Vietnam has recorded seven additional imported novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, increasing the total number of infections to 1,497, according to a report issued on January 5 by the Ministry of Health.

Among the fresh cases, six are Vietnamese citizens who recently returned home from the US and Japan, and one British expert who entered the nation from Dubai.  All the new cases were placed into quarantine upon their arrival and they are now under medical surveillance and will undergo COVID-19 treatment at local hospitals.

According to data compiled by the subcommittee for treatment, as many as 1,339 patients have gone on to fully recover from the disease, while the number of related deaths remains at 35.

As of January 5, the country’s infection tally stands at 1,504, with locally transmitted cases accounting for 693 of the total, whilst imported cases make up 811, with each of these being immediately put into quarantine upon entering the country.
Among the patients undergoing treatment nationwide, 20 have since tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus at least once.

Furthermore, as many as 19, 286 people who came into close contact with COVID-19 patients or who entered the country from pandemic-hit regions have been placed into isolation across the nation, including 151 at hospitals, with the remainder at state-designated establishments or at their places of residence.

In another development, the Department of Health in the southern province of Binh Duong has recently issued an urgent telegraph requesting that local medical facilities move to intensify their control and management of entrants.

This comes after competent agencies discovered four cases of illegal entry into the nation across the border with Thailand and Cambodia. Of these, two cases had come into contact with patient No. 1440. Upon detection, each of the individuals were isolated at the Medical Center in Thuan An city, with their test results coming back negative for the SARS-COV-2 virus.

As a means of preventing the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading among the wider community, the Binh Duong Department of Health has ordered the Military Command, the police, and People's Committees at all levels to ramp up communication on the necessity of reporting illegal entrants into the locality. This is in addition to strengthening control and strictly managing relevant traffic routes.

Moreover, localities have been asked to regularly inspect, review, and strictly manage illegal foreign entrants into the nation. Moving forward, it is imperative to investigate and clarify violations of organizations and individuals, especially those involving rings who smuggle illegal entrants into the country.