Vietnam has placed the alert at a higher level than the WHO’s recommendation, he said, affirming that the Government and especially the Prime Minister are very concerned about the 2019-nCOV infection.
The common spirit of the Government is to put optimal focus on promptly detecting the suspected cases of nCOV infection for absolute isolation, close monitoring and proper care, aiming to prevent the disease from spreading widely, the deputy PM stated.
He requested priority be given to the prevention and control of the aforementioned disease, even if economic benefits must be sacrificed, he emphasised.
A general view of the meeting. (Photo: VGP)
Deputy PM Dam asked the relevant agencies and localities to closely follow and monitor the health of those who come from the epidemic areas or have interacted with people from the affected areas, in addition to raising public awareness of preventive measures against nCOV in particular and communicable diseases as a whole.
At the meeting, health experts stressed the importance of medical declaration and disease control at the border gates, but also noted that infection cases are mostly detected in medical establishments instead of at border gates. They emphasised the need to accelerate disease surveillance in hospitals towards the early detection of initial cases.
As of January 26, 2019-nCOV infection was detected in 30 Chinese cities and provinces with 2,019 cases, 56 of which have resulted in death.
Many other countries have also recorded infection cases, including Australia, Canada, France, Malaysia, Japan, Nepal, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. However, no nCOV-related deaths have been reported outside China.
