Vietnam recorded no new COVID-19 infections over the past 12 hours, keeping the total cases at 1,059 as of 6:00am of September 10, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

A doctor in a qurantine facility in Khanh Hoa is giving health check-up to people who are under quarantine (Photo: VNA)

So far, Vietnam has 691 locally-transmitted cases, 551 of whom are related to Da Nang since the pandemic broke in the central city on July 25.

As many as 890 patients have been fully recovered. Meanwhile, 169 patients are receiving treatment in health care facilities, 16 of them have been tested negative with the virus once and 13 twice and 21 others thrice.

Seven COVID-19 patients are on critical conditions with high risk of death.

The country has so far reported 35 COVID-19 related deaths, the majority of the cases were the elderly with severe disease such as end-stage chronic kidney failure, cancer, sepsis and diabetes.

As many as 36,126 people nationwide who had close contact with patients or entered from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine, 621 of them are in hospitals, 15,874 in other establishments and 19,631 at homes.

The Health Ministry has advised the community to safely adapt with the pandemic by applying preventive measures.

The ministry also urged each Vietnamese citizen to download Bluezone app at https://www.bluezone.gov.vn to receive infection risk warnings.

HCM City starts testing people coming from Da Nang

People arriving in HCM City from Đà Nẵng, the COVID-19 hotspot during the second wave, will be tested, according to the city’s Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention.

The news came after the Directorate for Roads of Việt Nam and other relevant agencies permitted passenger transport companies to resume services to and from Đà Nẵng, starting on Monday (September 7).  

Following that, airlines resumed services to the city after a month.

At Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, medical workers began to take samples for testing on Tuesday.

People coming from Đà Nẵng by other means of transport have to make health declarations and are taken for testing at health centres.

They can register for an appointment for testing through the CDC’s website or telephone, with the latter being available from next week.

According to the transport ministry, there was much public demand for resuming transportation and the situation has improved enough to permit it.  

Đà Nẵng has not had any new cases of COVID-19 for 10 days as of Tuesday.

The chairman of its People’s Committee, Huỳnh Đức Thơ, instructed the Department of Health to take up with the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control the huge differences in preventive measures taken by various provinces and cities.

City authorities are taking up the issue since it has become hard for locals to travel to other places around the country without being sure of restrictions related to quarantine and others.

They have pleased with Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc to have uniform measures nation-wide against COVID-19 for people coming from Đà Nẵng.

Some provinces and cities quarantine people coming from Đà Nẵng for 14 days, some allow them to self-isolate at home, others only allow them to stay for three days without paying for testing or for one day without being quarantined.

Some require drivers of vehicles coming from Đà Nẵng to make medical declarations while others simply prohibit entry.

COVID-19 figures in Viet Nam

Việt Nam logged zero new COVID-19 cases within the past 12 hours as of 6am of Wednesday, according to the national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control.

The country has documented 1,054 coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infections so far.

Of the total, 691 were infected with the virus domestically, including 551 linked with Đà Nẵng City since the latest coronavirus wave began there on July 25.

As many as 868 patients have recovered while 35 have died from complications related to the disease. Most of the fatalities were the elderly with serious underlying health conditions.

Among 186 still under treatment, 13 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 21 others  twice and 35 thrice. Currently, six patients are in critical conditions. 

COVID-19: Vietnam works to ensure safety in anticipation of resumption of int'l flights

The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on September 9 discussed how to ensure safety as the country is about to resume certain international flights as from September 15. 

Some proposed conducting tests at airports and expand the testing at hospitals and in crowded events.

Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long lauded the efforts by medical bio-product manufacturers over the past time, saying the locally-made test products have contributed to the initial successes Vietnam has gained in the pandemic combat. 

The ministry will facilitate the research and production of test products to better serve the fight against the pandemic in the new situation, he pledged.

Over 340 citizens brought home from Russia

Vietnamese agencies, the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines coordinated with the Russian sides to bring more than 340 citizens home on September 9-10.

The citizens are mainly graduates without accommodations.

The Vietnamese Embassy sent officials to help them at airport.

All passengers underwent medical examinations, and were quarantined upon landing at Cam Ranh International Airport in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

In the coming time, Vietnamese authorities and overseas missions plan to arrange flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home, depending on their desire to return and quarantine capacity at home.

Indonesia, Malaysia record new COVID-19 cases

Indonesia and Malaysia reported new cases of COVID-19 on September 9.

In Indonesia, the increase was 3,307, bringing up the total national tally to 203,342.

The death toll also climbed to 8,336 with the addition of 106 deaths on the day, said the country’s Health Ministry, adding the number of recoveries was 145,200.

The novel coronavirus has so far spread across 34 Indonesian provinces and cities.

Meanwhile, Malaysia reported 24 new COVID-19 cases, including six imported infections. The number of cases in the nation amounted to 9,583, including 128 deaths, 9,143 recoveries, and 312 others under treatment.

The same day, Cambodia, which recorded a total of 274 confirmed COVID-19 cases with no death and 273 recoveries, released a list of eight disease-prevention tips for foreign tourists to the kingdom.

The tips, translated into several languages including English and Chinese, advised visitors to abide by the measures undertaken by the Cambodian government.

The number of foreign arrivals to Cambodia was 1.18 million during the first half of 2020, down 64 percent year-on-year.

230 Vietnamese citizens flown home

As many as 230 Vietnamese citizens from Taiwan (China) were flown home on September 9.

The flight was arranged by the Vietnamese authorities, the Vietnam Economic-Cultural Office in Taipei, budget Vietjet Air and Taiwanese authorities.

Passengers are mostly the elderly, pregnant women, workers with expired labour contracts, those suffering from underlying diseases and labour injuries, students who concluded their curricula, travellers and other especially disadvantaged cases.

After landing at Can Tho international airport, they were put under quarantine in line with regulations.

In the near future, similar flights will be arranged, considering domestic pandemic situation and quarantine capacity.

Vietnam confirms five imported COVID-19 cases

Vietnam confirmed five new imported COVID-19 cases on September 9 evening, according to the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

After arriving at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City on Flight VN28 from Ukraine on September 1, they were put under quarantine in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau.

They tested negative to SARS-CoV-2 for the first time on September 3 and positive the second time on September 9.

Vietnam has so far recorded 1059 infection cases, 691 of them are locally-transmitted.

Also on September 9, 21 patients were given the all-clear from the virus, including 10 in Da Nang, four in Hanoi, four in Quang Nam, two in Bac Lieu and one in Dak Lak.

Among patients under treatment at medical establishments, 16 tested negative once, 13 twice and 21 others thrice.

The country also recorded 35 fatalities related to COVID-19, most of them suffered serious underlying diseases.

As many as 37,474 people nationwide who had close contact with patients or entered from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine, 834 of them are in hospitals, 13,365 in other establishments and 23,274 at homes.

The Health Ministry has urged each Vietnamese citizen to download Bluezone app at https://www.bluezone.gov.vn to receive infection risk warnings.