The 17 Vietnamese students and their relatives in Wuhan city, the Chinese province of Hubei, where an acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus (nCoV) is raging, are currently in stable health and psychological condition, the Vietnamese Embassy in China said on January 26.

Health workers carry an nCoV-infected patient to the Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan city,
Hubei province, on January 25 (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The Foreign Ministry of Vietnam said the embassy has given instructions on how to respond to the disease to the citizens while liaising with local authorities to extend the visa for one Vietnamese tourist stranded in Hubei due to the nCoV outbreak.

The embassy has yet to record any Vietnamese students infected with the virus.

The Foreign Ministry has ordered Vietnam’s overseas representative agencies to keep a close watch on the epidemic and ready their hotlines to support Vietnamese citizens when necessary.

Those seeking help can dial the citizen protection hotline of the Vietnamese Embassy in China  +8613120363638; the Vietnamese consulates general in Shanghai   +8613661537498, in Kunming 0086 13099948529, in Nanning  +8618587897059, in Guangzhou  +8613247675268, and in Hong Kong +85225914510; or the citizen protection switchboard +84981 84 84 84.

By the end of January 26, 80 deaths from the nCoV-caused disease and 2,744 infected cases had been reported in China.

The virus has spread to more than 10 countries around the world.