After 21 days of isolation, all of them were released in stable health with negative test results for the deadly virus.
According to Deputy Health Minister Do Xuan Tuyen, all citizens returning from Wuhan were in special isolation, with their health status monitored twice daily. The special isolation applied to citizens returning from the epidemic areas helps to prevent the risk of spreading the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) to the community.
Earlier, 30 Vietnamese citizens living and studying in Wuhan were flown home on a flight sent by the Vietnamese Government on February 10. After the flight, all 30 people, including six children and a pregnant woman, received 21 days of isolation at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases. The flight crew and doctors on board were also isolated for 14 days at the Hanoi-based hospital.
All people returning Vietnam from epidemic areas must go into isolation areas under the regulations. Currently, there are 75 suspected cases in quarantine. In addition, 13,949 people who have had close contacts to the suspected cases and those returning home from the epidemic areas are under health monitoring.
On Monday afternoon, the Steering Committee for preventing and fighting Covid-19 in Vinh Phuc Province said that it would stop the isolation of Son Loi Commune in Binh Xuyen District from 0:00 on March 4. The commune was the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in Vinh Phuc with six of the 11 confirmed cases in the province.
After nearly 20 days of isolation to control the epidemic, there is no source of Covid-19 in the commune and it is eligible to be free from isolation.
The committee also informed that up until now, the concentrated isolation area at the provincial Military School (Regiment 834) has received 280 citizens from 26 provinces and cities returning from four foreign countries, with 269 of them from the Republic of Korea (RoK).
On March 2, the Department of Tropical Diseases (under the Vietnam-Czech Friendship Hospital) in Hai Phong City received four more cases showing signs of suspected Covid-19 infection, including three returning from the RoK and one who picked up a group of people returning from the country on February 28. There are currently seven suspected cases being closely monitored at the hospital.
In the afternoon of the same day, Hoang Oanh Medical Equipment Company presented 15,000 medical masks to Hai Phong’s health sector.
On the same day, Ninh Binh Province received 98 people returning home from the RoK to the local isolated area located at a military unit of the Military Region 3 in Ninh Son Ward, Ninh Binh City. They are among the first overseas Vietnamese returning to Ninh Binh from the RoK.
On March 1, the functional units of Vinh Long Province received 241 people on two flights returning from the RoK to Vietnam via Can Tho Airport. Among them, there are six children, two pregnant women and four Koreans, who are being isolated at the provincial military school in Tam Binh District. Through initial examination and screening, all 241 people have shown no signs of fever nor cough.
On Monday morning, the Department of Health of Dak Lak Province announced that among seven cases of isolation in the local health facilities, six had negative test results for Covid-19. Currently, Dak Lak is isolating a total of 21 people against Covid-19 infection.
On Monday morning, the Centre for Disease Control in Thai Binh Province said that all 28 suspected patients for Covid-19 infection who returned home from the epidemic areas had negative medical test results. They have been released from isolation in normal health. Currently, Thai Binh is continuing well in implementing the centralised 14-day isolation for citizens returning from the epidemic areas. Thai Binh is currently isolating 159 citizens at a centralised isolation facility in Dong Phong Commune, Dong Hung District.
Also. on March 2, millions of students across the nation returned to school after nearly six weeks of absence due to Covid-19 prevention measures.
Previously, local authorities and health agencies sprayed chemicals and disinfectants in local schools, while preparing rubbing alcohol, soap, hand-washing faucets and body temperature meters to monitor and ensure the health for students, teachers and staff.
The Institute of Preventive Medicine and Public Health (IPMPH) under the Hanoi Medical University has launched the Covid-19 Global Risk Warning System developed by Assoc. Prof. Tran Xuan Bach, Vice President of Vietnam Youth Federation cum General Secretary of the Global Young Vietnamese Intellectual Forum.
Bach said that the system provides in-depth analysis of disease risk and ability to respond based on the capacity of each country. The analysis results are based on the findings of an international network of experts on epidemiology and global disease control. From this data, the system will issue a warning about the spread of the disease, leading to strategic assessments for optimal control of the Covid-19 epidemic.
The IPMPH called on people all over the country to actively contribute to the system at http://info.covid19global.net by providing data and responding to epidemic information through objective observation at their residences.
According to Vietnam’s Disease Surveillance System, as of 7:30 on March 3, 90,916 cases of Covid-19 infection have been recorded worldwide across 68 countries and territories, of which 3,124 have died. The number of infected cases and fatalities is still most concentrated in mainland China (80,140 infections and 2,944 deaths), but the number of new infections is still tending to increase outside of China, such as in the RoK, Italy and Iran.
