Hanoi: Social distancing required amid COVID-19 spread

At a meeting of Hanoi Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Wednesday (April 8), a representative from Hanoi Department of Health announced that, as of 2 pm on April 7, Hanoi has recorded 102 infection cases.

Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung said that the capital city is one of the locales with the highest potential for infection in the community. The emergence of several secondary infections indicates that the disease has shown signs of spreading into the community.

Chung requested local functional units to complete COVID-19 tests for 9,000 people who have had direct contact with infection cases by April 12, especially for those who had contact with positive cases detected at Bach Mai Hospital.

Urging for local residents to seriously implement social distancing, he also asked local authorities to strengthen inspection and strictly handle owners of non-essential shops still in operation during the current two-week nationwide social distancing measures, as well as those who do not wear masks when going out.

The chairman proposed that all Hanoi civil servants support a day's salary and transfer it to the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Committee of Hanoi to support those in need during the fight against COVID-19.

* On Wednesday afternoon, the Ministry of Health hosted an online meeting with four leading institutes, discussing COVID-19 testing. The units' reports showed that, from the research programme by the Military Medical Academy, Vietnam has put into use a test kit serving the testing and diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 virus, which claims a more than 90% rate of accuracy. Delegates agreed that the kit will be the key product for COVID-19 testing in Vietnam. In addition, a similar set has been produced by other domestic units and has received satisfactory preliminary evaluation from the Ministry of Health’s scientific council.

* The Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Ha Nam Province has said that it had conducted a medical blockade for Ngo Khe 3 Hamlet in Binh Nghia Commune, Binh Luc District, where the 251st COVID-19 patient resides, to eliminate the risk of infection into the local community. Ha Nam has implemented urgent epidemiological surveillance, and is reviewing and isolating people involved.

* On April 8, the VFF Central Committee continued to receive donation from relevant agencies, organisations and businesses to support the fight against COVID-19. The donations on Wednesday included VND300 million from the Ministry of Education and Training, VND100 million from the Vietnam News Agency, VND100 million from the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Organisation and VND50 million from the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance.

The same day, the VFF Committee of Vinh Long Province announced that it has received donation from 32 organisations and individuals since April 1, totalling nearly VND5.3 billion in support for the COVID-19 fight and people affected by drought and saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta.

On Wednesday morning, the VFF Committee of Khanh Hoa Province received over VND1.2 billion and 26 tonnes of rice from 19 local agencies, units, organisations and individuals to support the prevention and fight against the epidemic.

On April 8, the Saint Paul Hospital (Hanoi) said it had been awarded two negative pressure rooms worth VND1.2 billion from an overseas Vietnamese family residing in Frankfurt (Germany). Previously, Nguyen Thi Minh Hong’s family also donated 12 negative pressure rooms to other hospitals in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Hue, along with 10,000 medical masks and VND1 billion in cash to support Bach Mai Hospital and 9,000 protective suits for hospitals at both central and local levels.

On Wednesday morning, the Da Nang University of Science and Technology presented 10 automatic hand sanitisers to Da Nang Hospital. This compact, easy to use product is designed and manufactured by students of the BK-Maker group at the university.

* On April 8, 1,323 people were allowed to leave concentrated isolation camp at the dormitory of the Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City, after finishing their two-week isolation and providing negative test results for SARS-CoV-2 virus twice.

Citizens receive certificates of isolation completion at the Military School of Hoa Binh Province, April 8, 2020. (Photo: NDO/Tran Hao)

On the same day, another 80 citizens were allowed to return home after completion of their medical isolation at the Military School of Hoa Binh Province.

* According to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Vietnam reported no new COVID-19 cases on April 9 morning, keeping the national count at 251 for the past 24 hours.

Of the cases, 156 entered Vietnam from overseas, accounting for 62%, while 95 others were infected from local patients.

Five patients are receiving oxygen support. Twenty-five tested negative for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 for the first time, while 17 others have shown negative results on their second tests.

Today, two patients are expected to be discharged from Can Gio Hospital following COVID-19 treatment in Ho Chi Minh City.