With two Hanoi patients confirmed free of the Covid-19 Thursday, the number of active cases has gone down to 58. This means that of the total 324 infections recorded so far, 266 have recovered.

However, the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Fighting expressed concern at a Thursday meeting that many people including some local authorities were behaving as though the pandemic crisis has passed.

While it is a very positive development that Vietnam has gone free of community transmission of the novel coronavirus since April 16, the risk of further infection remains and people have to be on guard, the committee said.

It noted that the pandemic was still developing complicatedly and unpredictably in many countries in the region and the world.

The risk of more infections from foreign arrivals remains high and in fact, Vietnam has already recorded many cases from abroad, the committee noted.

No person in the country should neglect precautions and regard the pandemic as ended, said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who heads the steering committee.

"We have controlled the disease well, but we have not won the battle," Dam said.

Quarantine breach

On Thursday, the Mekong Delta's Bac Lieu Province reported a Covid-19 quarantine breach after discovering that a local vendor had made contact with a 33-year-old male Covid-19 patient under treatment at the Bac Lieu General Hospital on May 16.

The vendor, his family and a neighbor have been quarantined and their first tests have proven Covid-19 negative.

The Bac Lieu General Hospital is treating 17 Covid-19 patients, who were among 297 Vietnamese citizens repatriated from the UAE on May 3.

The Covid-19 pandemic has thus far affected 213 countries and territories, and reported deaths have crossed 334,000.