The first newspaper in Vietnam temporarily stops publishing due to reporter infected with Covid-19

On March 29, the Ministry of Health announced 14 new cases of Covid-19 infection, including a female reporter from the Vietnam News Agency. She is the first reporter in Vietnam to be infected with the virus while working.

The Covid-19 epidemic situation in Vietnam is being tightly controlled. Photo: thanhnien.vn

According to the Ministry of Health's announcement, on March 12, this reporter interviewed the former French ambassador to Vietnam. On March 26, the former ambassador tested positive for Covid-19 (patient 148).

After the interview on March 12, this reporter went to work on the 10th floor of building 79 Ly Thuong Kiet for a few days and had contact with colleagues in the same room.

On March 27, authorities disinfected the building at 79 Ly Thuong Kiet and the reporter’s private residence in Trung Hoa. The building was also temporarily sealed off and later lifted.

On March 30, Vietnam News (the English-language newspaper of VNA) announced that it will officially suspend print publication from March 31 to April 15.

The announcement from Vietnam News is posted on the website.

"We regret to announce that the newspaper will temporarily suspend its print edition starting Tuesday, from March 31 to April 15.

The decision was made urgently as one of our staff tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 yesterday. Many people who came into contact with her at our office will now have to quarantine at health centres or their homes.

As a result, we are unable to bring you a hard copy of the nation’s leading English-language newsletter. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and hope for your understanding during these challenging times.

Even at this time, we are committed to bringing you the latest news from within the country and beyond. Finally, we will ensure that our website is regularly updated with articles, analysis and commentary. So please continue your support by clickingvietnamnews.vnand follow us online," according to the announcement from Viet Nam News.

According to the announcement, those who subscribe to Viet Nam News will have their subscription automatically extended for another 16 days.

As of the morning of March 30, Vietnam has recorded 194 cases of Covid-19, of which 55 have recovered and been discharged from hospital. Currently, 139 cases are being treated, the patients are mainly people returning from abroad, some are infected domestically.