Vietnam goes through 39 straight days without COVID-19 community transmission

Vietnam had no new COVID-19 cases to report on May 25 morning, meaning the nation remained clear of community transmission of the disease for 39 consecutive days, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Vietnamese citizens returning home from abroad are quarantined upon arrival. (Photo: VNA)
Vietnamese citizens returning home from abroad are quarantined upon arrival. (Photo: VNA)

The committee’s treatment subcommittee reported that 267 out of the total 325 patients have given all-clear from the disease, and with zero death.

It added that 185 cases were imported and quarantined upon arrival in Vietnam, so there is no risk of community transmission.

At present, 58 patients are being treated at centrally and locally run medical facilities, of them seven tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, and four for the virus twice or more.

As many as 15,412 people having close contact with patients or entering Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions have been quarantined at hospitals, concentrated quarantine establishments, and home.

More than 300 Vietnamese citizens brought home safely

Implementing the direction of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vietnamese relevant agencies, representative agencies in Europe and Africa and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on May 23 and 24 coordinated with host authorities to conduct flights bringing home safely over 300 Vietnamese citizens.

Passengers on the flights include children under the age of 18, tourists and businesspeople whose visas had expired but could not leave European countries such as Germany, the UK, France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Portugal, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and Slovakia, as well as some Vietnamese citizens stranded in African countries like Algeria and Nigeria.

Vietnamese citizens waiting at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands. (Photo: VNA)

The flights were arranged to land at the Amsterdam (Netherland) and Paris (France) airports.

Vietnamese representative agencies in Europe and Africa guided Vietnamese citizens to move to these airports, while those in the Netherland and France sent officials to directly help citizens to complete all necessary procedures before boarding to return home.

The flights were ensured security, safety and preventive measures against COVID-19. After landing at Ho Chi Minh City-based Tan Son Nhat International Airport, all passengers and crew members were given medical check-ups and quarantined in line with the country's regulations.

The flight from Hanoi to the Netherland carried antibacterial face masks as gifts of the Vietnamese National Assembly’s Committee for External Affairs presented to the Dutch parliament.

In the coming time, Vietnamese relevant agencies and representative agencies abroad will continue working with airlines to conduct commercial flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home based on their aspirations, quarantine capacity in localities nationwide, and developments of the pandemic in the country and the world.