COVID-19 has been brought under good control nationwide, according to Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long (Photo: VNA)

Speaking at a meeting between the permanent cabinet members and the standing members of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on February 24, the minister said localities around the country have performed well in implementing prevention and control measures.

As of the morning of 24 February, Viet Nam had 2,403 COVID-19 infections, with 1,760 recoveries. Ten localities hit by the latest outbreak have now gone many days without new cases, he noted.

In Hai Duong, the pandemic is now under sound control with faster testing and contact tracing.

He said that SARS-CoV-2 variants found in cases in Viet Nam include the 20C variant, which was contracted by a Japanese patient found dead in Hanoi earlier this month and another recent case in the capital. This variant is mostly found in the Republic of Korea, India, and Taiwan (China), but not Japan. Its infection speed is not high, while its strength is yet to be determined.

The SARS-CoV-2 variant found in Hai Duong originated from the UK and South Africa, while that in Quang Ninh was also detected in the UK.

The minister asked localities to continue applying preventive measures against the pandemic in line with the Prime Minister’s Directive No 05, while paying greater attention to supervising medical facilities and patients exhibiting fevers and coughs as well as foreign experts and people entering the country from abroad.

Source: VNA