Vietnamese citizens from abroad go to quarantine sites after entry into the country (Photo: VNA)

This day also marks the 24th consecutive day without community transmissions.

Among all the cases, 691 are domestically infected cases, including 551 recorded since the new outbreak began on July 25.

As of 6am on September 26, 999 COVID-19 patients had been treated successfully. The fatalities remained at 35.

Among patients under treatment, there is no longer any critical case, while four have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, five twice and 13 thrice.

A total 21,842 people are being quarantined nationwide.

On September 25, eight more patients were given the all-clear from the disease, including six people treated at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi’s Dong Anh district, one at the Quang Nam Central General Hospital and another at the Tuberculosis and Lung Hospital in central Quang Tri province.

The newly-recovered patients brought the total number of recoveries in the country to 999, while there have been 35 deaths related to COVID-19 so far.

Among patients under treatment, there is no longer any critical case, while four have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 14 twice and 12 thrice.

As many as 21,842 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients or entered Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions are being quarantined across the country.

Vietnamese citizens brought home safely from over 30 countries

More than 340 Vietnamese citizens were brought home from over 30 countries in Europe, Africa and Latin America on a flight on September 24-25.

The flight was arranged by Vietnamese representative offices in those regions, Vietnamese authorities, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and local relevant agencies.

The passengers were children under 18, the elderly, students who finished their study and had no accommodations, stranded tourists and businesspeople, workers with expired visas and contracts.

The Vietnamese representative offices had closely worked with local authorities to help the citizens travel to Paris airport and the Vietnamese Embassy in France also sent staff to the airport to assist them.

The same day, 340 citizens were repatriated from Israel on a flight arranged by Vietnamese authorities, the Embassy of Vietnam in Israel and Vietnam Airlines together with Israeli agencies.

The returnees included students who completed their training course in agriculture and those in extremely disadvantaged circumstances.

In a bid to ensure safety for citizens as well as prevent the spread of COVID-19, measures to ensure security, safety and hygiene were strictly implemented during the flight.

The flight crew and all passengers were brought to quarantine sites upon their arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City and Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi.

More repatriation flights will be conducted to bring Vietnamese citizens home, depending on their needs and quarantine capacity in Vietnam.

Da Nang returns to normal after COVID-19 outbreak

Đà Nẵng returned to normal today after successfully controlling an outbreak of COVID-19 infections in the city.

The move came after the city's People’s Committee issued a legal document on Thursday announcing the city had controlled the risk of COVID-19.

Activities that were delayed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the city will be allowed to resume, but there must be a serious commitment and implementation of anti-pandemic measures as regulated.

At the same time, the city will continue to follow the Ministry of Health’s message: “Masks-Disinfectant-Keeping Distance-Avoiding Crowded Places-Health Declarations.”

On September 18, the city allowed some activities and services to return to normal, except for bars, pubs, karaoke joints and massage parlours.

The latest data from the health ministry shows that Đà Nẵng has reported 394 cases of COVID-19, including 360 recoveries and 31 deaths so far.

The city had been placed on lockdown since July 28 after the 416th patient was confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2 on July 25.

In a related movement, the Steering Committee on COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province said as of today, the province had removed all measures to limit people and vehicles travelling from pandemic-hit areas to the province.

Specifically, the province has closed quarantine stations at Huế Train Station, Phú Lộc District and Nam Đông.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc issued a message on Thursday to ask relevant ministries, sectors and localities not to neglect measures to prevent and control the pandemic.

It aimed to firmly maintain the achievements of pandemic prevention, creating a basis for promoting an economic recovery and development, he said. 

Hundreds of Vietnamese citizens successfully brought home on repatriation flights

More than 680 Vietnamese citizens were safely brought home from Israel, and 30 countries in Europe, Africa, and South America on repatriation flights carried out by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines Bamboo from September 24 to September 25 as part of joint efforts by competent Vietnamese authorities and the host nations. 

The majority of passengers onboard the flights were made up of agricultural trainees who had completed their courses, employees whose contracts and visas had expired, stranded travelers, children under the age of 18, pregnant women, the elderly, students with no accommodation due to dormitories closing, and others in difficult circumstances.

Ahead of the departure of the flights, Vietnamese representative agencies in the host nations worked alongside local authorities to facilitate the travel of the Vietnamese citizens to pick up points at local airports. 
In addition, Vietnamese diplomats were also sent there in order to assist all citizens with necessary pre-departure procedures ahead of their departure.

As a means of preventing the potential spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), a range of epidemic prevention measures were taken during the journeys. Upon arrival in the nation, all members of the flight crew and passengers underwent a number of heath checks and were immediately placed into quarantine in line with regulations regarding COVID-19 prevention and control.

Moving forward Vietnamese authorities and relevant bodies based overseas are striving to arrange additional repatriation flights aimed at bringing home more Vietnamese citizens in the near future. Indeed, the schedule of future flights is likely to depend on both demand and the quarantine capacity at home.