Vietnam's Ministry of Health has announced that 14 out of the 16 patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19, have been given a clean chit of health and discharged from the hospitals where they were treated as of Wednesday, Feb 18.
The government's official online newspaper, VGP News, reported that no new cases have been confirmed since the last case on Feb 13. Other patients including a US citizen, a worker, and a three-month-old infant are being monitored at medical facilities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vinh Phuc, and Ha Noi, respectively, the ministry said.
American man tests negative
The US Citizen, a 73-year-old man, has tested negative five times for the infection and he is expected to be discharged on Feb 21 from the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Hospital of Tropical Diseases.
A worker, who became the 16th confirmed case in the country, is under quarantine at a medical facility in the Binh Xuyen district of, Vinh Phuc province and is said to be in a stable condition. Meanwhile, the three-month-old child is said to be making a recovery and maybe discharged soon from the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ha Noi.
Strict quarantine measures
The Ministries of Public Security and National Defense, on 15 February, were given the responsibility of strict monitoring and control of individuals quarantined due to suspicions of infection in line with the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
In addition to this, measures such as monitoring of foreign workers are also being enforced in order to keep the infection contained. The prime minister has ordered the revocation of work permits to foreigners if they leave quarantine zones arbitrarily or do not comply with quarantine procedures when suspected to have the infection.
South Korea reports more confirmed cases
While Vietnam had promising news to share, South Korea was jolted by over a dozen cases on Wednesday. 15 new cases brought the countries tally to 46. Of the 15 who tested positive, 11 were members who attended the same church.
A 61-year-old woman was the link to the remaining 10 cases of the eleven. While the sexagenarian developed symptoms on 10 February, she refused to be tested for the coronavirus infection citing the reason that she had not traveled overseas recently.
Iran confirms its first cases of COVID-19
Iranian authorities reported that two cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported in the country. According to ISNA news agency, a spokesperson from the health ministry said that both the cases were from the city of Qom, and have been isolated.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Minister of Health Zoryana Skaletska said that the Ukranian nationals evacuated from Wuhan will be quarantined for 14 days. Also, they will be guarded by the National Police and the National Guard she said.
