COVID-19: Vietnam records 12 cases over 24 hours

Four of the new patients are experts hailing from China and Taiwan, said the MoH in its 18.00hrs update on March 8.

Three of them flew to Vietnam from the Republic of Korea on March 5, while the Taiwanese expert boarded a plane from his home country to Vietnam on February 22.

Seven other patients are Vietnamese citizens who returned to the homeland from the Philippines on March 7.

All the patients were placed in quarantine as soon as they landed in Vietnam, thereby posing no risk to the community, said the MoH.

Locally, Hai Duong, the epicenter of the country’s latest coronavirus outbreak, only recorded a community case who had come into close contact with a COVID-19 patient.

The latest outbreak has been brought under control in Hai Duong, as just several cases have been reported these days compared to dozens of cases a couple of weeks ago.

Elsewhere, 12 other cities and provinces have recorded no community cases for the past days.

Since its emergence in late January 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread to 13 cities and provinces, with 893 cases confirmed, including 709 cases in Hai Duong alone.

Among active cases, 259 people have tested negative for the virus at least once.

The number of quarantined people for medical observation has fallen to 45,200 across the country.  

Vietnam launched its COVID-19 vaccination campaign on March 8, with frontline healthcare workers given top priority.