Covid-19 latest news: 340 citizens return safely from Australia as Vietnam's confirmed cases pass 800 mark
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Vietnamese citizens wait for their flight home at the Singapore's airport. Photo: VNA

More than 240 Vietnamese citizens were brought home on a flight of budget carrier Vietjet Air on August 12 while over 340 Vietnamese citizens from states around the US were flown home safely on national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines flight on August 11.

The flight was arranged by Vietnamese authorities, the Embassies of Vietnam in two host countries and the two carriers, together with competent agencies of Singapore and the US.

The passengers included children under 18, the elderly, the ill and those who in extremely disadvantaged circumstances. The Vietnamese Embassies also sent its staff to the airports to assist them with boarding procedures.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, disease prevention measures were carried out during the flight. Upon landing at Van Don Airport and Can Tho International Airport, the flight crew and all passengers were given heath examinations and quarantined in line with regulations.

In the context of new locally-transmitted cases in the country and around the world, Vietnamese authorities and overseas missions plan to arrange more flights to fly more Vietnamese citizens home, depending on their need and quarantine capacity at home.

Vietnam reported 14 three new infections as of 6pm August 12, raising the number of cases in the country to 880. Of those, 321 returned to Vietnam from other pandemic-hit nations and territories and were quarantined immediately upon arrival.

Of the total active infections, 400 patients have declared to be free from COVID-19 reaching a recovery rate of 45.5% and there have been 17 fatalities so far. All deaths stemmed from the new outbreak.

The majority of recent cases were in Da Nang, a city of 1.1 million, where broad social distancing measures and a city-wide lockdown were extended indefinitely on Tuesday.

173 tourist accommodation establishments in 25 cities and provinces across Vietnam had been mobilised as of August 6 to serve as quarantine sites, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Photo: VNA

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on August 12 that the next 10 days would be critical in the country's fight against a new coronavirus outbreak, which resurfaced late last month after three months of no domestic cases.

Upon addressing a cabinet meeting to discuss COVID-19 prevention and control work in Hanoi, the Government chief urged citizens to remain calm and stay active in prevention work during this time.

In addition, a score of appropriate epidemic prevention and control measures have been taken as a means of ensuring anti-epidemic work and anti-corruption measures are performed in an effective manner.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Ngo Van Quy said that since July 25, coronavirous infections in Hanoi have numbered 30, including 8 locally transmitted cases and 22 cases of entry from concentrated isolation areas.

Since the recurrence of the novel coronavirus after a three-month hiatus last month, locally-transmitted cases have been detected across 15 cities and provinces, with Da Nang being the hardest hit localities.

According to Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, COVID-19 cases up to now have mainly been detected in quarantine areas, indicating the effectiveness of isolation and zoning off. He underlined the necessity of improving efficiency in terms of online medical examinations as approximately 40% of COVID-19 cases show no symptoms.

Moving forward, there may still be new infection cases scattered within the community, he warned./.

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