New ebola outbreak

Diageo Vietnam is one of the first businesses in the country joining hands with Tuoi Tre (Youth Newspaper) to help up to ten thousand of frontline workers who work at medical centers, hospitals and centrally quarantine centers in Vietnam, to get vaccinated for free this year.

Having launched at the end of February, following the success of the 1-year long campaign “Preventing Covid-19 with Tuoi Tre”, the campaign aims to raise funds from individuals, organizations, and businesses for such a meaningful and highly practical activity. Through this tangible contribution, Diageo Vietnam demonstrates its commitment to joining hands with Vietnamese people to combat Covid-19, while facilitating safety for local communities in the new normal.

Throughout 2020, Vietnam has marked its name in the global map as a success story of keeping Covid-19 transmission under control and mitigating the pandemic’s adverse effect on all socioeconomic aspects. Strict quarantine and contact tracing measures alongside medical prevention and treatment efforts, empowered by the strong consensus between the Government and people across the country, have proven their values and helped Vietnam make the miracle.

The success of disease prevention and control activities in Vietnam lies in the ability to mobilize extensive resources and connect individuals and organizations under the same cause, which is to prevent Covid outbreak and protect the community. Those noble qualities have inspired companies like Diageo Vietnam to take bold moves and contribute their part.

Mr. Jos Duursema, Chief Operating Officer of Diageo Vietnam said: “ As a British business operating in Vietnam, we are proud to accompany and support the local communities in every possible way to protect their well-being and promote sustainable development for the country. Diageo Vietnam hopes to secure more opportunities to access effective prevention and treatment of Covid-19, hence empowers Vietnamese people with the freedom to live a healthy and successful life.”

The sense of values and purposes guides Diageo’s business operations and social activities on a global scale. Last June in Vietnam, Diageo Vietnam partnered with the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front to present the Ministry of Health with 18,600 hand sanitizer bottles worth VND670 million, alongside its campaign “Clean Serve by Diageo” which provided sanitizing kits and guidelines for more than 315 bars and clubs across the country. Under the campaign’s framework, Diageo hosted a much-anticipated livestreaming session, where the brand’s ambassador shared advice and tips to more than 2,000 participants on how to maintain hygiene and secure experience as they serve customers.

PV

Illustrative photo

According to the ministry’s report, one of the new patients is a 43-year-old Chinese expert who arrived at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on February 19. He was sent to a quarantine area in Binh Duong Province upon arrival and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on March 4. He is being treated at the Binh Duong Provincial General Hospital.

Five other patients are Vietnamese people who recently entered the country through Ha Tien Border Gate in the southern province of Kien Giang and Moc Bai Border Gate in Tay Ninh Province. They were also sent to local quarantine areas upon arrival and are now being treated at local hospitals.

With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 2,494, including 879 locally-transmitted cases reported since the new outbreak started in Hai Duong on January 28. Hai Duong Province alone has recorded 695 cases.

As of 6 pm on March 5, a total of 1,920 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital. There have been 35 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.

At present, nearly 50,000 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from virus-hit areas are being monitored at hospitals, quarantine facilities, and at home.

By Nhung Nguyen – Translated by Thuy Doan

The Deputy PM, who is also head of the Steering Committee, stressed that safety must be as high as possible and that if something goes wrong it must be handled calmly.

Though COVID-19 has been largely brought under control in Vietnam, relevant agencies must continue to maintain readiness and vigilance, he said.

Deputy PM Dam called on people to strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s “5K” message: Khau trang (facemasks) – Khu khuan (disinfecting) – Khoang cach (distancing) – Khong tu tap (no gathering) – Khai bao y te (health declaration).

Schools, health facilities, factories, markets, supermarkets, and accommodation establishments, he went on, need to actively self-assess their safety level in disease prevention and control and update information on the COVID-19 Safe Living Map System (www.antoancovid.vn).

He praised the efforts of the ministry in accessing foreign sources of COVID-19 vaccines and promoting vaccine research and production in the country.

The Ministry of Health is responsible for organising vaccinations in a safe and effective manner and promoting communications to raise public awareness.

He underlined the need to accelerate domestic vaccine research, production, and testing, noting that these must comply with all steps in the fastest time possible.

Vietnam is expected to have sufficient vaccines for 100 million people if research and development is successful, he said, adding that this is an opportunity for the country to lift its vaccine research capacity to a new level, enabling it to respond to other diseases that may strike in the future.

The Deputy PM also ordered the Ministry of Health to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to urgently build and issue relevant instructions and guidelines to create favourable conditions for those that have been given COVID-19 vaccines abroad to enter Vietnam.