Nghe An holds emergency meeting to respond to Wuhan pneumonia outbreak.

On the morning of January 24th, in an interview with a reporter from Nghe An Newspaper, Associate Professor and Doctor Duong Dinh Chinh, Director of the Nghe An Department of Health, stated that the unit had just held an emergency meeting to implement plans for preventing and controlling the acute respiratory disease caused by the new strain of Coronavirus.

Leaders of the Nghe An Department of Health held an emergency meeting to respond to the Wuhan pneumonia outbreak.

At the meeting, the Department's leaders received a brief report on the epidemic situation, the number of infected people, and deaths in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Of particular note was the latest development regarding two patients from Wuchang, Wuhan, Hubei, China, who traveled to Hanoi, then stayed in Nha Trang, and are currently undergoing isolation treatment at the Tropical Diseases Department, Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City.

Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Dinh Chinh requested the Director of the Provincial Center for Disease Control to coordinate with the Medical Professional Affairs Department of the Provincial Department of Health to immediately draft an urgent telegram for approval by the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee and for the Provincial Department of Health to issue a directive to localities and the entire health sector to strengthen the prevention and control of this disease.

"Nghe An has the largest geographical area in the country, with an international airport, seaports, and land border crossings adjacent to Laos, so the risk of disease entering the province is very high," Mr. Chinh said, and directed the health sector to closely coordinate with Customs and Border Guard forces in controlling immigration, strengthening border quarantine, monitoring cases with suspected clinical symptoms, detecting the first cases, isolating and treating them promptly at the frontline to prevent further spread.

The head of the Nghe An Health Department also directed the Health Centers and Hospitals to fully prepare in terms of personnel, equipment, medicine supplies, and isolation treatment areas to receive and treat patients if suspected cases are detected, while also stepping up communication efforts…

Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Director of the Nghe An Provincial Center for Disease Control, said that at airports, seaports, and land border crossings, the unit has set up checkpoints, deployed sufficient staff, and equipped them with body temperature scanners to monitor and detect suspected cases of the disease upon entry. "We regularly inspect, monitor, and proactively implement disease prevention and control activities with urgency and decisiveness to avoid being caught off guard when an outbreak occurs in the area," Mr. Dinh said.