The two patients include a 64-year-old woman who is the female patient’s aunt and a 27-year-old man – the patient’s driver.

They are among those who had close contact with the 26-year-old patient, N.H.N, and have been quarantined at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases.

N.H.N earlier visited her sister in the UK, then travelled to Italy and returned to Hanoi on March 1 on flight VN0054.

Earlier the same day, the Ministry of Health confirmed the 18th COVID-19 infection case in Vietnam, who is a patient returning from the epidemic-hit Republic of Korea (RoK).

The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said the 27-year-old male patient from northern Ninh Binh province arrived in the RoK’s Daegu city on February 17 and came back to Vietnam on flight VJ981 from Busan to Van Don airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh on March 4.

After entering Vietnam, the patient was brought to a concentrated quarantine area and had samples tested positive for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

Vietnam has to date detected 20 COVID-19 infection cases. Of them, 16 patients had been successfully cured and discharged from hospitals.

Hai Phong mulls quarantining high-risk localities

Leading officials of the northern port city of Hai Phong on March 7 agreed to consider quarantining the whole Phu Luu village in Thuy Nguyen district’s Phu Ninh commune and Tan Lap residential area in Duong Kinh district’s Tan Thanh ward, as they are localities with high risks of the epidemic of the acute respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

At an urgent working session with the participation of the municipal Party Committee secretary Le Van Thanh and People’s Committee chairman Nguyen Van Tung following the detection of the 17th infection case, whose father is a Hai Phong resident that had contact with the patient, they also reached a consensus of the concentrated quarantine of those who had contacts with the patient and her father.

Among those who were on the same flight back to Vietnam together with the patient were about 20 people living in the city and a man of the British nationality named DAND Alexander.

Officials also agreed with a proposal by the municipal Department of Education and Training on allowing pupils to stay away from schools through March 15.

They instructed lower-level authorities to take measures to stabilise the prices and ensure the sufficient supply of daily necessities.

Hanoi-based children’s hospital capable of testing SARS-CoV-2

The Ministry of Health on March 7 decided to allow the Department of Biomolecular Research for Infectious Diseases under the Hanoi-based National Children’s Hospital to perform tests for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

At present, laboratories across Vietnam capable of testing for SARS-CoV-2 are based at the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hanoi, the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, the Pasteur Institute of Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa province, the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology of the Central Highlands in Dak Lak province, and the National Institute of Malariology-Parasitology-Entomology in Hanoi.

These facilities also include the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Bach Mai Hospital; the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Cho Ray Hospital in HCM City; and Hue Central Hospital in Thua Thien-Hue province.

Disease control centres in Hanoi, Da Nang city and the provinces of Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Ha Tinh and Lao Cai are also able to perform tests for SARS-CoV-2

The Ministry of Health on March 7 afternoon confirmed the 18th COVID-19 infection case in Vietnam, who is a patient returning from the epidemic-hit Republic of Korea (RoK).

A day earlier, the 17th infection case was reported in the capital city of Hanoi. The 26-year-old female patient earlier visited her sister in the UK, then travelled to Italy and returned to Hanoi on March 1 on flight VN0054.

Vietnam has to date detected 18 COVID-19 infection cases. Of them, 16 patients had been successfully cured and discharged from hospitals.

Urgent measures requested to contain spread of COVID-19 in Hanoi

The national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control has sent an urgent official dispatch to the Ministries of Public Security and Transport, and the People’s Committee of Hanoi, asking them to investigate and deal with any possible outbreaks related to a newly confirmed patient in the city.

According to the steering committee, the female patient, residing on Hanoi’s Truc Bach street, was tested positive for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 on March 6 and has been quarantined at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases.

The 26-year-old patient earlier visited her sister in the UK, then travelled to Italy and returned to Hanoi on March 1 on flight VN0054 of Vietnam Airlines.

This is the 17th COVID-19 infection case in Vietnam. The previous 16 patients have been successfully cured and discharged from hospital.

The Ministry of Public Security was requested to instruct relevant units to verify residence addresses of passengers onboard flight VN0054 and inform local authorities so as to timely quarantine these people and monitor their health in line with regulations.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport was asked to direct competent units to provide the list of passengers on the same flight with the patient to supervise their health and conduct quarantine.

The Ministry of Transport was also urged to sterilize relevant aircraft and areas where the patient had gone through or used services at Hanoi-based Noi Bai International Airport to prevent the spread of the virus.

The steering committee requested the Hanoi People’s Committee to coordinate with units of the Ministry of Public Security to investigate and make a list of people having close contact with the confirmed patient, including the aircrew and passengers on flight VN0054 and ground staff at the Noi Bai airport to quarantine and monitor their health.

Those having close contact with the patient must be quarantined at medical establishments while their samples and samples of the patient’s family members must be sent to the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology for testing, the steering committee said.

Besides, the municipal People’s Committee must thoroughly sterilize the houses of the patient and neighbouring families as well as vehicles used to transport the patient and other related offices and areas if any.

Earlier, Hanoi’s steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control held an urgent meeting at midnight of March 6 to discuss countermeasures right after the new infection case was reported.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung said the risks of confection from COVID-19-hit countries are equal so it is necessary to well carry out the communication work and closely monitor Vietnamese citizens from the disease-affected regions, adding that all of them must make health declarations.

Meanwhile, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue stressed that more than 100 people residing on the city’s Truc Bach street must be closely monitored and sterilization measures must be conducted.

Each resident must strictly observe countermeasures and report their health status to authorities if they show symptoms of COVID-19 infection, he stressed.

The city would soon decide the time for local students to come back to school and step up inter-sectoral coordination in the fight against COVID-19 and provide timely and exact information about the epidemic to avoid causing public panics.

COVID-19: Vietnam, Japan work to protect health of Vietnamese trainees

The Vietnamese Labourers Management Board in Japan has been working closely with Japanese authorities to protect the health of Vietnamese trainees in the context of the complicated developments of the acute respiratory disease COVID-19.

In an interview recently granted to the Vietnam News Agency, chief representative of the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in Japan Phan Tien Hoang said immediately after the COVID-19 broke out, the board held a working session with the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) on the issue.

The board asked the MHLW to instruct organisations and employers to guide Vietnamese trainees in disease prevention measures.

The board has since held many more working sessions with the MHLW to get updated about the Japanese government’s measures against the epidemic.

It proposed Japanese ministries and agencies consider offering support to Vietnamese trainees, especially those with limited Japanese proficiency, and provide a list of medical establishments with language assistance to Vietnamese patients.

The board also contacted many trainees to grasp the situation and remind them to seriously follow instructions by the host authorities.

With such drastic actions, Hoang affirmed that no Vietnamese trainees have been infected with the virus so far.

According to the Japanese government’s statistics, there are about 250,000 Vietnamese workers in Japan at present, including about 200,000 trainees and 50,000 white collar workers with college or higher degrees.VNA

Hanoi's Truc Bach Street sterilised after COVID-19 patient discovered

Soldiers on March 7 morning sprayed disinfectant to sterilise Tran Vu and Truc Bach streets and surrounding areas in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh district after a COVID-19 case was confirmed a day earlier.

Airlines asked to inform passengers of e-health declarations

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) has asked airlines to inform all passengers on the requirement to fill in electronic health declaration forms before boarding flights to Vietnam, starting from 6:00 am on March 7.