Government leader calls for drastic measures to protect public health

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chairs a cabinet meeting on COVID-19 prevention and control in Hanoi on March 9

The government must be prepared to sacrifice economic interests so that the COVID-19 epidemic can be contained, PM Phuc said, adding that despite there being 30 confirmed cases of the infection nationally, the country has successfully cured 16 patients, including arrivals from Wuhan in China.

The PM also requested that the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 prevention and control move to devise concrete measures aimed at effectively preventing any cases of the infection from entering the country in order to minimise the overall damage caused by spread of the virus.

According to the Ministry of Health, five Vietnamese patients and nine foreigners are among the 14 new cases of the COVID-19, all of whom have been put into isolation to undergo treatment.

The country is currently applying a unilateral visa exemption for citizens of 13 countries, including arrivals from the Republic of Korea, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, and Spain. For three remaining countries (Russia, Japan, and Belarus), the suspension of visa exemptions will apply when the total number of recorded cases reaches over 500, or the number of cases recorded in a single day exceeds 50.

The Ministry of Health urged the government to issue a decision regarding the granting of an export license for medical masks after receiving proposals from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Finance.

The Steering Committee also asked the cabinet leader to request that ministries, departments, and localities do not send officials to study or work abroad, except in unique circumstances that are granted permission from the Prime Minister, whilst simultaneously advising people against traveling abroad during this period.