More than 1,300 hospitals in Viet Nam, including those in 700 districts can provide treatment to COVID-19 patients, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long told reporters Friday. 

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long

As Viet Nam succeeded in pushing back the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, Long affirmed Viet Nam is confident in thwarting the COVID-19 epidemic.

In fact, district-level hospitals have successfully cured COVID-19 patients thanks to extensive application of experience gained from treatment of SARS patients, Long said.

District-level hospitals are totally ready for treatment of COVID-19 patients should the epidemic get worse, the Deputy Minister added.

In Viet Nam, positive patients have been treated at different medical establishments with doors open instead of being concentrated in few places.

Long reiterated Viet Nam has controlled the epidemic well as no new infections have been reported since the last positive case confirmed on February 13.

Of the 16 announced patients, 15 have been cleared of the virus and exited hospitals as of Friday afternoon./.