 PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc chairs the Government meeting on Covid-19 response on February 17, 2020. (Photo: VNA) |
Addressing a government meeting in Hanoi on Monday, Prime Minister Phuc said Vietnam was the first country in the world to contain the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, noting that Vietnam is doing a very good job in fighting the current Covid-19 outbreak.
An earlier meeting of the National Steering Committee the same day heard that efforts to combat the coronavirus outbreak in China appear to be effective as the numbers of both new cases and deaths have been falling. Committee members affirmed that Vietnam is safe for traveling. Among 16 confirmed cases in Vietnam so far, 7 have been cured and the health of the remainder is improving. Vietnam is capable of isolating and curing any new cases, they said. The central coastal province of Khanh Hoa is expected to soon be declared free from the Covid-19 epidemic.
“We have to closely monitor developments in the northern, western and southwestern regions to detect and isolate suspected cases,” said Deputy Health Minister Do Xuan Tuyen.
People coming from or having passed through affected areas within the past 14 days are either being denied entry to Vietnam or quarantined.