A doctor checks the health of a COVID-19 patient in the Hue Central Hospital (Photo: VNA)

The Ministry of Health has announced a halt to inpatient visits in some critical units within public hospitals to limit the spread of COVID-19 after the country witnessed outbreaks in hospitals that lead to deaths.

It noted that in Da Nang city, the country’s current coronavirus epicentre, those infected have included health workers, patients with chronic health issues and their caregivers or visiting relatives.

To minimise the spread of the virus to those groups, the ministry asked health departments of all cities and provinces in the country, directors of hospitals and institutes under the management of the health ministry to review compliance with regulations on prevention and control of the disease.

In addition to strict observance of social distancing measures in hospitals, health facilities need to ensure people who enter hospitals and their affiliated buildings wear masks and sanitise their hands.

Health facilities must carry out screenings to quarantine and indicate COVID-19 testing for suspected infection cases and their relatives in the examination and clinical faculties. The facilities are also asked by the ministry to assess the risks of COVID-19 infections within their staff or service providers to promptly detect infections and carry out necessary measures as soon as possible.

All clinical faculties must set up isolation chambers to temporarily keep suspected COVID-19 cases during their treatment until they obtain negative results from confirmatory tests, enhance ventilation in their buildings and rooms as well as frequently disinfect high-touch surfaces, closely manage waste, and ensure a safe distance between beds.

They must also ensure adequate supply and proper use of equipment and personal protective gear for all health workers.

It is necessary to arrange enough human resources to provide comprehensive care for patients in key departments such as the intensive care unit, the emergency unit, faculties dealing with tropical diseases or infectious diseases.

Relatives and private caregivers of the patients in these units are not allowed in hospitals during the current period, while hospitals must reduce the visits from relatives for other groups of patients (only one person is allowed at max).

An inspection team should be established at all facilities to frequently monitor the compliance to safety and hygiene measures among all patients, caregivers, and the medical staff as well.

No new COVID-19 case announced on August 22 morning

No new case of COVID-19 was reported over the past 12 hours, leaving the total number of cases in Vietnam at 1,009 as of 6am on August 22, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The tally included 667 locally-transmitted cases, with 527 cases recorded since July 25.

Two more patients were given the all clear on August 21, bringing the number of recoveries to 547. There have been 25 fatalities.

Among patients under treatment across the country, 41 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 61 negative twice and 35 negative three times.

A total of 104,793 people who had close contacts with patients or came from pandemic-affected areas are being quarantined.

The Ministry of Health is calling on people to install the locally-developed tracing mobile app Bluezone to help with the tracking of infection risks. Over 20 million downloads of the app have been recorded so far.

Ministry of Health task force leaves Danang as virus outbreak is ''under control”

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son and a special task force that helped Danang tackle Covid-19 left the city on Friday as the virus outbreak was brought under control. 

For more than 20 days in the city, the force helped speed up its coronavirus test, track and trace and treatment efforts in a bid to stop the spread of infection in the community.

The city also received constructive suggestions from the force to respond to the resurgence of the virus, including reimposing social distancing restrictions on the city and the disinfection of the C and Danang General hospitals so that the medical facilities could come back on-stream in treating non-Covid-19 patients suffering from other serious diseases from the city and neighbouring localities.

The taskforce also assisted in the setting up of some makeshift hospitals and some special units at the hospitals as well as at the Lung Hospital to treat critically-ill Covid-19 patients who also suffer from various other diseases. 

Medical experts and doctors from some hospitals in Hanoi and HCM City also came and helped treat patients and shared experiences with health workers in Danang, and the neighbouring localities of Hue, Quang Nam, and Quang Ngai. 

The task force meets with members of the Quang Nam Provincial Department of Health about the Covid-19 situation in the province.

Speaking at the farewell meeting with the forces held on August 20, on behalf of the city leaders and locals, Danang People’s Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho expressed his deep gratitude to the Ministry of Health's Covid-19 special taskforce, especially Deputy Minister Son, for their dedication and valuable support for Danang to help it eliminate the coronavirus. 

Before leaving the city, Deputy Minister Son said that although the virus outbreak has gradually been brought under control in Danang and some other central provinces with a decreasing number of new cases recorded in recent days, local authorities and the public should still strictly follow prevention regulations set by the government. 

Chairing a meeting on Covid-19 pandemic on August 20, Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long revealed that Danang health sector conducted almost 90,000 tests, and detected 356 cases positive for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 virus after nearly a month since the outbreak occured on July 25.

Vietnam recorded no new Covid-19 case on Friday morning. The patient tally is now 1,007. As many as 542 patients have made full recovery. There have been 25 fatalities reported in the country so far.

PM orders higher COVID-19 testing capacity

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc agreed on the increase of testing capacity with simple procedures, during a cabinet meeting on COVID-19 prevention and control held on August 21.

He also spoke highly of concerted, timely and stringent efforts in containing the spread of the pandemic, particularly the establishment of the Ministry of Health’s special force in the central city of Da Nang, the country’s major hotspot, as hundreds of medical workers have been sent to the central region.

The PM called for dramatic solutions to speed up testing, and asked all people to install the Bluezone contact tracing app on their smartphones.

He also ordered all sectors, especially the Health Ministry, to stay vigilant and spare no efforts to stop the spread of new community transmissions. At the same time, the health sector must enhance virtual training for medical workers nationwide to fight the pandemic.

In addition, he reiterated the significance of the close control of entry-exit at border regions and punishment for violators.

The Ministry of Education and Training has been tasked with working with localities on the organisation of the national high school graduation examination in Quang Nam, Da Nang and elsewhere, as well as the start of the new academic year in a safe and suitable manner.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has been asked to amend policies supporting laid off workers and submit to the Government for consideration.

At the meeting, Acting Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said that the spread of COVID-19 in central Da Nang city and Quang Nam province has been gradually contained, as the number of new infections in the two hotspots has been on the decline. Meanwhile, northern Hai Duong province had no new cases to report in the past three days.

Four prosecuted for transnational scam exploiting COVID-19 pandemic

Police in Hanoi’s Hoang Mai district said on August 21 they had issued decisions to start legal proceedings against and detain four suspects for allegedly engaging in a wire fraud scheme seeking to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic.

They face charges of “appropriation of property using a computer network, telecommunications network, or electronic device.”

The decision has been transferred to the district’s People’s Procuracy for approval.

The four suspects are Nguyen Duy Toan and Phan Dinh Thu, both 33 and from Dong Son district, Thanh Hoa province, Tran Quoc Khanh, 36, from Hoang Mai district, and Do Chi Huy, 27, from Dak Lak province. Toan is accused of being the mastermind behind the fraud.

In May, the Ministry of Public Security and the US’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) began a joint probe into a gang of Vietnamese who created 110 e-commerce websites that fraudulently offered medical products much sought-after during the pandemic, such as face masks, hand sanitiser, and toilet paper.

About 7,000 American victims had attempted to purchase these items from the websites. They made payments through e-wallets but never received the goods. The transactions are estimated to total around 975,000 USD.

In a search of the suspects’ apartment in Linh Dam in Hoang Mai, police seized seven computer cases, three desktops, two laptops, and documents relating to their criminal activities.

Over 520 Vietnamese citizens return from abroad on August 21

Close to 280 Vietnamese citizens across over 30 countries in Europe, South America, and Africa and over 240 others in Singapore arrived home safely on flights operated by Vietnam Airlines and VietJet Air on August 21.

The citizens in Europe, South America, and Africa were flown home on a Vietnam Airlines flight that departed from an airport in Paris. The flight was the joint effort of Vietnamese authorities, representative offices in the host nations, Vietnam Airlines, and competent agencies of these countries.

The passengers included children under 18 years old, the elderly, sick people, pregnant women, students completing their study and facing accommodation difficulties, stranded tourists, people on short working trips, and workers with expired labour contracts and visas.

The flight landed at the Tan Son Nhat international airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meanwhile, the Vietjet Air flight from Singapore landed at the Can Tho international airport in the Mekong Delta city of the same name.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, disease prevention measures were carried out during both flights, with crewmembers and all passengers given heath examinations and quarantined upon arrival in line with regulations.

Vietnamese authorities and overseas missions plan to arrange more flights to bring more Vietnamese citizens home, depending on their need and quarantine capacity at home.

Philippines encourages walking, biking amid COVID-19 lockdown

The Philippines is encouraging residents to walk and cycle during and even after the COVID-19 outbreak to address the limitation of public transportation services and encourage more active lifestyles, especially during lockdowns.

According to a joint administrative order released on August 20 by the country’s departments of health, transportation, interior, and public works, given the ongoing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative that active modes of transport for commuters, including walking and bicycling, be promoted for safe commuting.

The order urges national government agencies and local government units to build protected bicycle lanes and walking paths, and supportive infrastructure like bicycle racks and changing rooms.

The Philippines remains under varying restriction levels since the initial lockdown imposed in mid-March limited the public transport system.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has also promoted cycling and walking to limit physical contact to prevent and slow down the pandemic.

The Philippines recorded 178,022 confirmed COVID-19 cases on August 20, including 114,114 recoveries and 2,883 deaths.

COVID-19 under control in central VN

The central city-based C Hospital officially offered haemodialysis treatment for patients testing negative for COVID-19 from Friday after one month of preparation and cleaning.

Doctors from the hospital said all chronic kidney failure patients who had tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 during treatment at Hòa Vang field hospital will be receiving haemodialysis in isolated rooms under strict pandemic control.

These kidney failure patients will be tested for SARS-CoV-2 at the hospital as well as daily medical checks to make sure that they are completely recovered from COVID-19.

Doctor Đặng Văn Trí said chronic kidney failure patients, as well as cancer patients, were seen as at higher risk for COVID-19 in the new outbreak that hit the city from July 25.

He said the hospital could handle 60 kidney patients each day.

The hospital was assigned and approved by the Ministry of Health on Thursday as a qualified SARS-CoV-2 detection laboratory - the seventh of its kind - and the third medical centre in the city for testing.

Another hospital, the Hải Châu health centre also resumed operation on Thursday evening after a two-week lockdown and cleaning.

At a meeting on Thursday, a ‘special team’ from the Ministry of Health led by deputy minister Nguyễn Trường Sơn, said it had left the city as the pandemic has been brought under control by the city’s COVID-19 prevention system.

A 19-doctor team from central Nghệ An Province arrived in the city on Thursday to support the city’s health care service for nursing COVID-19 patients.

Eight tonnes of vegetables, collected from local farmers in mountainous Nam Trà My District in central Quảng Nam Province, was sent to residents in Đà Nẵng on Friday morning. 

Having taken 1,400 stranded tourists to homes in HCM City and Hà Nội, Đà Nẵng plans to carry students, workers and residents who have been stranded since the city began isolation measures from July 28 home on buses, trains and flights in the coming days.

Earlier, Quảng Ngãi Province sent 12 buses to transport nearly 700 stranded workers in Quảng Nam and Đà Nẵng to quarantine centres in Quảng Ngãi. All of them had received tests for SARS-CoV-2 before leaving.

According to the Quảng Nam provincial Centre for Disease Control, 423 out of 1,300 medical samples from close contacts of COVID-19 patient 991 were negative for SARS-CoV-2 as of Friday morning.

The patient (No 991), who is a teacher, had close contact with people in Hội An, Tam Kỳ, Phước Sơn, Nông Sơn, Đại Lộc and Duy Xuyên during his trips on August 8-12. He tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Wednesday. His wife was also a COVID-19 patient (No 981). 

Local firm donates VND5bil. to support Covid-19 frontline workforce

Nam Long Group has launched a VND5 billion campaign with a series of activities focusing on financial aids and support Covid-19 hot spots.

The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Central Committee of Vietnam Communist Youth Union, committed to donated VND2.5 billion to “Sharing love, joining hands to overcome the pandemic” program.

It will accompany the Communist Youth Union to donate essential necessities to the workforces in charge of the Covid-19 pandemic prevention, as well as the people and children in areas that are severely affected by Covid-19 such as Da Nang city, Hai Duong province, and Quang Nam province.

The program will also support the border guards who are not only protecting the country border but also actively participating in the combat against Covid-19. Due to the harsh condition of the border watch stations, causing shortage of basic living elements like food or water, the donation will help supply essential necessities, specially water storage tanks to meet the urgent needs and ensure the health of border guards during Covid-19 peak.

The company will also donate VND1 billion to buy protective equipment and masks to protect healthcare staff during the peak period of the pandemic.

More than 340 Vietnamese citizens flown home from Australia

More than 340 Vietnamese citizens in Australia were brought home safely on a flight operated by the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on Thursday.

The flight was the joint efforts of Vietnamese authorities, representative offices in Australia and Vietnam Airlines, and competent Australian agencies.

The passengers included children under 18 years old, the elderly, sick people, students without accommodations due to university dormitory closures, and those in extremely difficult circumstances.

Given Australia’s travel restrictions and border closures between states in response to COVID-19, Vietnamese representative agencies worked with local authorities of Sydney and Melbourne to help the citizens travel to the airports. They also sent staff to assist the citizens with boarding procedures. 

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, disease prevention measures were carried out during the flight. Upon landing at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City, the flight crew and all passengers were given heath examinations and quarantined in line with regulations.

Vietnamese authorities and overseas missions plan to arrange more flights to bring more Vietnamese citizens home, depending on their need and quarantine capacity at home.