Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on February 7 checked the fight against the acute respiratory disease caused by coronavirus (nCoV) in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (front, second from right) checks the fight against coronavirus in Thua Thien-Hue province on February 7 (Photo: VNA)

To date, no nCoV infection cases have been reported in the locality.

Earlier on February 2, a drill on preventing the virus outbreak was held at the Hue Central Hospital in Phong Dien district.

Vietnam has so far recorded 13 cases tested positive for the virus.

The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology has successfully cultivated and isolated the virus in the laboratory.

This will enable quicker tests of the virus, according to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

With the latest achievement, Vietnam is able to test thousands of samples a day when necessary, he said, noting that this will also be a prerequisite for developing a vaccine against the virus in the future.

More than 1,000 people returning from China and nearly 500 others with close contact with infected patients are being quarantined and monitored and waiting for test results.

(Source: VNA)