Coronavirus updates in Vietnam: New COVID-19 infections surpass 900; more citizens repatriated

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Vietnamese citizens line up for boarding procedures in Malaysia's airport. Photo: VNA

The new patients, aged from 17 to 65, include one returning from Saudi Arabia, 5 imported cases from Japan and 14 linked to the Da Nang hotspot, 2 in the central province of Quang Nam and one in Quang Tri.

A 52-year-old woman in Cam Le district in the central city of Da Nang has become the 18th patient who died of COVID-19-related complications, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son announced on August 13 morning.

In a latest update from Health Ministry as of 6pm August 13, a 83-year-old woman in Quang Nam and a 87-year-old man from Quang Ngai were 19th and 20th fatal cases.

The woman had a history of heart failure and myelosuppression while the man had also history of hypertension and type 2 diabetes for many years; myocardial infarction with double stenting; atherosclerosis in the lower limbs, left foot amputation due to embolism.

Most of the fatalities suffered from underlying illnesses and they have all been registered since the latest outbreak started in Da Nang just more than two weeks ago.

A total of 12 positive novel coronavirus cases, including an eight-month-old child, were successfully discharged from hospitals in Da Nang and Quang Nam on the morning of August 13.

To date, Vietnam has registered a total of 905 COVID-19 patients since the detection of the first positive case in January. Of the total, 421 have been discharged from hospital, including two first cases in Quang Ngai on August 12.

Nearly 240 Vietnamese citizens were brought home from Malaysia on a flight of budget carrier Vietjet Air on the same day.

The flight was arranged by Vietnamese authorities, the Embassy of Vietnam in Malaysia, and the carrier, together with competent agencies of the host nation.

The passengers included pregnant women, people with illnesses, children under 18, the elderly, workers with expired contracts, and those in extremely disadvantaged circumstances. The Vietnamese Embassy also sent its staff to the airport 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 the Cam Ranh International Airport in the central province of Khanh Hoa, crewmembers and all passengers were given heath examinations and quarantined in line with regulations.

Vietnamese authorities and overseas missions plan to arrange similar flights to fly more Vietnamese citizens home, depending on their need and quarantine capacity at home.

VABIOTECH researchers are taking mouse blood samples to evaluate antibodies to immune response after injection. Photo: VABIOTECH

Vietnam don't have any plans to import the vaccine from Russia yet

The SARS-CoV-2 virus first re-occurred in the central city of Da Nang in late July. The latest outbreak has since spread to 15 cities and provinces nationwide with 421 new cases confirmed, including 18 fatalities.

A total of 133,340 people who had close contact with patients or returned from pandemic-hit areas are being quarantined nationwide, including 5,361 at hospitals, 25,043 at concentrated quarantine establishments and 102,936 at home.

At present a total of four Vietnamese companies, including the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No.1 (VABIOTEC) under the Ministry of Health, have registered to research and develop a COVID-19 vaccine locally, with a candidate vaccine poised to begin human trials later this year.

Providing that the testing stage process runs smoothly, the “Made-in-Vietnam” vaccine to combat the COVID-19 is expected to be commercially marketed in late 2021.

Vietnam has yet to initiate plans to purchase a newly announced vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus produced by Russia pending confirmation on its safety and effectiveness, according to Dr. Do Tuan Dat, VABIOTEC director.

“For a vaccine, it is imperative to know how it is before we can make a decision on whether or not to import it,” Dr. Dat said, adding that, “Once the vaccine research is widely published, with good results of course, we will consider the next step of importing it and registering for circulation in Vietnam.”

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