A quarantine room at the second hospital specialized in COVID-19 treatment in HCM City

This is the second facility exclusively reserved for the quarantine and treatment of COVID-19 patients besides the first one in Cu Chi district.

Deputy Director of the Health Department Tang Chi Thuong said the new hospital will reduce the workload on the Hospital for Tropical Diseases when the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing in the city.

He added that the establishment of a specialized hospital will also reduce the risk of cross-infection.

The same day, the Health Ministry also gave permission to the HCM City Children Hospital No1 to perform SARS-CoV-2 tests, bringing the number of facilities allowed to do such tests in the city to three.

As of 19:00 of March 17, the number of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam was 66, with five new cases confirmed during the day. Of the total, 16 have been completely cured.

Embassy supports students in Russia amidst COVID-19 outbreak

First Secretary Ly Tien Hung of the education section under the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia

The Vietnamese Embassy in Russia has kept a close watch on developments of COVID-19 and asked Vietnamese students to stay vigilant against the disease, an official has said.

According to First Secretary Ly Tien Hung of the education section under the embassy, about 6,500 Vietnamese students are studying at more than 150 universities across more than 40 Russian cities and provinces.

Apart from sending relevant notices of the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training to concerned agencies, the embassy has monitored the situation of Vietnamese students in Russia, Hung told the Vietnam News Agency in a recent interview.

Authorities, localities, relevant ministries and universities of Russia have also promptly rolled out precautionary measures while providing assistance for foreign students, including those from Vietnam, he said.

On March 16, the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education ordered all higher education institutions to launch online training, he said, adding that online lessons are also available for general education.

In case of the situation worsens, Vietnamese students should not travel in order to stem the spread of the epidemic, Hung warned.

COVID-19: periodic inspection on sea-going ships postponed

The Vietnam Register (VR) has announced that it will postpone periodic inspection of the registration, management quality and safety of Vietnamese sea-going ships running international routes, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The delay is in compliance with instructions of the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region signed in Tokyo in 1993 (Tokyo-MoU).

Recently, the Tokyo-MoU Secretariat issued a notice guiding the settlement of cases of ships affected by the impact of the pandemic, saying that the maritime transport sector is facing challenges in meeting requirements of the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention and related conventions of the International Maritime Organisation.

Tokyo-MoU member states agreed to deal with cases of ships impacted by the epidemic, including postponing inspection, but no later than three months.

According to the VR, Vietnam now has 550 ships running international routes, with a total capacity of 6.14 million tonnes./.VNA