Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen reported that Vietnam has had no new infection of Covid-19 since February 13, and 16 out of 16 infected patients have recovered from the disease.
Son Loi Commune of Binh Xuyen District in Vinh Phuc Province, formally considered the epicenter in Vietnam, has been blocked for 20 days and will be freed tomorrow.
At the moment, Vietnam suspends visa-free entries for certain countries, including the Republic of Korea. In particular, Vietnam suspends visa-free entries for those from Italy or transiting via this nation for 14 days from 12am of March 3.
The Ministry of Defence is ready to receive the quarantine quantity of 31,000 people. At present, it is serving 11,000 people. Deputy Minister of Defence Tran Don stated that the capacity of 20,000 more will not stay in the same place. Some assigned locations in Can Tho City and Hanoi are now full.
The National Steering Committee on Covid-19 Prevention has asked the Ministry of Defence to confirm the capacity of each assigned quarantine unit in the South Central region of Vietnam from Ninh Thuan Province to Phu Yen Province.
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Trinh Thi Thuy said that her ministry is preparing criteria and standards for tourists to be isolated in resorts and hotels at their own expense.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Head of the National Steering Committee on Covid-19 Prevention, asked that Vietnam have to be well-prepared for a new infection in the upcoming time.
Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh expressed his concern of overloading if there is a mass isolation of people coming from epicenters. He suggested to quarantine those directly from epicenters while only monitoring the health status of those not from these areas.
The Prime Minister concluded the meeting with a congratulation for 20 continuous days without any new infection in Vietnam, which possesses a very long border with China and has a great number of economic activities with South Korea. He affirmed that this encouraging result is the strong cooperation between the government and the whole society, under the leading role of the Party and help of the military.
However, the PM added that presently, this epidemic is rather complicated and unexpected. There is still a high potential that Vietnam might have a new infection in the future.
Therefore, everyone must not be off guard. All proper methods to combat Covid-19 must still be carried out strictly and synchronously. People should not be too afraid or careless. Passengers passing by epicenters must not be discriminated but be quarantined properly except experts and those with official passport who have undergone strict health monitoring.
“All industries, ministries, and regions must be determined to fight against Covid-19. The government can sacrifice certain economic benefits for the sake of the general public’s health and life. Everything must be done to ensure Vietnam a safe destination in this epidemic,” said Prime Minister Phuc.
He also asked that sufficient equipment for medical purposes as well as daily life needs must be provided to assigned quarantine units in order to best serve isolated people and show the hospitality of Vietnam.
The government now is trying to limit the number of passengers from epidemic regions and implement suitable isolation steps to avoid the spread of this disease to the community in Vietnam.
The government also ensures to report precise and transparent information about the disease status of the country to international organizations so that people will not feel worried and become more active in the combat.
In related news, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue yesterday held a meeting with the Hanoi People’s Committee and related state agencies about tasks in the combat against Covid-19. He insisted that one of the top priorities of Hanoi is to timely quarantine people who have a high potential of spreading the disease into the community. All passengers in Hanoi coming from the epidemic regions under 14 days must be gathered for health monitoring.
