Vietnam officially declares COVID-19 a national epidemic

by NDO01 April 2020 Last updated at 21:00 PM

Health workers measure body temperature and carry out disinfection on a patient before entering Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi. (Photo: NDO/Duy Linh)
Health workers measure body temperature and carry out disinfection on a patient before entering Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi. (Photo: NDO/Duy Linh)

VTV.vn - The Prime Minister signed Decision 447/QĐ-TTg dated April 1, 2020 to officially declare COVID-19 a nationwide epidemic.

The decision stated that the outbreak of the disease commenced on January 23 this year, when the first infected case was confirmed in Vietnam.

COVID-19 is classified as a Group A infectious disease according to Vietnamese disease classification, as it poses the risk of becoming a global pandemic through transmission from person to person..

The document also set out solutions and measures to cope with the pandemic following the Law on Infectious Diseases, including setting up a Steering Committee for the disease; organising medical declarations, first aid, medical examination and treatment; health quarantine; disinfecting affected areas; promoting personal protective measures; mobilising resources in society to fight the epidemic; and promoting international cooperation in anti-epidemic activities.

Five more patients now free of coronavirus

Five more patients found to have contracted the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, in Ninh Thuan Province and Ho Chi Minh City were announced as recovered on the morning of April 1, bringing the total number of recovered cases in Vietnam to 63.

Leaders from Ninh Thuan Provincial Department of Health and Ninh Thuan Province General Hospital present flowers to congratulate two patients No. 61 and 67 and the hospital’s doctors during the duo’s release on April, 1, 2020. (Photo: NDO/Nguyen Trung)
Leaders from Ninh Thuan Provincial Department of Health and Ninh Thuan Province General Hospital present flowers to congratulate two patients No. 61 and 67 and the hospital’s doctors during the duo’s release on April, 1, 2020. (Photo: NDO/Nguyen Trung)

At Cu Chi District field hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, three patients were discharged this morning, including patients No. 45, 48 and 64, while patients No. 61 and 67 were also released the same day from Ninh Thuan Province General Hospital.

After finishing treatment, they will continue to be quarantined and monitored for an additional 14 days as regulated by the Ministry of Health.

As at the morning of April 1, Vietnam had 212 cases of infection, with 63 having recovered. The remaining 149 patients are being treated at 22 medical facilities nationwide and the majority are in stable health.

Meanwhile, four critically ill cases are getting better thanks to the efforts of doctors and nurses at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases No. 2 in Hanoi. All four have shown positive progress, with the most severe case, patient No. 26, now removed from artificial ventilation and intubation. Two amongst them have also so far tested negatively twice for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

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