At the meeting of permanent Cabinet members on January 30 (Photo: VNA)is well controlling it, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on January 30.
Speaking at a meeting
between permanent Cabinet members and representatives of ministries and
agencies in Hanoi, PM Phuc said the virus is rapidly sweeping over the world.
“We must stay calm
and resolutely protect the public’s health,” he said, urging localities and agencies
to outline their own countermeasures.
The PM stressed the
need to completely ban travelling via border-to-border trails and suspend the sending of Vietnamese labourers to China from which the deadly virus is originated.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should soon work with the Chinese side to bring
Vietnamese workers in the country home, he said.
Tours to China, and
vice versa, must also be banned, he said, adding that trading activities at
border gates are not encouraged at this time.
public security forces and the health sector to closely supervise passengers going through border gates.
Those from China must
be kept under quarantine within 15 days – the estimated incubation period of
the new virus. Besides, wildlife trading – the source of transmission – must be
completely prohibited, he said.
As Vietnam holds the
ASEAN Chairmanship, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should raise voice to
create high consensus in the grouping in the fight against the disease, the PM
noted.
Local steering
committees for prevention and control of nCoV would help improve the
efficiency of the combat, he suggested.
The leader asked the
media to consider the fight against nCoV a political task, and the
Health Ministry to coordinate with the Ministry of Justice to make legal
preparations once the World Health Organisation (WHO) announces the nCoV
emergency status.
At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen reported that as of 15:20 on January 30, three people had tested positive for nCoV, raising the total cases in the
country to five.
One of the three is
being treated at the General Hospital of the central province of Thanh Hoa,
while two are under treatment at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
All are Vietnamese nationals and returned from China’s Wuhan city where the virus
was first identified.
According to the
Health Ministry, as of 12:00 the same day, 7,819 cases of nCoV infections had
been confirmed in 19 countries and territories worldwide, with the death toll climbing
to 170, including 162 in Wuhan.
In response to the PM’s
directive, the Health Ministry has asked all provincial hospitals to set up
emergency teams and map out countermeasures, while preparing medical equipment
and medicines.
The ministry
suggested establishing five working groups to inspect the prevention and
control of nCoV in localities, focusing on areas at high risk of being
affected by the disease./.
Source: VietnamPlus
