Daegu

All Vietnamese returning from coronavirus-hit regions have to undergo health checkup and quarantine.

As of February 26, Hanoi has isolated at a military college in Son Tay town 174 people returning from South Korea’s Daegu city which has become an epicenter of Covid-19 in that country, VnEpress reported.

As per Vietnamese regulations, all Vietnamese nationals returning cororavirus-stricken areas have to undergo health checkup and quarantine during 14 days.

The capital’s Military High Command prepared facilities to quarantine people coming from the epidemic-hit regions. Photo: Dung Nguyen

According to statistics from the Hanoi Department of Health, as of February 26, the city has not recorded any cases positive for nCoV. Currently, three suspected cases are being isolated and closely monitored.

About 250 people are being isolated at the city’s Police Hospital and a military college in Son Tay. Besides, other 350 people continue to be under medical supervision due to close contact with suspected cases or people coming from Covid-19-hit regions.

Earlier, the Capital High Command had prepared facilities for isolation if the epidemic spreads widely.

The Hanoi Department of Health deems that there are still risks of Covid-19 infection from people returning from epidemic-hit regions. Therefore, drastic measures need to be in place to prevent the epidemic in the city.

As of February 26, all 16 Covid-19 patients in Vietnam have been discharged from hospital. There are still 31 individuals suspected of contracting coronavirus, Zing.vn reported, citing the Ministry of Health’s statistics.

Besides, 5,675 people who kept close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from epidemic-infected regions are being monitored. It’s been 13 days that no new cases of infection have been reported in the country.

The move to shift output of “some premium smartphones” to Vietnam “intends to supply products to consumers in more effective, stable and timely manner,” Samsung said in a statement.

Samsung Electronics said it will temporarily move some of its smartphone production to Vietnam, after shutting down a factory in South Korea following a confirmed case of Covid-19 there, Reuters reported.

Samsung Galaxy S20. Source: Samsung.

Samsung shut down the factory in the southeastern city of Gumi after a worker tested positive for the new coronavirus. Samsung said the plant will be closed through Saturday, while the floor where the employee worked will be shuttered through Sunday.

Samsung’s premium smartphones, Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Note 10, were being produced entirely in Gumi. Its plant in Vietnam will put out up to 200,000 smartphones a month. They will be shipped to South Korea beginning late this month.

The world’s largest smartphone maker has so far reported six virus-infected workers at its production sites in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, only about 50 kilometers north of Daegu, the epicenter of South Korea’s virus outbreak.

The move to shift output of “some premium smartphones” to Vietnam “intends to supply products to consumers in more effective, stable and timely manner,” Samsung said in a statement.

“Once the Covid-19 situation stabilizes, we plan to move back the output to Gumi,” it said.

Samsung launched its S20 flagship smartphones globally last Friday as scheduled amid concerns that the virus would dent demand for premium phones at home and overseas markets.

According to Samsung’s statistics, around 50% of Samsung’s smartphones and tablets are produced in Vietnam and exported to 128 countries and territories, including the US, Europe, Russia and Southeast Asia.

In the 2008 – 2018 period, Samsung increased its total investment in Vietnam from US$670 million to over US$17.3 billion, a 26-fold increase.

VnExpress cited South Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Park Noh-wan said on March 6 Samsung is planning to bring more than 1,000 South Korean experts into Vietnam to support its production chain.

However, Vietnam’s recent policies to quarantine all South Koreans entering Vietnam may jeopardize Samsung’s plan and cause a potential loss of up to US$10 billion for the IT giant.

Park asked local authorities to adjust the policy for employees from South Korean companies, particularly Samsung and LG, that they will be exempted from quarantine.

Vietnam is concerned about South Korea’s rising number of infected cases which have surpassed 2,000.

The government of Vietnam will stop granting visas to South Korean nationals from February 29 given an increasing number of people infected with the new coronavirus (Covid-19) in the Northeast Asian country.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung at the meeting. Photo: VGP

This is a temporary solution for the epidemic control, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung said at a governmental meeting on Friday morning [February 28].

The government will also quarantine all people coming from South Korea or staying in that country within 14 days before entering Vietnam.

Vietnam will also quarantine Iranian and Italian visitors for 14 days.

South Korea is the country outside China reporting the highest the number of infections that has passed 2,000, mostly in Daegu city, North Gyeongsang province.

Five days ago, South Korean President Moon Jae-in raised the country’s threat alert level to the highest in a four-level scale when the country confirmed 602 cases.

Vietnam, meanwhile, has reported no new infected cases over the past 15 days and all 16 infected people have recovered.

The country currently quarantines 79 people and supervises 4,939 others who came from epidemic-hit areas and people made contact with them.

Stop issuing visas is one of the measures together with suspending flights to and from epidemic-hit zones in South Korea.

Late last month, Vietnam also stopped granting visas to Chinese nationals and suspended flights to and from epidemic-stricken areas in China.

Trade exchanges at border gates between the two countries have plunged due to epidemic controls.

On January 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new coronavirus a global health emergency.

As of February 28, the Covid-19 has spread to 54 countries and territories with 83,374 people infected and 2,858 deaths, including 70 deaths outside China.