Cancer deaths

Ekwegbalu James Nzube, 45, was caught red handed by border guards at 08.00pm on July 20, 2020 while illegally crossing the border from Cambodia into Vietnam.

Searching his rucksack, the border guards found James Nzube was carrying 4 plastic bags containing white solid crystal substance, weighing more than 3.9kg, which was then identified as methamphetamine.

James Nzube admitted that he got acquainted with a man of Nigerian nationality named Jone in Guangdong (China) in 2014 when he traded in clothing in China. Johe transferred money and goods from China to Nigeria, and he often came to Nzube’s to carry out transactions.

Jone asked James Nzube to transport drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam in exchange for money, and the proposal was accepted.

On March 13, 2020 James Nzube entered Vietnam via Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, and then rented a room at Hoa Hong Hotel to stay. Jone later hired James Nzube to go to Cambodia and transport drugs to Vietnam for US$2,000.

He was then caught red handed transporting drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam by Vietnamese border guards stationed at Moc Bai International Border Gate.

Earlier on March 2 morning, the MoH announced 11 community cases in Hai Duong, the epicenter of the country’s latest coronavirus outbreak.

The third wave of the coronavirus has spread to 13 cities and provinces across the country since the virus recurred in late January 2021. As many as 868 new cases have been since confirmed, including 684 cases in Hai Duong alone.

Hai Duong is the only locality in Vietnam that has reported new cases during the past few days, though the outbreak has been brought under control there.

Overall, Vietnam has recorded 2,472 COVID-19 patients since the virus attacked the country in January 2020.

Of the total, 1,898 patients have been discharged from hospital, including six on March 2, after making a full recovery from the disease.

Among the active cases, 216 have currently tested negative for the virus at least once.

The number of deaths caused by COVID-19 and related illnesses remains at 35 nationwide, including 31 in Da Nang, a coronavirus hotspot several months ago.

Vietnam is scheduled to kick-start the human clinical trial of Covivac , the second locally made vaccine o March 3.

While the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing globally, rapidly changing on an hourly and daily basis which can be tracked almost in real time, the incidence, infection burden and fatality rates in Vietnam are still low.

Vietnam declared COVID-19 a nationwide epidemic on April 1. By October 15, 2020, Vietnam reported 1,122 cases with 35 deaths (WHO 2020). With approximately 97 million inhabitants, the Southeast Asian nation has conducted 12,772 tests/1 million. According to the WHO classification, Vietnam reports transmission from clusters of cases and not by community transmission or sporadic cases.

Vietnam lifted its social isolation measures when schools and businesses reopened after International Labour Day, but continued to reduce risk through the mandatory use of face masks. The speed of response was the crucial factor. The Vietnamese government has been instrumental in identifying and demarcating infection clusters and has responded well to the COVID-19 situation and handling of COVID-19 in terms of the WHO test, treat and track approach (T3).

For example, COVID-19 reappeared in the city of Da Nang in late July 2020, where the first two deaths of COVID-19 were reported. The entire city was placed under strict lockdown exceeding 45 days. Public transportation was shut down, severely restricting population movements and, thus, stopping the wave of transmissions of COVID-19 in communities.

Vietnam has adopted extensive approaches in its intense fight against the pandemic. In particular, it has adopted a fairly good and comprehensive approach from the early stages of the epidemic, as it has begun early identification of contact persons, quarantine measures, timeliness, efficient mobilization of state agencies and a progressive policy of social distancing.

Measures to identify those who have been infected or even exposed at airports and quarantine measures have also been efficiently managed to date. The country is very rigorous with its case control management, especially for flights and arriving passengers.

In Vietnam, populations commitment to the country’s greater good is deep-rooted in the culture. Compliance with government guidelines gives the entire population a sense of security, beating the odds off daily life in such circumstances.

About the author: The story has been written by Prof. Dr. Thirumalaisamy P. Velavan, the director of the Vietnamese German Center for Medical Research (www.vgcare.org) and has been involved in distinct COVID-19 vaccine trials in Vietnam and Germany. He is a research group leader at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Germany. The author is also a visiting professor at Vietnam Military Medical University and in the Medical faculty of Duy Tan University, Da Nang.

The author wrote the story from his hotel quarantine since the last 9 days, despite being COVID-19 negative, but compliant with Vietnamese government guidelines.