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Infections

Vietnam reports only one local coronavirus infection on Sunday

by tuoitrenews.vn

Vietnam’s Ministry of Health recorded only one domestic COVID-19 case on Sunday, a day before the nation starts mass inoculation with AstraZeneca.

The latest local infection was registered in Hai Duong Province, which is the country’s current epicenter.

The patient had been exposed to an infection and been quarantined since February 25.

The health ministry also logged four imported cases the same day, including two in Bac Ninh Province in the north and two in Kien Giang Province in the south.

Vietnam had gone nearly two months without any domestic COVID-19 cases before it found the first one on January 27 and confirmed it one day later, according to the Ministry of Health’s data.

A total of 892 local cases have been announced in 13 provinces and cities since then, making it the most serious wave to have struck Vietnam after the first-ever COVID-19 patient was announced in the country on January 23, 2020.

Hai Duong alone accounts for 708 cases, while Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have confirmed 35 and 36 patients, respectively.

The southern city has recorded zero new local cases for 24 days.

Vietnam has recorded 2,512 coronavirus cases as of Sunday night, including 1,585 local infections and 35 virus-related fatalities, according to the Ministry of Health’s data.

A total of 1,920 patients have recovered from the respiratory disease.

The dead had suffered from comorbid medical problems, including 31 in Da Nang, three in Quang Nam Province, and one in Quang Tri Province.

Vietnam will start vaccinating people in the said provinces and cities as well as other priority groups , including frontline workers, diplomats, military and police officers, and teachers on Monday.

The country currently has 117,600 AstraZeneca vaccine doses it received on February 24 .

Vietnam aims to obtain 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by the end of the year, including 30 million through the COVAX scheme co-led by WHO, 30 million through AstraZeneca, and the rest through negotiations with U.S. producers.

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Vietnam closes borders to foreigners as coronavirus infection toll nears 100

by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – Vietnam’s spokeswoman said all protective measures are based on the virus situation and with no discrimination against anyone.

Vietnam has barred the entry of all foreigners from March 22 as the latest tough move to curb the rising number of coronavirus cases that originated mostly from outside the country.

The restriction made at Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s request is applicable to people of Vietnamese origin (who benefit from visa exemption) and their family members.

Foreign visitors in Vietnam. Photo: Zing

The temporary suspension is not applicable to entrants holding diplomatic and official passports, as well as others who are experts, corporate executives, skilled laborers, and guests of important foreign affairs.

Foreign diplomatic missions in Vietnam shall commit to conduct medical supervision over their citizens during their stay in Vietnam.

Overseas Vietnamese (students, laborers, and people of Vietnamese origin) are advised not to flock home and closely follow other countries’ regulations on pandemic prevention. Vietnamese who want to return to the home country need to register for flights that will be arranged by the Ministry of Transport and make medical declarations and follow quarantine requirements.

Authorities are asked to strictly control the entry by land, air, sea, and inland waterways.

Gradual entry suspension

A Vietnam Airlines flight attendant. Photo: Vietnam Airlines

Since the breakout of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in China, Vietnam has prepared for the control with a number of protective measures.

On January 30 , Vietnam imposed visa suspension on Chinese visitors and halted flights from and to China.

On February 29 , Vietnam halted visa-free entry to South Korean citizens and quarantined all people coming from or traveling across South Korea within 14 days by the date of entry after President Moon Jae-in raised the country’s infectious-disease alert level to the highest.

On March 3 , Vietnam stopped applying visa exemption to Italian nationals after this European country reported more than 2,000 people infected.

On March 12 , Vietnam suspended visa issuance to nationals of eight European countries namely the UK, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Germany, France, and Spain.

From March 15 , Vietnam suspended entry of citizens from the UK and Schengen Area that comprises of 26 European countries.

On March 18 , Vietnam ceased visa issuance to all foreigners for 30 days. The restriction is not applicable to entrants holding diplomatic and official passports.

From March 21 , the country applied visa suspension to citizens from Japan, Russia, and Belarus.

Seeking sharing and collaboration

Temporary suspension of foreign visitors is one of tough measures that Vietnam must take over the past time to prevent the spread of the pandemic. “It’s a hard decision to make” as Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Vietnam’s protective measures, including mandatory quarantine, applied for both Vietnamese and foreigners are based on the complexity of the virus situation and in line with the International Health Regulations (IHR) and without discrimination, Hang said in a statement on Saturday.

Vietnam expects to receive the sharing and collaboration of countries and territories in implementing the measures, Hang said, adding that the country will make changes depending on the situation.

No COVID-19 infections logged on March 8 morning

by en.nhandan.org.vn

The country documented 1,585 domestically-transmitted infections, including 892 cases since the latest outbreak hit Hai Duong province on January 27.

As many as 45,219 people who came in close contact with COVID-19 patients or arrived from pandemic-hit areas are under quarantine nationwide, including 506 at hospitals, 14,266 at other quarantine sites, and 30,446 at home.

Among the patients under treatment, 65 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, 57 twice, and 137 thrice.

The Treatment Sub-committee said that 1,920 patients have been declared clear of the coronavirus so far.

Hanoi has gone through 20 days without new local transmission of COVID-19, while other ten cities and provinces has logged no new cases in 23 days, including Hoa Binh, Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Binh Duong, Hung Yen, Bac Giang, Gia Lai, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam begins COVID-19 vaccination on March 8, 2021, using recently-imported AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine was granted Emergency Use Listing by the World Health Organisation for active immunisation to prevent COVID-19 in individuals aged from 18.

In a bid to live safely with the pandemic, people should strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering) and khai bao y te (health declaration).

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.

Malaysia speeds up vaccination plan, Cambodia moves to cope with latest outbreak

by sggpnews.org.vn

The second delivery will be made on February 26, and Malaysia will continue to receive deliveries every two weeks until it is completed, Science Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said in a virtual news conference.
Malaysia has secured 32 million doses from Pfizer/BioNTech.
Meanwhile, vaccine doses from China’s Sinovac Biotech are scheduled to be delivered in bulk on February 27, pending approval from local regulators, the official said.
Malaysia has imposed more lockdowns this year amid a fresh wave of coronavirus infections. The country has recorded 280,272 cases of COVID-19 and 1,051 deaths.
It aims to vaccinate at least 80 percent of its 32 million people within a year.
In Cambodia, the Ministry of Education has issued guidelines on strengthening measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 after Prime Minister Hun Sen confirmed on February 20 the third community outbreak in the country.
The Khmer Times cited the ministry as saying that education officials must continue to implement the standard operating procedures and suspend any gathering of over 20 people while school managers must report anyone involved with the “February 20 Community Incident” to the authorities.
However, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that there are no immediate plans to close schools or cancel events and other receptions as a result of the third community COVID-19 outbreak in Phnom Penh, calling on the people to obey the health measures issued by the ministry and the government.
Last month, Cambodia started the new academic year 2020-2021. All schools across the country opened after their previous closures due to COVID-19.
Cambodian authorities detected 32 new COVID-19 cases in Phnom Penh on February 20, mostly in Koh Pich (Diamond Island) of Phnom Penh and some apartment buildings near the Olympic stadium.
Initial information showed that the outbreak relates to some people escaping the quarantine site at Sokha Hotel to live in a number of apartment buildings.
Some apartment blocks in Phnom Penh, especially Koh Pich, N8 Club bar and nearby restaurants have been locked down.

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.