Containing the epidemic, ensuring the safety, life and health of the people is the government’s most important goal this year, but it will also work to achieve the 6.8 percent GDP growth assigned by the National Assembly, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a recent meeting with the National Monetary and Financial Policy Advisory Council.

"There is currently no basis to adjust the macro and growth targets," the Prime Minister emphasized, and requested Council members to come up with appropriate solutions to overcome negative impacts of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The comments came in response to a Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) report issued early January that sketched two possible scenarios on how the Covid-19 outbreak could affect economic growth this year.

If the epidemic is contained in the first quarter, GDP growth by year-end would fall 0.55 percentage points compared to the National Assembly’s target of 6.25 percent. If it is controlled in the second quarter, growth could to slow to 5.96 percent, down 0.84 percentage points compared to the current target, the report said.

Fitch Solutions, in a release on Wednesday, lowered its growth forecast for Vietnam to 6.3 percent this year from an earlier forecast of 6.8 percent due to the possible impacts of the coronavirus.