Vietnamese citizens returning from Wuhan discharged from hospital hinh anh 1Vietnamese citizens come out of hospital after 21-day quarantine (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Hanoi (VNA) – Thirty Vietnamese citizens, who returned home from China’s Wuhan COVID-19 epicentre, were discharged from the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases on March 2 after a 21-day quarantine period.

Why 21 days?

There were six children from eight months old to 14 years old, and a woman 39 weeks pregnant among the citizens returning home on board a special flight on February 10.

All of them tested negative for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 which causes the acute respiratory disease (COVID-19).

Dr Pham Ngoc Thach, Director of the hospital, said that the citizens had their health checked and had been quarantined at the hospital for 21 days. He said that the test results showed all tested negative for the virus. To date, their health conditions are stable.

Explaining why they had been quarantined for 21 days instead of 14 days, Thach said: “As regulated, we only need quarantining for 14 days, but this is a new disease, and we don’t have a lot of experience. Therefore, we decided to carry out a longer period to have careful health check-ups and keep a closer watch on the situation as it develops. This is also an aspiration of the quarantined citizens with the hope to ensure absolute safety for the community. Today, when seeing they are discharged from the hospital, as doctors, we feel very happy. To date, their health conditions are all stable.”

He added that there is a pregnant woman among the 30 citizens, but the health of her and unborn child is normal.

“We were facilitated to return to Vietnam”

Coming out of hospital after 21 days, Nguyen Thi T from Bac Ninh province, who is pregnant, said she was surprised at the preparation and care for her and her baby.

Vietnamese citizens returning from Wuhan discharged from hospital hinh anh 2Nguyen Thi T, a 39 weeks pregnant woman from Bac Ninh province (Photo: VietnamPlus)

“Before being brought to a quarantine room of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, I just thought this would be a simple bed, but surprisingly, this is a fully-furnished room. The hospital even prepared an incubator and necessary equipment to care for my baby right in the quarantine room in case my baby is born,” T said.

“I myself want to express my thanks to the Vietnamese Government and the Vietnamese Embassy in China for creating favourable conditions for us to return to Vietnam. Especially, I would like to express my gratitude to the health workers here for caring for me during the time when I was here,” she added.

All Vietnamese citizens returning from Wuhan are receiving special quarantine and have their health monitored daily.

Following instructions of the Prime Minister and on the basis of citizens’ aspiration, on February 10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Vietnamese Embassy in China and relevant ministries, sectors and localities, repatriated 30 citizens who are mainly students and tourists from Wuhan in China’s Hubei province – the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has no traffic linkages with other regions due to the disease.

After the special flight landed at Van Don International Airport on Van Don island, the northwestern coastal province of Quang Ninh, at 5:40 am on February 10, authorised offices disinfected and carried out health check-ups as regulated.

The aircraft performing the flight had previously transported medical supplies from Vietnam to China, as well as 11 Chinese citizens back to Wuhan.

Vietnam has to date recorded 16 COVID-19 infections. From February 13 to 12:00 on March 2, no new COVID-19 cases had been reported in the country. Currently, there have been 115 suspected cases that are being quarantined.

According to the Health Ministry, as of 11:30 on March 2, 89,068 infected cases were confirmed in 67 nations and territories. The world also recorded 3,046 fatalities, including 2,913 in China, 22 in the Republic of Korea, 54 in Iran, 34 in Italy, and 12 in Japan./.
VNA