To fight until the end

On the night of Jan. 27, Quang Ninh recorded one of Vietnam's first Covid-19 community transmissions in nearly two months: a man who works at Van Don International Airport. The man, eventually designated "Patient 1553", was taken to Hanoi's National Hospital for Tropical Diseases for treatment. Those who had been in contact with the patient were quarantined at the No. 2 field hospital in Ha Long, with dozens of cases subsequently confirmed infected. Every morning, doctors and nurses at the field hospital convened with peers across the country through a telehealth system to help diagnose and treat Covid-19 patients. The hospital has 250 beds, along with state-of-the-art equipment for receiving, diagnosing and treating Covid-19 patients and suspected cases. Over 100 medical workers and other employees are working at the hospital. Doctors treat Covid-19 patients twice a day while wearing protective suits. Nurse Nguyen Khac Sang, 34, has become a barber during his time at the … [Read more...] about Doctors, nurses at Quang Ninh field hospital go all out in Covid-19 fight

On February 15, CNN reported more than 53,800 new Covid-19 infections in the U.S., its lowest daily case count since October 2020 and a vastly different number from just the previous month, when infections were topping 200,000 a day. The number of new cases remained under 80,000 for the fourth day in a row Wednesday, while hospitalizations fell to their lowest level since November 10. The number of Covid-19 patients requiring treatment in intensive-care units (ICU) also fell, to 13,103, the sixth consecutive day the total has been below 15,000. Travelers wearing protective face masks at the airport in Denver, Colorado, U.S., November 24, 2020. Photo by Reuters. There were other signs that the pandemic situation was improving. "The situation in California is getting better, with the number of patients in ICU declining," said Ton That Binh, a Vietnamese man working in the medical sector in San Jose. He guessed that the state's pandemic level could move soon from … [Read more...] about US Vietnamese diaspora see light at end of Covid-19 tunnel

"We believe the coronavirus fight to be an urgent and vital mission within the first quarter, because it won't end within the first six months, or even the entire year of 2021," Long told an online meeting with local authorities regarding Covid-19 prevention. Vietnam's Covid-19 wave since late January is noted to be more complex than previous ones due to the presence of the U.K. variant that is 70 percent more transmissible than normal strains, meaning more cases are recorded within a shorter time frame, said Long. The new wave also occurred within industrial areas and right around Lunar New Year festival, making the situation even more complex, he added. As a comparison, the coronavirus wave started in central Da Nang City last year recorded only 300 cases from July to August, yet barely a month has passed since the beginning of the current wave and northern Hai Duong Province, this wave's epicenter, has already recorded over 500 cases. The average number of recorded daily cases … [Read more...] about No end to Vietnam’s coronavirus fight within first six months: health ministry

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has proposed the extension of Van Don International Airport’s suspension amid the Covid-19 outbreak in many Vietnamese localities. The proposal followed the decision that required staff of the airport had to quarantine themselves since February 17 at home until the end of March 2. Under the CAAV’s recommendation sent to the Ministry of Transport, the airport should also further closed during this time. Van Don International Airport Earlier, the airport was suspended from January 29 to February 13 after a male member of staff was infected with Covid-19. After that, ten more staff at Van Don tested positive for the virus, turning the airport to a quarantine site for 132 people who work at the airport. The Ministry of Transport then decided to prolong the airport closure until February 21. Nearly 160 workers at the airport who have been quarantined have tested negative for the virus. They will be provided with the … [Read more...] about Further closure for Van Don airport for Covid-19 fight

The team has developed a solution applying artificial intelligence to the accurate diagnosis of Covid-19 infections and provides intervention options. Infection patterns vary by country and territory. As a result, interventions may work in one country or territory but be less effective in another. A total 48 teams from 17 countries were selected for the final round out of a total 104 teams from 28 countries in the semi-finals. The results will be announced at the end of February 2021. The jury selected the VinBrain team for the final round based on the accuracy of its AI models and ability to easily interpret predictions of the solution. This approach can be used for any future pandemic response model. Members of VinBrain in the U.S. have come up with an extensive solution to this problem by developing region-specific AI models to predict the Covid-19 infection time series in those regions. The solution was based on the classical epidemic SEIR model, which was then expanded to … [Read more...] about VinBrain reaches final round of global Covid-19 fight contest