Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long speaks at the teleconference on February 5 (Photo: VNA) At a teleconference on February 5, Minister ofHealth Nguyen Thanh Long told the localities with community transmission ofCOVID-19 that due to the demand for widespread testing in northern Quang Ninhand Hai Duong provinces, where the latest outbreak began, the Ministry ofHealth now permits the combination of 10 - 15 samples collected from the samefamilies in one test, instead of five samples like what has been done so far.
The minister also holds that children under fivecan be quarantined at home, under certain conditions, and local authoritiesmust be responsible for strictly monitoring them, he noted.
Citing Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s orderfor not hampering economic activities in the COVID-19 fight, Long said theprovinces and cities with sufficient testing capacity can transport goods toother localities, but anti-COVID-19 measures must be applied for both goods anddrivers.
The official said the northwestern province ofDien Bien is the latest and 11th locality with coronavirus infections in thecommunity, speaking highly of its efforts to trace contact with confirmed casesin just a short period of time.
He also asked Dien Bien to boost contacttracing, speed up testing, and promote home quarantine.
So far, Vietnam has seen 1,957 cases ofCOVID-19, including 1,068 locally-infected ones with 375 reported since January27. As many as 1,465 patients have recovered while the number of related deathsare maintained at 35./.
VNA
