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Vietnam records three more COVID-19 cases on March 7 afternoon

by en.nhandan.org.vn

The new cases included two imported who were quarantined in Bac Ninh Province right after their arrival, and one in Hai Duong Province.

The new patients brought the total count in the country to 2,512, including 1,585 domestically-transmitted cases.

The Treatment Subcommittee reported that a total of 1,920 patients had been given the all-clear from the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 so far, and the fatalities remained at 35.

Among the active patients undergoing treatment, 65 tested negative to the virus once, 57 twice and 137 thrice.

As many as 45,219 people who had close contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients or entered Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions are being quarantined across the country, including 506 in hospitals, 14,266 in other establishments, and 30,446 at home.

Malaysia begins national COVID-19 immunisation

by sggpnews.org.vn

Next in line to be vaccinated were the Health Ministry’s Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah and four other high-ranking medical officials.
The national immunisation programme will be implemented in three phases, with the first from February to April for over 571,800 frontliners.
Phase two from April to August is for senior citizens aged 65 and above, high-risk groups and people with disabilities involving 9.4 million people, while phase three is from this May to February 2022, for those aged 18 and above, covering more than 13.7 million people.
The Malaysian government is targeting to get at least 80 percent of the people vaccinated to achieve herd immunity to curb and end the pandemic.
Malaysia has signed agreements to procure 66.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX Facility and five producers, including Pfizer BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac.
Since the first ever COVID-19 case detected on January 25 last year, the country has to date recorded 288,229 infections and a death toll of 1,076.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Department of Health said on February 24 that it will investigate the illegal use of unauthorised COVID-19 vaccines, after a presidential adviser admitted to receiving shots of a Sinopharm vaccine smuggled into the country.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved the use of the Sinopharm vaccine, making its importation and distribution illegal. Sinopharm has not sought emergency use authorisation in the country.
Philippine Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire said recipients of unauthorised vaccines were also accountable.
The Philippines has yet to start immunisations or receive any COVID-19 vaccines that it has approved for emergency use.

Malaysia to issue smart COVID-19 vaccination certificate

by sggpnews.org.vn

He said the certificate will be issued in a month’s time and that the matter is being discussed with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to ensure that the document is also recognised by other countries.
Malaysia launched the first phase of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme from February 24 on prioritised groups. The second phase is scheduled for April.
On March3, Malaysia reported 1.745 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total cases to 305,880, with 1,148 deaths.
On the same day, the Philippines reported 1,783 new infections, bringing the total count to 582,223. The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) reported that death toll has increased to 12,389, while the number of recoveries has been 534,778. The DOH earlier confirmed that the country found six patients infected with new variants of SARS CoV-2 that was first detected in South Africa, along with 87 cases positive to the variants originated in the UK.
Also on March 3, Director General of the Department of Communicable Diseases Control under the Lao Ministry of Health Phonepaserd Sayamoungkhoun said that there are 2,212 people undertaking quarantine in concentrated sites across the country.
So Far, Laos has detected 45 COVID-19 cases, including 42 recoveries.
Meanwhile, Thailand is considering measures to prevent the spreading of COVID-19 during the upcoming traditional Songkran festival amid the falling number of infections.
Culture Minister Itthiphol Kunplome said on March 3 that his ministry supported the return of traditional and cultural activities that were part of the festival before the pandemic struck.
However, there must be strict disease control measures in place, including social distancing and limits on the number of people at venues where activities are planned, he said.
Songkran activities will help stimulate tourism and the economy, now that COVID-19 vaccines were available, he said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the government was considering what measures would need to be applied for the festival, to prevent Covid-19 from spreading again. Songkran is from April 13-15 this year.
As of March 3, Thailand had reported 26,108 COVID-19 infections with 84 deaths.

Vietnam, India defense cooperation plows ahead in Covid-19 times: envoy

by e.vnexpress.net

“Both sides prudently adapted to the new situation and maintained the momentum of engagements, including high-level engagements, through virtual platforms,” he told VnExpress.

India and Vietnam also maintained close communication on controlling the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

The Military Medical Departments of both countries held on-line interactions to exchange valuable experiences and discuss responses including diagnosis, preventive measures and treatment. India also conducted an online Covid-19 management course for military officials of Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

Thanks to strict quarantine and tracking measures, Vietnam has managed to contain its Covid-19 outbreaks with fewer than 3,000 infections and just 35 deaths in a population of 98 million; while India has reported a significant drop in the number of Covid-19 cases for several months.

“Our Navies and Coast Guards are engaged in regular exchange of ship visits and port calls. Cooperation in the United Nations Peace Keeping Operations is another key area of our cooperation,” Verma said.

The Indian Navy’s anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan arrived in HCMC for a three-day visit last December to strengthen bilateral maritime cooperation and deliver humanitarian assistance, including relief goods for flood-affected people in central Vietnam.

Bilateral defense industry collaboration also made significant progress in 2020 through continued implementation of credit lines to strengthen Vietnam’s defense manufacturing capability, Verma added.

In addition, important bilateral agreements were signed last year for cooperation in the fields of Hydrography and U.N. Peace Keeping Operations.

As part of the project for building 12 high-speed patrol vessels for Vietnam Border Guard under India’s $100 million line of credit, five vessels are being built at the Larsen & Toubro shipyard in Chennai, with the rest to be built at Hong Ha shipyard in northern port city Hai Phong under the Indian firm’s supervision.

Verma stressed that defense partnership between the two countries has developed in recent times thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation signed in 2009 and the India-Vietnam Joint Vision on Defense Cooperation signed in 2015.

“Defense and security cooperation between India and Vietnam is an important pillar of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and reflects the deep levels of mutual trust and understanding between our two countries,” he added.

During a virtual summit last December, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc reaffirmed their joint vision for peace, prosperity and development of the India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership.

Both leaders also expressed their resolve to step up bilateral defense exchanges and affirmed that enhanced defense and security partnership between India and Vietnam will be an important factor of stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

“As a close partner of India with multifaceted political, economic and security cooperation and as a key link in India’s engagement with ASEAN, Vietnam is clearly an indispensable partner in our Indo-Pacific Vision, based on our shared values and interests in promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the region,” Verma said.

Vietnam and India established diplomatic relations in 1972 and their relationship has developed strongly in recent years .

Vietnam begins COVID-19 vaccination on March 8

by sggpnews.org.vn

The vaccination is conducted at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases and two medical centres in Hai Duong.
As many as 100 staff members of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases are expected to receive the shots in the morning of March 8. The hospital is allocated 450 doses among the first batch of 117,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine the country has received.
In Hai Duong, 50 medical workers at Hai Duong city’s medical centre, and 30 others at Kim Thanh district’s medical centre will be the first in the province to be injected.
The Ministry of Health has allocated the vaccine to 13 localities, along with the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security and 21 hospitals during the first phase.
Among the localities, all having reported COVID-19 cases since the latest wave of outbreaks since January 27, the Hanoi Centre for Disease Control (CDC) is given 8,000 doses, Hai Duong CDC 32,000, and HCM City CDC 8,000.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security each receive 30,000 doses.
At a meeting on March 6, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long stressed the need to ensure equality in vaccine access as suggested by the WHO, UNICEF and COVAC.
The localities excluded in the first phase should continue to prepare for the inoculation, with training programmes, he said, adding that they would receive the vaccine after the next shipment arrives in Vietnam in March.
The ministry will roll out the vaccination in all COVID-19 treatment hospitals, prioritising those involved in frontline work, and those who participate in the pandemic combat in the community like contact tracers.
People getting the shots will be monitored via digital health records and receive e-certificates for their completion of inoculation.
Vietnam plans to import about 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

Three more Covid-19 patients in Hai Duong, Bac Ninh

by english.thesaigontimes.vn

Three more Covid-19 patients in Hai Duong, Bac Ninh

The Saigon Times

A centralized quarantine center in Hai Duong Province. Three more Covid-19 cases have been confirmed – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – Vietnam has had 2,512 Covid-19 cases as of 6 p.m. today, March 7, after a locally-infected case and two imported cases were reported in Hai Duong and Bac Ninh, respectively.

According to the Ministry of Health, the patient in Hai Duong, who resides in Tu Ky District, had close contact with the 2,415th patient. The case has been put under quarantine at a centralized quarantine center since February 25 and is being treated at the Field Hospital No. 3 at the second campus of the Hai Duong General Hospital.

Meanwhile, the two imported cases include a 30-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman. They are Philippine experts.

On February 22, they landed at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and was sent to a quarantine facility in Bac Ninh.

They tested positive for Covid-19 on March 7 and are being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi’s Dong Anh District.

In related news, the Bac Ninh government on March 7 affirmed that the pandemic in the province had been basically put under control. Therefore, services in the province will be resumed tomorrow, March 8, including bars, beer clubs, karaoke and massage parlors, cinemas, spas and casinos.

Religious, cultural, historical and tourist sites have been also allowed to reopen but they are allowed to hold ceremonies only, not festivals.

However, pandemic prevention and control measures must be still employed strictly.