Vietnam shares experience on COVID-19 prevention and control

The workshop on the application of technologies in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Source: VNA

The Vietnam's Ministry of Information and Communications partnered with the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs to hold a workshop on  the application of technologies in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in Hanoi on November 5.

A number of attendees said that despite the complex developments of the COVID-19 outbreak in many countries, Vietnam brought it under good control quite quickly and has continued to do so in the “new normal”.

One of the factors behind its success was the application of technologies, with various technology-based products being developed to aid the COVID-19 response.

One highlight was Bluezone, a Bluetooth-based mobile app that helps identify and alert people who have interacted with COVID-19 patients. The contact-tracing app, developed by the BKAV Technology Group, has been downloaded by more than 23 million Vietnamese people.

The National Hospital for Tropical Diseases introduced the use of a high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in place of intubation for critically-ill COVID-19 patients, which not only benefited the patients but also helped the hospital save resources.

The workshop also featured test kits for COVID-19 produced by Thai Duong (the SunStar JSC), which have received market authorisation in the EU.

According to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the country’s tally remained at 1,207, of which 691 were locally-transmitted cases.

Vietnam has gone through 64 straight days without COVID-19 infections in the community.

As of November 5, a total of 1,069 COVID-19 patients in Vietnam have recovered. There are now no patients in critical conditions. The death toll related to the disease remained at 35.

Since the early stage of the epidemic, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Head of the National steering Committee on prevention of acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has affirmed the country's willingness to share experiences and information on coronavirus.

Sharing information with the representative of World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in February, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam stressed that Vietnam determined that COVID-19 disease prevention is a global responsibility. Doing well in Vietnam is contributing to fight against the global spread of the epidemic.

Huong Diu