Hanoi extends precautions against MERS-CoV

Hanoi has been stepping up precautionary measures to ward off transmission risk of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), as heard at a meeting on June 18 in Hanoi between Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and the municipal authorities. For the early detection of passengers with MERS-CoV symptoms, the city is conducting temperature screenings at Noi Bai International Airport. Some 988 flights carrying over 128,000 passengers from affected areas were monitored in June, including 156 flights hailing from the Republic of Korea (RoK) and the Middle East. Once any suspected passenger patient is detected, he or she will be admitted to either the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases or the Bac Thang Long, Dong Da, Thanh Nhan, Duc Giang and Ha Dong hospital. Field hospitals are to be established if needed. Some 65 mobile medical teams and 1,740 medical staff have been provided with additional training at local districts and communes. In addition, the capital has devised plans to deal with any outbreak emergency alongside proper clinical approaches to those infected at different stages of the disease. Among eight key prevention measures enacted by Hanoi authorities are strict supervision at border gates, educating people on disease self-prevention, providing training for medical staff and ensuring sufficient medical personnel, facilities and medicines. Hanoi authorities have asked the Health Ministry to continually update the city on the outbreak and engage the ministries of transport and public security in the effort. Speaking at the meeting, Minister Tien spoke highly of the capital’s active efforts against the early spread of MERS virus and urged the city to learn from the best practices of other countries for an effective and cost-efficient epidemic control solution. She pledged additional support to help train medical staff at the grassroots levels.-VNA