shorten that time.”/.

No new COVID-19 cases reported on May 18 morning

No new COVID-19 cases were recorded overnight, keeping the infection number in Vietnam at 320 since May 17 evening, the national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control said on May 18 morning.

This also marks the 32nd straight day Vietnam is clear of community transmission.

Among the total, 180 are imported cases which were quarantined upon their arrival in the country.

Up to 260 patients or 81 percent have recovered from the coronavirus disease, and there have been no deaths.

Two of the 60 remainders still under treatment have tested negative once for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and 12 others negative at least twice.

There are 10,692 people kept in quarantine at present, including 293 at hospitals, 8,631 at other quarantine facilities, and 2,038 at home.

The national steering committee requested people to continue implementing disease prevention and control measures in the new context. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the pandemic is still developing complicatedly around the world, recommending Vietnam enhance long-term pandemic control measures./.

Russian, Belarusian media laud Vietnam’s achievements in COVID-19 fight

A health worker sprays disinfectant in a village in Hanoi's outlying district of Me Linh

Russian and Belarusian media have spoken highly of Vietnam’s measures to bring COVID-19 under control.

An article on Russian news site AiF.ru remarked that a national steering board on COVID-19 prevention and control in Vietnam was set up early, and health workers and equipment mobilised in a short space of time.

The Vietnamese people’s efforts in fighting the disease alongside the Government are among the major factors in the country’s victory, it underlined.

The Southeast Asian nation presented more than five tonnes of medical supplies to Russia, including 370,000 face masks, which has been reported by various Russian sites, according to the TASS news agency.

Vietnam plans to provide additional medical supplies to Russia, the agency added.

In an article titled “How Vietnam defeated coronavirus”, Belarusian site onliner.by explained the reasons for Vietnam’s success in tackling COVID-19 through an interview with a local businessperson.  

The article noted that Vietnam shares a long border with China. Nevertheless, since the pandemic began, just over 300 cases were registered in the country, with no deaths.

Vietnam has spared no efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, as the country has kept a close eye on flights from abroad and ordered school closures from an early stage, it added./.

Hanoi eligible to declare end of Covid-19 epidemic   

Hanoi has earned public praise for properly deploying preventative measures against the disease and curbing transmission in the community.

Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital city, is now eligible to declare itself free of the new coronavirus as it has recorded no new patients for 31 days, Kinhtedothi.vn reported, citing Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Ngo Van Quy at a recent online government meeting.

Quy said that whether there is a decision to declare the end of the epidemic or not, Hanoi has always focused on the "double goal" of strictly applying anti-pandemic measures and ensuring socio-economic development.

According to the Law on Prevention of Infectious Diseases, the following conditions must be met to declare the end of an epidemic: no new case being detected after a certain period of time, meeting different conditions for each epidemic as prescribed by the Prime Minister, and taking anti-epidemic measures in line with regulations.

It’s been 31 days that Hanoi has not detected any new infection of Covid-19. Out of 112 patients, 101 have been cured and discharged from hospital, 13 others are still treated and in good condition, 128 people are under medical observation in the community.

The city’s last Covid-19 outbreak in Thuong Tin district was extinguished on May 14.

Hanoi has earned public praise for properly deploying preventative measures against the disease and curbing transmission in the community. However, in the time ahead, overseas Vietnamese will keep returning home via Noii Bai International Airport and else where. Even though they must undergo quarantine, there is still risk of contagion in isolation centers and in the community.

Hanoi has taken measures to prevent the pandemic from spreading, such as close surveillance at Noi Bai International Airport, preparing quarantine centers for foreign arrivals, conducting testing with a view to avoiding the risk of infection import.

Thailand looks to cement position as advanced medical hub in Asia

As Thailand begins to gradually ease coronavirus-related restrictions, the government is looking to cement the country's position as an advanced medical hub in Asia.

Thailand's response to the coronavirus pandemic has been aided by a robust healthcare system, which was ranked sixth out of 195 countries in the 2019 Global Health Security Index, calculated by researchers at the Nuclear Threat Initiative and Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security.

This meant Thailand was the highest ranked emerging economy and the top Asian country in the index, which was devised to measure a country's preparedness for a pandemic.

Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, Thailand was already working to establish itself as the medical hub of Asia with the 2016-25 strategic plan entitled “Thailand: A Hub of Wellness and Medical Services.”

Thailand is already popular as an international healthcare tourism destination, and the push to further develop the medical ecosystem has been partly driven by an ageing population, which will result in increasing domestic demand for quality healthcare services.

As the global pandemic has added further strains to frontline health services and back-end supply chains, the Board of Investment (BoI) announced additional measures in April to accelerate investments in the medical industry, which could have positive implications for the sector's broader strategic goals.

Complementing the existing tax holiday of between 3-8 years for qualified medical device, equipment and supply businesses, the new measures include a 50 percent reduction in corporate income tax for a further three years.

This additional incentive is available to firms that apply before June 30 and begin production before Dec 31.

Furthermore, manufacturers that adjust existing production lines to manufacture medical devices or parts will be exempted from import duties on machinery in 2020, provided they apply before September.

Additional tax benefits are being offered to companies producing non-woven fabric used to manufacture medical masks or devices.

These measures are aimed at a fast response to this specific situation, but were designed to also pave the way for longer-term development, BoI secretary-general Duangjai Asawachintachit said.

Paul Ashburn, co-managing partner of the business consultancy BDO Thailand, said Thailand already had a head start, so it is well-placed to capitalise on increased regional demand over the next 12 months.

As such, affluent patients from neighbouring countries are likely to still seek medical treatment in Thailand's superior facilities once border restrictions are eased, even if it may take longer for medical tourists from other core markets in the Middle East, US, Europe and the Indian subcontinent to return en masse.

In addition, as many of Thailand's neighbours will not be able to immediately count on domestic production to stockpile personal protective equipment and necessary medical supplies in the wake of the pandemic, Thailand will be an obvious source market due to its production capacity and close proximity./.

Indonesia continues trials for COVID-19 treatment

Indonesian health authorities are trying quinine as a possible treatment of COVID-19 while also acquiring other kinds of medication touted as promising drugs in some other countries, a senior official has said.

Research and Technology Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro on May 17 said the Indonesian government has previously bought Avigan and hydroxychloroquine, and is currently in the process to acquire Remdesivir.

The country also intends to develop medicines using its own herbs and biodiversity. One of the candidate treatments being tried is quinine.

Quinine, bitter pill made from the bark of the cinchona tree, was originally developed to cure malaria. It has been rarely used as medicine since its synthetic form named chloroquine was invented as prescription medicine for malaria.

Indonesia is conducting clinical trials of various treatments that have been applied in other countries, Bambang said.

The country reported a total 17,514 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections as of May 17, with 1,148 fatalities.

Meanwhile, Singapore on the same day saw 682 new cases, bringing the national tally to 28,038. Most of the cases are work permit holders residing in dormitories. The country’s death toll remained at 22.

The Philippine Department of Health announced 208 new infections and seven deaths on May 17, taking the tally to 12,513 and 824 deaths. As many as 2,635 people have recovered.

At present, Malaysia recorded 6,894 cases and 113 deaths.

For its part, Thailand is gradually easing restrictions as the number of new cases has seen a downturn. Community malls and department stores reopened on May 17 after a suspension in March.

Three new infections were reported on the day, adding up to 3,028 cases of the country, with 56 deaths./.

Thailand extends ban on international passenger flights

Thailand has extended a ban on international passenger flights again for another month until June 30, in a bid to contain the spread of the COVID-19.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said on its website on late May 16 that no passenger flights originating outside the country may land at Thai airports until June 30. The exceptions are state or military aircraft, emergency or technical landing, humanitarian aid, medicine and relief flights, along with repatriation and cargo aircraft.

The announcement came after single-digit increases of infections were reported the past week in the country, and the Thai government has yet to decide whether to extend the emergency decree which expires on May 31.

Meanwhile, an opinion survey released by the National Institute of Development Administration on May 17 show that a majority of Thais want the emergency decree to be lifted now as the COVID-19 situation has been much improved.

The poll was conducted on May 11-13 on 1,259 people aged 18 and over of various levels of education and occupation throughout the country.

A majority, 57.74 percent, of the respondents said they want the emergency decree to be lifted. In contrast, 15.15 percent leaned against the proposal to lift the decree, and 25.74 percent were strongly against it, saying they want to make sure there would not be a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thailand did not record any COVID-19 infections or deaths on May 16, keeping the number of cases at 3,025, including 56 deaths.

Over 340 Vietnamese return home safely from US

More than 340 Vietnamese citizens were repatriated safely from Washington DC on a flight that landed at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on May 16.

The flight was arranged by Vietnamese authorities, the country’s representative agencies in the US, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and relevant agencies of the US.

The passengers include elderly people, those with illnesses, people under 18, students without accommodation due to school closures, those stranded because of flight suspension, and some with particularly disadvantaged backgrounds. They were from various states in the US.

The Vietnamese Embassy had sent staff to assist the citizens before they got on the plane.

After arriving at Noi Bai airport, all the passengers and flight crew immediately received health check-ups and were sent to quarantine facilities under regulations.

In the time ahead, Vietnamese authorities, overseas representative bodies and airlines will organise more flights to bring Vietnamese expatriates home basing on COVID-19 developments in the country and the world, the citizens’ aspirations, and local quarantine capacity./.

More Vietnamese nationals return from Europe

Vietnamese passengers line up at Madrid Barajas International Airport in Spain to complete necessary procedures before boarding the flight home.

Another Vietnam Airlines flight has brought back to Vietnam nearly 200 Vietnamese citizens from European countries amid the complexity of the COVID-19 situation there.

Passengers are mostly children under the age of 18, the elderly, sick people, pregnant women, graduate students, stranded tourists and people whose visas had expired but could not leave the countries.

The flight stopped at Frankfurt International Airport in Germany and Madrid Barajas International Airport in Spain for the passengers to board.

The embassies of Vietnam in European countries had closely cooperated with local authorities to help the Vietnamese nationals complete all required procedures and make their journey home safely.

Landing at Da Nang International Airport in the central city of Da Nang on May 16, the passengers and cabin crew members were provided with medical checkups and sent to state-designated facilities for compulsory quarantine for 14 days.

Vietnam will continue arranging flights to bring back its citizens home in the coming time, depending on the pandemic's situation, the country’s quarantine capacity and the demand of Vietnamese citizens living overseas.

Laos relaxes some restrictions after 33 days of no new COVID-19 cases

Laos on May 15 announced the easing of some restrictions in the country after 33 consecutive days without any new infection of COVID-19.

From May 18, public agencies and businesses will be allowed to re-open but epidemic prevention measures must continue and working online is still encouraged whenever possible.

Transport activities will be resumed and inter-province movement is allowed. Foreigners in Laos can return to their home countries, and Lao workers employed overseas can return to their jobs abroad.

The Government also permits the gradual re-opening of schools, with fifth, ninth and 12th graders back to school on May 18 and other graders from June 2.

Both indoor and outdoor sport activities can now be held on the condition of observing epidemic prevention rules. Business activities will also be resumed under the monitoring of management agencies and local authorities.

Meanwhile, the restriction will continue for parties, night markets, Night markets, beer shops, nightclubs, online game shops, karaoke venues, cinemas, casinos, and team sports tournaments. Unofficial or informal gatherings or other large events are still banned, as are cultural festivals and weddings with more than 50 attendees.

Local, traditional, and international border checkpoints remain closed, and Laos will continue to issue no visa to foreigners except for diplomats, experts and labourers deem necessary for projects in the country.

The Lao Health Ministry also stressed that if any new infection is detected in a province, stricter measures will be enacted in that province. If a cluster of cases is found in two or more provinces, then the country may revert to stricter lockdown measures stipulated under Prime Ministerial Order No. 6/PM./.

Thailand approves second phase of lockdown relaxation

A butcher's shop in a mall of Thailand

The Thai government has approved the second phase of the easing of lockdown measures from May 17 to help lift the economy, but mainly in the evening.

Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said on May 15 that malls and food courts, convention centres, wholesale markets and pools can re-open.

There are no changes in the measures on transportation. There is still no regular international transport, and strict screening of inter-provincial transport remains. Curfew timings will be relaxed by one hour, from 11pm to 4am compared to from 10pm at present.

The Thai government devised a four-phase plan to restart the economy while containing the disease as daily infections continued to fall. The first one began on May 3.

On May 16, Thailand saw no new infections along with zero death. This is the second time since March 9 the country has recorded no infection during a day.

The tally in the Southeast Asian now stands at 3,025, with 2,854 recoveries and 56 deaths./.

Vietnam shares experience in COVID-19 fight with US-Asia Institute

A COVID-19 patient is being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases No. 2.

Associate Prof., Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the Health Ministry’s Department for Medical Examination and Treatment, shared Vietnam’s experience in containing the COVID-19 pandemic at a recent video seminar held by the US-Asia Institute.

Khue, who is also deputy head of the Treatment Sub-committee under the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, highlighted efforts by the entire Vietnamese political system during the combat.

He spoke of the mottoes of prevention, detection, quarantine, sealing off epidemic clusters and stamping out the pandemic, along with four on-site principles that have been applied by Vietnam.

Thanks to such efforts, Vietnam has reported no deaths caused by the acute respiratory disease so far, Khue stressed.

Apart from Khue, two other experts from the Republic of Kore and Singapore briefed the seminar, held on May 13, on COVID-19 prevention and control in their respective countries.

Glenn Lau-Kee, Chairman of the US-Asia Institute, sent a letter to Khue on May 14 to thank the latter for his attendance at the seminar and sharing of Vietnam’s experience in the pandemic combat.

The chairman expressed his wish for further cooperation with the Vietnamese Government in the future./.

COVID-19: 100,000 masks presented to 16 German states

Vietnamese people present masks to Germany

As many as 100,000 masks ordered by the Vietnamese community in Germany have been presented to the World University Service (WUS) in an effort to fight COVID-19.

The masks, carried by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, will later be sent to 16 German states.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, WUS President Kambiz Ghawami said over the past time, many Vietnamese associations in Germany have also sewn masks and offered free meals to nurseries, firefighting forces and frontline medical workers in the host country.

On the occasion, the organising board also handed over the token of 6,250 masks to Rheinland-Pfalz state.

As of May 14, the WUS sent masks to 11 German states, and more will come to the remaining states in the near future./.

Support for Vietnamese peacekeeping forces to fight COVID-19

A quarantine area at Vietnamese field hospital No.2 in South Sudan (Photo: field hospital No.2)

The State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese Affairs under the Foreign Ministry held a ceremony on May 15 to present over 232 million VND to the Defence Ministry’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

The sum will be sent to the Vietnamese peacekeeping forces in South Sudan and the Central African Republic in an effort to fight COVID-19.

Speaking at the event, deputy head of the committee Luong Thanh Nghi said the sum was donated by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (BAOOV), adding that it is their first activity towards the Vietnamese peacekeeping mission.

Nghi expressed his belief that the forces will continue upholding their sense of solidarity and overcoming difficulties to fulfil assigned tasks.

Founded in 2009, the BAOOV groups more than 300 members, including Vietnamese businesspeople and enterprises from over 38 countries and territories.

Over the past years, it has partnered with the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese Affairs to promote economic and trade ties between Vietnam and countries./.

Singapore develops quick COVID-19 test kit

Singapore has successfully developed a quick test kit for the COVID-19 which shows result within one hour.

The kit, known as cPass, is used to seek potential vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 that causes the disease, check what proportion of the population has already been infected, and for contact tracing, which is critical as Singapore eases up on circuit breaker measures.

The advantages of the new test over others currently being used are that it is fast, can single out antibodies, and can be used in regular research or hospital settings rather than needing specialised expertise and equipment.

It will be developed by experts of the Duke-NUS Medical School in collaboration with biotech company GenScript Biotech Corporation and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's (A*Star) Diagnostics Development Hub (DxD Hub)./.

Cambodia encourages garment factories to produce masks, medical supplies

The Cambodian government has approved a request of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) and encouraged garment factories to produce all kinds of face masks, medical equipment, and protective clothing for both domestic consumption and export.

As masks, medical equipment, and protective clothing are being sought after by the world to help curb the COVID-19, the government supports and encourages factories to produce the aforementioned items, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s letter sent to GMAC president.

Spokesperson of the Cambodian Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training Heng Sour earlier said the export of garments and footwear is forecast to drop by 50-60 percent in the second quarter of this year due to the impact of the pandemic. 

The Q1 exports nosedived by 80 percent year-on-year when the COVID-19 broke out in the EU and US – the two largest markets of Cambodian garment products – in February, he said.

Over 180 apparel factories have now suspended operation, and another 60 are thought to be close to suspension, affecting lives of about 200,000 workers.

According to the Cambodian Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, the Southeast Asian country is home to 1,099 factories operating in textiles, footwear and handbag industries./.

Thailand launches mobile phone app to help control COVID-19

The Thai Government will launch a new mobile phone app named “Thai Chana” to facilitate the disease-control tracking of customers when shops are allowed to reopen with the easing of the coronavirus lockdown.

Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said on May 14 that shop owners will register online for a QR code that will be placed in front of their shop.

Customers will use their mobile phone to scan the code as they enter and leave the premises.

Taweesilp said the Thai Chana app will serve 70-80 percent of people based on the number of mobile phone users, who account for 70-80 percent of Thailand's population.

Young children and elderly people who do not use mobile phones will be able to use manual registration, he said.

The app is expected to facilitate the government's attempts to quickly track people infected with Covid-19 and those in close contact with them. Its effectiveness will lead to the further reopening of businesses and activities, he said.

Thailand reported seven new COVID-19 cases on May 15, raising the total to 3,025, including 56 deaths./.