An additional number of 82 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in the two northern provinces of Hai Duong and Quang Ninh, according to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam at a meeting this morning.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam at the meeting

An additional number of 82 Covid-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the two northern provinces of Hai Duong and Quang Ninh, according to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam at a meeting this morning. 

The newly-detected cases include 72 in Hai Duong and 10 in Quang Ninh. This is the largest number of community infection cases detected in Vietnam so far. 

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Head of the National Steering Committee for the prevention and fight against outbreaks of COVID-19, said at the emergency meeting between the Steering Committee and the government, on the sidelines of the 13th National Party Congress. 

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam requested leaders of Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, the Ministry of Health and related forces to implement "stronger" disease prevention and control measures. 

He emphasized that as the first case in Hai Duong is infected with the new strain of SARS-CoV-2 (according to information from Japan), special care should be taken to ensure maximum safety for the anti-epidemic forces.

Mr. Luong Ngoc Khue talked with reporters on the sidelines of the 13th National Party Congress.

In Quang Ninh, related forces locked down ​​Van Don international airport, where the first Covid-19 case detected. The province has also deployed strong anti-epidemic measures throughout the provinces such as closing schools and restricting transportation activities. 

Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said that the Ministry had sent a special working group to Chi Linh district, Hai Duong, to help the local agencies in epidemic control. 

On the sidelines of the 13th National Party Congress this morning, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment under the Ministry of Health Luong Ngoc Khue said that the Ministry of Health had asked for the Prime Minister’s approval on the blockade of Hai Duong. 

Mr. Khue said that the newly-detected case in Hai Duong is related to the new strain, so the risk of disease spreading is high. Regarding the infectious mechanism and the incubation period in the newly discovered cases, Mr. Khue said that the source of infection in Hai Duong has not been identified the source of transmission. 

Tran Thuong - Thu Hang - Pham Hai