The patient is an employee at VSIP Industrial Park and stayed at the 20-storey Roygent Parks Hotel on Vo Nguyen Giap Street. He stayed alone on the fifth floor of the hotel. The hotel received 91 customers since April 18 and 10 out of 13 rooms were occupied.

The man arrived in Vietnam on June 26, 2018, to work at Kanata Company in VSIP Industrial Park. On October 4, the patient went to work on the hotel bus with 13 other people and the driver. He returned to the hotel at 4.30 pm. He had a farewell party. At 7.30 pm he checked out and went to the airport to return to Japan. He tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after landing in Japan.

Kanata Company said they had received the news via a phone call and there was no official document yet. They are reviewing the patient's travel history and will report to the authorities. The company also kept contact with the patient in order to be updated about his next tests.

The fifth floor has been locked down and will be disinfected with the reception area. Six hotel employees have been quarantined for more viral tests. As of 9 pm on October 5, they had found 162 people that had made contact with the patient. 125 samples have been taken for testing.

Foreign experts return to Binh Duong after Covid-19

Up to 2,600 experts have arrived in the southern province of Binh Duong to work as Covid-19 has been brought under control in Vietnam.

The experts from China and the Philippines who entered the country through Moc Bai Border Gate in the southern central province of Tay Ninh have been quarantined at Dau Tieng District Health Centre. 

According to Huynh Thanh Ha, deputy director of Binh Duong Province’s Health Centre, more than 3,000 other experts are scheduled to come to the province in the coming time.

Nguyen Khoa Hai, Director of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that the province will use six local hotels namely Dai Nam, The Mira 2, Saigon Park Resort, New Hotel Luxury, Lavender and Tran 2 as paid quarantine sites.

To date, Binh Duong has found no Covid-19 community infection case, but only six patients from abroad. Among the six, one has tested negative for the virus for five times, while the others are being treated and in good health condition.

Total tally rises to 1,097 after another imported case confirmed

Vietnam’s overall number of COVID-19 infection has increased to 1,097 after one imported case from Dubai was diagnosed with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the Ministry of Health said on October 5.

The newly detected case is a 57-year-old female French expert who entered Noi Bai International Airport on September 19 on flight EK394 from Dubai. She was immediately put into isolation in Soc Son district of Hanoi immediately after entry.

Her test result at the Hanoi Center for Disease Control on October 5 was positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Currently, the patient is being isolated to undergo treatment at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi’s Dong Anh district.

Among the total figure for infections, 691 are locally transmitted cases, 406 are imported into the nation which were immediately placed in quarantine upon arrival.

Furthermore, the total number of infections linked to Da Nang, the country’s most serious COVID-19 outbreak hotspot since July 25 remains at 551.

The same day, an additional two coronavirus patients were released from hospital after going on to make a full recovery, raising the country’s total number of recoveries to 1,022.

The confirmed fatality count caused by COVID-19 and serious underlying health illnesses stand at 35.

Among the remaining patients in treatment, 10 have tested negative for the virus at least one or multiple times.

More than 16,360 people who had close contacts with COVID-19 patients or came from pandemic-hit areas are under health monitoring across the nation.

Vietnam has gone through 33 straight days without recording any single case of local transmission so far.

No new COVID-19 cases confirmed on October 6 morning

Vietnam has entered the 34th consecutive day without COVID-19 community infections as no new cases were reported on October 6 morning, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The national count remains at 1,097, including 691 locally-transmitted cases.

A total of 1,022 have been given the all-clear so far. The fatalities are unchanged at 35.

Some 14,370 who had close contact with COVID-19 patients or came from pandemic-areas are under health monitoring nationwide.

Among the active patients, two have tested negative for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 once, two twice and six thrice. There are no patients in critical conditions./.

Hanoian man tests positive for SARS-CoV-2 upon arrival in Japan

A 23-year-old Vietnamese national who had flown from the nation to Japan on flight NH898 has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) after taking a quick test upon arrival at the airport in the Far East country on September 30.

Information regarding the positive case was first reported by CDC Hanoi on October 10 after the Japanese airport informed them about the infection case.

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

Upon receiving news regarding the latest positive COVID-19 case, CDC Hanoi were swift to collect samples from nine individuals who had come into close contact with the Hanoian man and sanitised the surrounding areas.

According to a statement made by a representative from CDC Hanoi, among the 10 cases who tested positive for COVID-19 after flying from Hanoi to Japan, nine cases were later confirmed to be negative for the virus after undergoing RT-PCR tests.

Japanese expert suspected of COVID-19 infection in Vietnam

Authorities in the northern port city of Hai Phong has locked down a hotel after a Japanese expert of an industrial park in the locality first tested positive for the virus. 

The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in Hai Phong said October 5 it has received a phone call from Osaka, saying the Japanese man who worked for a company in the VSIP Hai Phong had tested positive upon his arrival in Japan.

The 1987-born man had undergone a PCR test for COVID-19 at Osaka airport and Japanese authorities had notified the positive case to Vietnam.

The VSIP company scrambled to review the man’s travel history in Hai Phong. Accordingly, the man was sent to Vietnam to work on January 26, 2018 and he returned to Osaka (Japan) on October 5. In Vietnam, he had stayed at a hotel in Vinh Niem ward, Le Chan district, Hai Phong city.

Local authorities isolated the hotel and disinfected the facility according to regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control. They quarantined 10 people on the fifth floor where the Japanese man had stayed together with those who had come into contact with the suspected case.

Local authorities are waiting for the result of the man’s second test result.

More than 350 Vietnamese citizens brought home from Taiwan

More than 350 Vietnamese citizens were taken home from Taiwan (China) on two flights arranged by Vietnamese authorities, the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, Bamboo Airways and Taiwanese competent agencies on October 5.

The passengers included the elderly, pregnant women, workers whose visas expired, students with ended training programmes, people with illnesses; and those having disadvantages.

The Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei sent staff to the airport to assist them with boarding procedures.

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

Upon landing at the Da Nang International Airport in the central province of Da Nang, all crew members 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./.

Nearly 340 Vietnamese citizens flown home from Europe, Africa

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on October 3-4 safely repatriated nearly 340 Vietnamese citizens left stranded in European and African nations due to the impact of the COVID-19.

Passengers on board the flight were minors under 18, elderly people, students without accommodation, guest workers with expired visas and labour contracts, and other special cases.

Vietnamese representative agencies worked closely with relevant agencies of the host countries to facilitate the citizens’ travel to an airport in Paris (France). The Vietnamese Embassy in France sent staff to the airport to assist the citizens with necessary procedures before their departure.

Vietnam Airlines implemented necessary epidemiological measures during the flight to prevent possible spread of the virus.

All passengers were also examined and quarantined according to regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control as soon as the plane landed at Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh province, northern Vietnam.

Vietnamese authorities are arranging more repatriation flights to bring home more Vietnamese citizens stranded overseas in accordance with the epidemic situation and isolation capacity in the country.

Vietnam, Argentina’s lawmakers discuss women’s rights in time of COVID-19

Vietnamese and Argentine parliamentarians on October 5 held a virtual discussion on women’s rights and challenges to the protection of women’s rights during the COVID-19 outbreak.

In his remarks at the event, Deputy Head of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA)’s External Relations Committee Nguyen Manh Tien said the virtual discussion aims to exchange experience between the two national assemblies on protecting women’s rights during the COVID-19 as women are those most vulnerable during the unprecedented crisis.

Vietnam stands ready to deepen cooperation and share experience in COVID-19 response with Argentine’s National Congress and Government, he said. He expected the two legislative bodies to increase delegation exchange and bilateral meetings on the sidelines of multilateral parliamentary forums, and to accelerate experience exchanges in parliamentary affairs as well as global and regional issues of mutual concerns.

Le Thi Nguyet, Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnamese NA’s Social Affairs Committee, said about 30.8 million workers have been laid off or had working hours cut in Vietnam as of June this year, 17.6 million of them women. The number of unemployed female workers was 2.14 percent higher than that of male labourers.

Meanwhile, women accounted for a majority of frontline healthcare workers in the fight against the coronavirus, Nguyet noted, adding that women had to work from home and do household chores at the same time, doubling the burdens put on them in the time of COVID-19.

She urged the two parliaments to strengthen partnership and share experience in COVID-19 response and ensuring social welfare for people. Female legislators should ramp up experience exchanges and law making in gender equality and empowerment of women and girls./.

Malaysia PM self-quarantines, Philippines reopens public schools

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will undergo a 14-day home quarantine, after being in contact with Religious Affairs Minister Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri who tested positive for COVID-19, he said in a statement.

The leader met with Zulkifli in a high-level meeting on virus developments. The minister has since tested positive for COVID-19 and is seeking treatment in a hospital.

Muhyddin said he would undergo self-quarantine at his residence for 14 days based on the Ministry of Health's advice. However, this will not affect government affairs as he will continue to work from home and have video calls for meetings, he said.

Over the last 24 hours, Malaysia confirmed a record 432 new infections, the highest daily spike since restrictions were imposed in March.

The country has seen a steady climb in cases in the past week.

Meanwhile, over 22 million students in the Philippines from public schools returned to classes on the same day after months of distance learning to stem the spread of the COVID-19.

The Philippines is the last in Southeast Asia to reopen schools.

The country will not allow COVID-19 to destroy education and children’s future, Philippine Education Secretary Leonor Briones told the press. Her department intended to resume classes on June 1 but the plan was postponed.

President Rodrigo Duterte congratulated the Department of Education for finally opening the school year.

The Philippine health ministry on October 5 reported 2,291 new coronavirus infections and 64 more deaths. Total confirmed cases in the country have increased to 324,762, while death toll reached 5,840./.

Huế issues set of criteria to assess COVID-19 prevention and control

A set of criteria to assess COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control in karaoke parlours, bars, discos and movie theatres was issued on Monday by the Thừa Thiên-Huế People’s Committee.

The set includes 10 criteria.

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.