Local authorities of Hai Phong city announced on October 6 that they have successfully tracked down 152 F1 cases who had come into close contact with a suspected Japanese novel coronavirus patient. 

Each of the individuals has now had samples taken for testing and will undergo a period of quarantine at their own homes while they wait for their results.

Relevant forces are now tracking and identifying people who came into close contact with F1 cases.

Medical workers isolated and disinfected the Japanese expert’s residence, a hotel located in Le Chan district, along with his workplace based in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP).

The Japanese expert, working at the VSIP Hai Phong, had undergone a PCR test for COVID-19 at Osaka airport upon his return to Japan, with the results coming back positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Learning about the case, the VSIP company immediately scrambled to review the man’s travel history throughout Hai Phong.

The expert was sent to work in Vietnam on January 26, 2018, and eventually returned to Osaka (Japan) on October 5, 2020. During this period, he never left the northern port city.

Before his departure from Hai Phong for Japan, he held a farewell party with many of his colleagues in attendance.

Nine test negative after contact with COVID-19 case in Japan

The Hanoi Centre for Disease Control and Prevent (CDC Hanoi) has announced all nine individuals who came into close contact with a Hanoian man suspected of being positive for COVID-19 in Japan have tested negative for the virus. 

Despite receiving the haul of negative test results, each of the nine people will still be required to remain under quarantine at home for a further 14 days, with CDC Hanoi moving to swiftly sanitise the surrounding areas.

This comes after a 23-year-old Vietnamese national who had flown from Hanoi to Japan on flight NH898 had tested positive for COVID-19 after undergoing a quick test upon arrival at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo on September 30.

The man will be tested for real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) over the course of the next six days.

According to CDC Hanoi, the Vietnamese patient had not come into contact with any COVID-19 patients and had not been to any infected areas before flying to Japan.

Ths is the 10th positive case detected abroad after flying from Vietnam. Nine other cases were later confirmed to be negative after undergoing RT-PCR tests.

Vietnam reports no new COVID-19 cases on October 7 morning

No new COVID-19 infections were recorded in Vietnam over the past 12 hours from 6pm on October 6 to 6am on October 7, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Taking COVID-19 testing sample (Source: VNA)

The tally stayed unchanged at 1,098, of whom 407 are imported cases and quarantined upon arrival.

With the figures, Vietnam entered the 35th day in a row without infections in the community.

To date, 1,023 patients have been given the all-clear. Among patients still under treatment, two have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, two negative twice and five negative thrice. The number of fatalities remains at 35.

A total of 14,550 people are being quarantined nationwide, with 261 at hospitals, 11,817 at designated facilities and 2,472 at home or accommodations.

Vietnam earlier recorded one new imported case of COVID-19 on October 6.

The new patient was a student returning from London on flight VN0054 which landed at Van Don airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh. She tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 while staying in quarantine in Hai Duong province.

On October 6, one patient was given the all clear, raising the total number of recoveries to 1,023. The number of fatalities remains at 35.

Among patients still under treatment, two have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, two negative twice and five negative thrice.

Central province issues criteria to assess COVID-19 prevention

The People’s Committee of central Thua Thien-Hue province has issued a set of 10 criteria to assess COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control in karaoke parlours, bars, discos and movie theatres.

Specifically, restaurants must provide disinfection hygiene products, arrange a convenient hand-washing place with clean water and soap for guests and have measures to monitor and remind users to wash their hands.

Customers and restaurant employees must wear face masks and check body temperatures before entering restaurants.

They should also have a monitoring book for service users to record their name, address, phone number, accommodation, health status and updated daily information.

If reaching from 80 points or more, the establishment is certified as ensuring COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control safety and can operate. From 65 points to less than 80 points means they relatively ensure COVID-19 pandemic prevention and can operate but must immediately overcome the failed criteria.

If reaching from 50 points to under 65 points, the establishment is relatively safe for COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control can operate but must fix the failed criteria within seven days of the assessment results. Then they will be re-checked periodically.

When the score is below 50 points, the establishment does not ensure COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control, must temporarily suspend its operation and must correct the flaws immediately.

Over 220 Vietnamese citizens brought home from Japan

More than 220 Vietnamese citizens were brought home from Japan on October 6 on a flight arranged by Vietnamese authorities, the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, Vietjet Air and Japanese competent agencies.

The passengers included children aged under 18; pregnant women; the elderly; the illnesses; guest workers whose contracts expired; students whose dormitories closed and other people in extremely difficult circumstances.

The Vietnamese Embassy sent staff to the airport to assist them with boarding procedures.

Vietjet strictly implemented in-flight security and disease prevention measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

Upon landing at the Cam Ranh international airport in the south central province of Khanh Hoa, all crewmembers and passengers were given heath checkups and put into compulsory quarantine in accordance with regulations.

In the future, more flights are set to be conducted to repatriate Vietnamese citizens with disadvantaged circumstances, depending on their need and quarantine capacity at home./.

COVID-19 cases in Philippines on downward trend: WHO official

The number of new cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines is on a downward trend, said the WHO representative in the country Rabindra Abeyasinghe.

The country recorded 2,093 new cases on October 6, raising the total number to 326,833. The day also saw 25 new deaths from the coronavirus disease, pushing the total fatalities to 5,865.

The Philippine Health Ministry said over 3.71 million people in the country had taken tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has approved the emergency use of two antiviral drugs to treat COVID-19 patients.

The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency has issued emergency use authorization (EUA) for Favipiravir and Remdesivir.

According to the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister, Indonesia expects to secure 670,000 vials of Remdesivir by the end of this year while expecting the drug to be manufactured domestically since November./.

Thailand, Cambodia cooperate in mitigating COVID-19 impacts

Thailand and Cambodia have reaffirmed their commitment to working closely to mitigate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through various bilateral cooperation projects, such as those concerning public health along their border areas.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, and his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn, recently held a video conference on ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries amidst challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

According to a report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, the two countries will further enhance economic cooperation by ensuring smooth transportation of goods across borders, while effectively managing the cross-border movement of people under the current travel restrictions.

They also discussed the possibility of expediting land and rail connectivity projects between Sa Kaeo and Banteay Meanchey provinces to promote border development and facilitate the recovery efforts in the post-COVID-19.

The Thai official expressed his full support for Cambodia as host of the 13th ASEM Summit to be held in 2021.

Thailand and Cambodia will mark the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations on December 19, 2020 and will hold activities to celebrate the occasion throughout the following year./.

Malaysia says no to national lockdown for fear of economic collapse

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has affirmed that his Government will not impose a total lockdown despite the latest surge in COVID-19 cases.

If the Government was to reintroduce a national lockdown, it would have a huge impact that could affect the social and economic system of the country, he said in his special televised address on October 6.

Instead, the Government will implement targeted enhanced movement control orders at identified areas with high numbers of cases.

On the day, Malaysia reported 691 new infections – the highest number recorded in a single day. Of the total, 688 cases were transmitted in the community, mainly in Kedah and Sabah states./.