Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has officially entered thesecond phase of the fight against COVID-19 since the 17th case wasdetected two days ago, and this phase is even more difficult than the first one, but thecountry is ready to respond to any circumstance, Deputy Prime Minister Vu DucDam said on March 8.

As of 7:30pm of March 8, Vietnam had recorded 30 COVID-19cases, including 16 already fully recovering.

The nine latest cases confirmed on the day are foreigners, including four cases recorded in Quang Ninhprovince, two in Lao Cai province, two in Da Nang city, and one in ThuaThien-Hue province.

All boarded flight VN0054, the same flight the 17th patient in the country (also the first in Hanoi) was on, from London to Hanoi's Noi BaiInternational Airport on March 2 morning. They have been quarantined, and theirhealth is in stable condition.

At the meeting of the national steering committee forCOVID-19 prevention and control in Hanoi, Deputy PM Dam said the second phaseof the outbreak combat is more challenging than the first one since the diseasehas spread to more than 100 countries, which means Vietnam has to prevent itfrom entering the country from over 100 directions, instead of several directionslike in the recent past.

Besides, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, hasalready appeared in the country. If the anti-outbreak work is not done well,the country will be “beaten from both inside and outside”, he noted.

However, all situations are anticipated, and response planshave been prepared to cope with any circumstance, even when there arethousands of infection cases, he said, adding that it will not be surprising iftens or hundreds of cases are reported in the next few days.

Dam said the most important thing is to persist in complyingwith the principle of preventing the spread, detecting infections, quarantininginfected and suspected cases, sealing off affected areas and suppressing theoutbreak.

When the virus has entered Vietnam, early detection toprevent the spread is of critical importance, according to Dam.

The Deputy PM requested sectors and authorities at alllevels to promote their sense of responsibility to strictly adhere to relevant directionsgiven by the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, the Government and thenational steering committee.

He urged competent agencies to recommend Vietnamese not goabroad or to the countries with COVID-19 cases. People should only do so ifreally necessary and they must equip themselves with sufficient knowledge to ensuretheir health’s safety.

The national steering committee agreed to propose theGovernment suspend the unilateral visa exemption for citizens of the EU nations,the UK, and non-EU countries that have had over 500 infection cases or record over 50 newcases in a day. The committee also proposed the denial of visa for foreignerswho show COVID-19 symptoms or have related epidemiological factors.

Vietnam has applied compulsory health declaration to allpeople entering the country, but that is not enough, Deputy PM Dam said, addingthat all Vietnamese people also need to declare their health status as this is acommon responsibility and also a concrete action to join efforts against theoutbreak.

He asked the Ministry of Information and Communications, theMinistry of Health, the Vietnam Social Security, and IT service providers to promptlycomplete technological tools so that health declaration will be applied to allpeople nationwide on March 10 morning at the latest.

If the whole people are unanimous, the country willdefinitely win against the COVID-19 outbreak, the official affirmed.

Also on the day, Deputy PM Dam made a field trip to the Vietnam Telemedicine Centre for COVID-19 Outbreak Control./.