Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has beencooperating actively with China to control the acute respiratory disease causedby the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and protect citizens of bothcountries in the fight against this virus, Spokeswoman of the Ministry ofForeign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang has said.

Talking to reporters at the ministry’s regularpress conference on February 6, Hang noted the Vietnamese Government and peoplehave provided some humanitarian aid for China, including supporting the ChineseGovernment and people with goods and medical equipment worth 500,000 USD.

The Vietnam Red Cross Society and some borderprovinces of the country have also offered suitable forms of support forChinese citizens, she said, adding that with the aim of preventing, containingand controlling the epidemic, Vietnam will keep working closely with China.

The spokeswoman said Vietnam has been keeping aclose watch on the disease situation, and it highly values efforts by leaders,local administrations and people of China in the disease prevention andcontrol.

Vietnam’s authorised agencies and representativebodies in China have always coordinated closely with China in exchanging informationand supporting the Vietnamese who are living, working and travelling in China.

Vietnam hopes that thanks to joint efforts bythe international community, the epidemic in China and other countries will beput under control soon, Hang noted.

Regarding the nCoV-infected Vietnamese in China,she said the Vietnamese Embassy in China has liaised with local authorities toask for active care for the patient, who is receiving treatment at a hospitalin Jiangxi province.

Meanwhile, the embassy has received repatriationrequests from 29 Vietnamese in China’s Hubei province, the centre of the nCoVoutbreak. The Foreign Ministry is coordinating closely with relevant ministriesand sectors to bring Vietnamese in nCoV-affected areas home, according to thespokeswoman.

She said as this is a serious problem related topublic health, the Vietnamese Government has set up a national steeringcommittee for the disease prevention and control. It has also taken a number ofdrastic and appropriate countermeasures against the epidemic with a view tocurbing the spread of the disease and controlling it in Vietnam.

Vietnam is ready to cooperate with the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO) and the international community to share itsinformation and experience in preventing and containing the disease, Hangnoted, adding that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minhsent a letter to ASEAN countries to ask for the establishment of aministerial-level joint working group to enhance cooperation in the nCoV combat.

Besides, the Foreign Ministry has askeddiplomatic representative agencies abroad, especially in China, to stay updatedwith the epidemic’s developments, Vietnamese citizens’ situation andaspirations, local authorities’ responses. It has also publicised the hotlinesof Vietnam’s diplomatic representative bodies in China and is ready to takemeasures to support and protect citizens when necessary, the spokeswomanadded.

On February 6 evening, the Health Ministry announced that Vietnam has reported two more new coronavirus (nCoV) infection cases, bringing the total number of detected nCoV patients in the country to 12.

One of the two cases is a 49-year-old female famer, residing in Son Loi commune, Binh Xuyen district, northern Vinh Phuc province. She is the mother of a 23-year-old female patient who had previously tested positive for the virus.

The other is a 16-year-old female student who is a daughter of the first patient and a younger sister of the female patient. She is also residing in Son Loi commune, Binh Xuyen district, Vinh Phuc province.

As both of them had close contact with the infected patient, so they have been closely monitored./.