A worker shows people subject to quarantine the way to their quarantine area in Hoa Binh province

Among the new Vietnamese patients, two men, aged 26 and 34, returned from the US; two men, aged 22 and 19, from the UK; and a 17-year-old girl returned from Thailand and had close contact with a person previously testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Da Nang city.

The South African patient is a 58-year-old woman who departed Seattle of the US and transited Taiwan (China) before entering Vietnam on March 21.

The French one is a 58-year-old man coming to Vietnam on March 12.

They are currently undergoing treatment in HCM City, Tra Vinh province, Can Tho city, Ha Tinh province and Hanoi.

Earlier, the Ministry of Health on March 25 evening confirmed seven cases who tested positive to SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19.

Of the new cases, six came back to Vietnam from foreign countries like Denmark with transits in Doha and Bangkok, the US, Germany and the UK; and one lives in Vietnam.

The one who lives in Vietnam is a doctor who contracts the disease while treating another COVID-19 patient at a hospital in Hanoi’s outlying district of Dong Anh. Among the rest are four students who studied in the US and the UK.

Vietnam has recorded 14 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours. Among them, 10 were quarantined upon their arrival, one is a doctor getting the virus from patients, and three spent some time living in the community before having test results./.

ADB ready to support Vietnam’s COVID-19 fight

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is ready to provide Vietnam with timely and flexible support for the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Asian Development Bank stands ready to provide financial assistance and policy advice to help the Government of Vietnam contain the spread of COVID-19,” ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said.

He added that the bank will consider all options, including quick-disbursing budget support, policy-based lending, and expedited disbursement of existing loans, to ensure any support package can be approved quickly and disbursed in a timely manner.

The ADB President also commended the Vietnamese Government on its timely and effective actions to combat the pandemic. He welcomed its focus on maintaining economic stability and growth in the medium and long-term, including through expanding public investment expenditure and strengthening social safety nets for poor and vulnerable households.

The lender has announced an initial support package of 6.5 billion USD to address the immediate needs of its developing member countries, including Vietnam, as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bank said it will provide additional support as needed./.

PM lauds medical staff in COVID-19 fight

At a hospital in Ha Long city

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on March 25 sent a letter to staff of the health care sector lauding their contributions to the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the letter, he highlighted the country’s initial but encouraging outcomes in the COVID-19 fight, attributing them to efforts of the entire Party, army, people and political system with strong and drastic measures.

He said images of medical staff and armed forces in localities coming to each household to promptly discover cases at high risk of infection, providing care for patients in quarantine areas, or collecting samples and studying on the virus and vaccine have left a profound impression in the public.

The PM lauded them for upholding the tradition of the sector and creating a driving force for the country to successfully combat the pandemic.

Amid the complicated, uncertain and prolonging development of the pandemic, Vietnam is in the stage of exerting utmost efforts to prevent the spread in the community and stay vigilant.

He called on all doctors and medical staff across the country to stay more determined and show higher sense of responsibility, together with forces and people, to roll back the pandemic.

The leader also urged people nationwide to continue encouraging and joining hands to support “soldiers in white blouse” in the tough and dangerous fight against the COVID-19.

He wished medical staff good health, deserving public trust throughout the country and accomplishing the task of caring for and protecting public health./.

Vingroup offers additional relief package in COVID-19 fight

The signing ceremony between Vingroup and the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No.1 under the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (Photo: vov.vn)

Conglomerate Vingroup recently proposed a relief package worth 100 billion VND (4.23 million USD) to procure medical equipment and chemicals for testing of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19.

Through the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, the firm presented 100 ventilators, 20 PCR equipment, 800 test kits and 200 COVID-19 fast-tracking test kits produced by the Republic of Korea.

Vingroup has to date allocated nearly 450 billion VND to support the country’s fight against the COVID-19.

Previously, it earmarked an aid of 20 billion VND to the Ministry of Science and Technology for three studies on COVID-19 quick response and another worth 5 billion VND to the Ministry of Health.

The conglomerate also presented support to the central province of Ha Tinh and the northern port city of Hai Phong in the wake of the pandemic.

Medical students pitch in to fight COVID-19

Young people in many provinces and cities are volunteering to take part in COVID-19 prevention and control efforts together with health authorities.

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of HCM City on March 22 launched a voluntary programme to support the health sector.

It attracted 200 young doctors and staff from clinics and hospitals run by universities and medical students.

Phan Thi Thanh Phuong, the union’s standing deputy secretary, said there would be communication about COVID-19 preventive measures and its progress to students, their parents, teachers, and workers in the city.

It would also work with local authorities and relevant agencies to install medical equipment at hospitals and collaborate with the Sai Gon Water Supply Corporation’s Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper to install wash basin in 25 schools in the city, especially in outlying districts, and spray chemicals to disinfect them, she said.

They would also provide assistance in the city’s quarantine areas and help people brought there fill health declaration forms required by the city Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control (CDC), she said.

The volunteers had received training.

Tran Duy Quan, a fifth year student at the HCM City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, said he and his classmates had obtained knowledge about the disease and preventive measures and could correct misunderstanding among the public.

Dr Nguyen Thanh Hiep, vice rector of the Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine in HCM City, said more than 500 senior students had worked with staff at the Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control in the fight against COVID-19.

They helped the centre’s staff input data about the incidence of COVID-19 and people related to patients, and set up a map genealogy to monitor the spread of the disease. They were also helping the centre’s team investigate the epidemic by tracking people who pose a high risk of transmission.

Students are providing assistance to authorities in quarantine areas.

All have been trained in how to protect themselves from COVID-19.

Last weekend hundreds of students from the Vietnam National University- HCM City volunteered to clean the university’s dormitory, which is being used as quarantine accommodation for more than 3,000 people.

In the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, 305 students of the Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy are working to communicate, disinfect and take samples for tests.

Its lecturers have also joined COVID-19 prevention and control efforts.

Three hundred forty students of Hue University’s University of Medicine and Pharmacy are working with the police to check the temperatures of train passengers and guide them in filling health declaration and other papers.

They include 160 students good at English who are helping foreign passengers.

According to the Hanoi Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), 75 students from the Hanoi Medical University have joined its staff for prevention and control of COVID-19 like the students from Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine’s do at the HCM City CDC.

Other students are providing assistance to staff preventing against COVID-19 at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi.

Six hundreds of students from the Hanoi University of Public Health pursuing majors in public health, testing techniques and nutrition are pitching in to help health officials.

The Ministry of Health has called on medical students to help in the fight against the epidemic.

Noi Bai Airport produces disinfection chamber

The Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi officially put into operation a disinfection chamber at the airport’s operation centre on March 24 as an effort to curb the spreading of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The device was invented and assembled by young engineers of the Noi Bai Aviation Technical Service Centre during only three days.

Its main component is a 360-degree mist sprayer using anolyte solution which is a powerful disinfectant against bacteria and viruses. The disinfection spraying process will be automatically activated once a person steps in the chamber. It only takes 30 seconds to complete a round of disinfection.

Nguyen Duc Hung, Deputy Director General of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam and Director of the Noi Bai International Airport, said that after successful production of the first chamber, the airport will continue researching and installing more disinfection chambers at its subsidiaries and terminals to serve passengers.

Noi Bai airport is willing to share the technology with other companies in need, he added.

By March 24 morning, Vietnam recorded 123 COVID-19 cases./.

15 Hanoi hotels sign up for COVID-19 quarantine sites

As of March 23, 15 hotels in Hanoi had registered to serve as quarantine places for suspected COVID-19 cases, according to the municipal Department of Tourism.

The hotels have a total of 1,437 rooms and 2,850 beds. They have taken precautionary measures like spraying disinfectant, delivering free face masks and offering hand sanitisers at public areas.

The tourism department will work with other hotels that are qualified as quarantine sites in the coming days.

Statistics show that a total of 1,077 passengers, including 561 foreigners, were on the 11 flights that landed in Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport with people who have then tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on board.

Of the foreigners, 314 stayed in 121 hotels in Hanoi. Currently, 82 foreign visitors are being quarantined in 41 hotels in Hoan Kiem, Tay Ho, Dong Da, Ba Dinh, Hai Ba Trung and Long Bien districts. /.

Hanoi works to prevent cross infection of COVID-19 among community

The fight against COVID-19 in Hanoi has entered a new phase with the occurrence of cross infections in the community and at health facilities, said Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung at a meeting in the city on March 23.

The preparation of resources for hospitals is the most important and decisive factor to prevent the pandemic, he said, adding that it is necessary to promptly detect cases for early treatment and community infection prevention.

He advised people to limit going out from now to April 5 to avoid the risk of infection.

Offices and trade centres should implement seriously preventive measures and reduce offline meetings.

The official ordered relevant forces to make efforts in the next two weeks to discover suspected cases for testing and quarantine.

As of 18:10 on March 23, Hanoi had recorded 39 COVID-19 cases.

The Hanoi Health Department has arranged some hospitals in the capital to receive quarantine cases, and monitor and provide treatment for confirmed cases./.

More than 400 bln VND raised for COVID-19 prevention work

More than 400 billion VND (around 17 million USD) have been mobilised for COVID-19 prevention and control work after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called for public support to the fight against COVID-19.

As of March 24, the COVID-19 prevention and control fund has collected nearly 340 billion VND from agencies, businesses and individuals and 62 billion VND who contributed via SMS messages through the National Humanitarian Portal 1400, reported the Vietnam Government Portal.

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Tran Thanh Man said that the contributions of agencies, organisations, businesses and people have manifested the solidarity of all Vietnamese people in struggling against the COVID-19 pandemic.

These contributions will be transferred to the Ministry of Health for purchasing medical equipment, necessities and support COVID-19 patients and those undergoing quarantine.

On March 19, a text message campaign to call for public support for the country’s fight against COVID-19 was launched in Hanoi.

The campaign is taking place from March 19 to June 18, 2020.

Supporters can join the programme by texting “CV n” to 1407, of which “n” is the number of support. Each text message will contribute at least 20,000 VND (0.86 USD) to the fund.

Hanoi pushes up medical equipment preparations to prevent COVID-19

The People’s Committee of Hanoi has ordered the municipal Department of Health to closely work with relevant agencies to push up the purchase of medical equipment to support the fight against the COVID-19.

Chairman of the committee Nguyen Duc Chung requested agencies to arrange infrastructure and personnel to start the operation of a hospital for the acute respiratory disease based in the outlying district of Me Linh, meeting the city’s plan in COVID-19 prevention and combat.

They were also asked to join hands with the Hanoi Military High Command to send people having close contact with COVID-19 patients, who are under quarantine in the city’s hospitals, to concentrated quarantine facilities managed by the municipal command.

Departments, sectors and localities of the capital city must stay vigilant and ready to cope with all situations, and determined to curb further transmissions of the disease, he added.

Chung also ordered temporary closure of non-essential services in the city, including karaoke parlours, bars, clubs, gaming venues, cinemas and stadiums.

Businesses providing necessary services like food and petrol can operate as usual.

People are asked to avoid gathering in large crowds, and to work and study from home. Religious and worship places have been ordered not to hold events with large crowds of participants.

As of 6pm on March 25, the total COVID-19 cases in Vietnam stood at 134, of which 17 patients were declared fully recovered.

PM calls for youth’s stronger engagement in COVID-19 fight

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged the youth to engage more strongly in the fight against the COVID-19 while speaking at a working session with the Secretariat of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) Central Committee in Hanoi on March 25, one day ahead of the union’s founding anniversary.

At the meeting, First Secretary of the committee Le Quoc Phong said over the recent past, it has actively reformed the union’s activities and youth movements to attract more young people.

The theme “Year of Youth Volunteers” in 2019 received warm response from HCYU cadres and members and other young people. Activities during the year were organised in a widespread and regular manner from the central to grassroots levels, he said, noting that the number of young people taking part in voluntary activities last year rose three folds from 2018.

The Secretariat of the committee hopes that in the coming time, the PM will support the creation of favourable conditions and mechanisms for the union to perform its tasks in representing children’s voices and aspirations, and uniting overseas young Vietnamese, Phong added.

The secretariat also proposed the PM approve the establishment of the “Vietnam youth initiative for the community” programme and a social skill training system for young Vietnamese people.

Addressing the event, PM Phuc applauded the union and relevant organisations’ contributions to the country, especially during the “Year of Youth Volunteers” in 2019.

He said over the last three months, the union’s cadres, members and other youngsters have actively joined hands in the combat against the COVID-19 as manifested through their organisation of hand-washing stations, medical students’ support for anti-coronavirus activities, and distribution of free face masks.

The leader requested the union to get young people involved in the COVID-19 prevention and control more strongly, multiply effective models in the work, and mobilise social resources for the combat.

Stressing the need to capitalise on the “golden time” to contain the coronavirus spread, he said the 6.3 million union’s members have not only to make health declaration but also to help other people do so to help authorities sort persons vulnerable to virus infection.

Additionally, the PM ordered the committee to continue programmes and activities to promote young Vietnamese’s capacity to meet national development and defence requirements and bring into play the youth’s role in realising common tasks of the nation.

He also told sectors and all-level authorities to increase coordination to better care for the youth’s demand and interests and further assist youngsters to access job opportunities.