A worker fumigates a classroom at the Viet Duc High School in Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi, on February 2 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Authorities in Hanoi have beenrequested to enhance countermeasures against the acute respiratory diseasecaused by the novel coronavirus (nCoV).
Chairman of the municipal People’s CommitteeNguyen Duc Chung recently issued a directive tasking each department and sectoramid complex developments of the epidemic.
In particular, he asked the Capital City MilitaryHigh Command to build plans for deploying isolation wards and field hospitalsin case of outbreaks in Hanoi.
The Department of Tourism was told to orderlocal travel companies to cancel trips to affected areas, and not organisetours for infected clients or receive tourists from there.
Relevant agencies were also demanded totemporarily suspend the granting of visa for foreign tourists coming fromnCoV-hit regions, including Chinese visitors, or those who used to be in Chinawithin two weeks.
Entry into and exit from the city for tourismpurposes by people using border laissez-passers will also be halted, accordingto the directive.
As of February 3, Hanoi hadn’t recorded any nCoVinfections. However, there have been 26 suspected cases who showed coughing andfever symptoms and returned from nCoV-hit areas. All of those people are now instable health condition, and 15 have been tested negative for the virus. Therest are being isolated and monitored.
Meanwhile, Vietnam confirmed the eighthnCoV-infected case on February 3. The new patient is a female worker fromthe northern province of Vinh Phuc, who returned to Vietnam from China’s Wuhancity, the epicentre of the epidemic, last month on a China Southern Airlinesflight, the same flight taken by three other Vietnamese previously testedpositive to the virus.
The other cases consist of two Chinese nationals(a man and his son), a Vietnamese hotel receptionist having contact with theChinese father and son, and a US citizen transiting Wuhan on his flight toVietnam./.
VNA
