80% of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam have recovered
According to the report of the Treatment Subcommittee of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Vietnam has had 214 Covid-19 patients recover, accounting for 80%. Currently, there are only 54 patients in the country being quarantined and treated at 9 medical facilities. The number of cases with a negative test result for SARS-CoV-2 once is 14. The number of cases with a negative test result for SARS-CoV-2 twice is 07.
As of 6:00 a.m. on April 21, 2020, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam was 268, thus, for 5 consecutive days Vietnam has recorded no new COVID-19 cases.
Vietnam basically meets COVID-19 testing needs
The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control said at a meeting held on the morning of April 20 that Vietnam is now basically meeting the demand for COVID-19 confirmatory testing.
Specifically, the country currently has 111 laboratories with the capacity to test for COVID-19 using Realtime RT-PCR technology. Of these, 39 have been licensed to confirm COVID-19 testing, including: 22 central-level medical facilities and hospitals, 14 disease control centers and 3 non-healthcare units with a maximum capacity of about 13,000 samples/day.
Vietnam-Cuba cooperation in preventing and fighting COVID-19 pandemic
Ms. Lianys Torres Rivera - Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam said that Cuba is ready to send medical experts to Vietnam to exchange experiences in COVID-19 treatment, and initially establish a group of experts for online exchanges. According to the agreed content, the two sides successfully coordinated to organize an online conference at the Military Medical Academy chaired by the leaders of the Ministry of National Defense, with representatives of the Ministry of Health attending to discuss the COVID-19 epidemic situation in each country.
At the conference, the two sides exchanged measures in epidemic prevention and control; shared experiences in coordination between ministries, branches, relevant agencies, treatment regimens, specific drugs, equipment used and international cooperation; the ability to support each other in pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and cooperation in research and vaccine production...
Ca Mau and Thai Binh allow students to return to school.
On April 20, Ca Mau and Thai Binh allowed students to return to school, with priority given to grades 9 and 12. Many localities also proposed allowing students to return to school in early May. To ensure distance between students, classes must be separated so that the class size does not exceed 20 students, as well as ensuring a distance of 1.5 meters. Before entering school, students will have their temperature taken and wash their hands to strengthen prevention of the spread of Covid-19.
Developments in Southeast Asia: Singapore records record number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections
Singapore on April 20 recorded a record number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in one day with 1,426 people, bringing the total number of infections in the lion island to 8,014 cases, continuing to maintain the leading position in Southeast Asia in terms of the number of infections after surpassing Indonesia and Malaysia on April 19.
Officials in the Lion Island admitted that the number of infections will increase sharply in the coming days as Singapore is implementing widespread testing. Observers said that the number of infections could reach 20,000 people by the end of April. Of the newly detected infections, only 16 cases are Singapore citizens or long-term residents. Most of the new patients are migrant workers living in dormitories.
In Indonesia, to date, Indonesia has had 6,575 cases of COVID-19, including 582 deaths. The epidemic has spread to all 34 provinces and cities of the country. On April 20, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that there are currently 473 Indonesian citizens abroad infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, of which 19 have died and 109 have been cured.
On the same day, the Philippine Ministry of Health recorded 200 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection causing COVID-19 acute respiratory disease and 19 new deaths. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country has increased to 6,459, of which 428 have died.
In Thailand, on April 20, the country recorded 27 more cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection causing the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing the total number of cases to 2,792 and no new deaths. With the epidemic temporarily under control, Thailand has begun to gradually ease the lockdown.
India develops low-cost ventilator that doesn't require electricity to deal with COVID-19 pandemic
On April 20, Dynamatic Tech, a technology company based in the Indian state of Karnataka, announced that it had created a low-cost ventilator that does not require electricity. This ventilator maintains pressure and controls oxygen levels to maintain breathing. This device is considered extremely necessary to help New Delhi cope with the increasingly complicated COVID-19 acute respiratory infection crisis.
The ventilator costs just 2,500 rupees ($32.68) – the lowest price in the world today. The device does not require electricity to operate and does not require imported components. Another advantage is that this ventilator is portable, convenient to use and disposable.
Japan records highest number of deaths in a day
Japan on April 20 recorded 25 deaths from COVID-19, the highest number in a single day to date, while the number of infections continued to rise nearly two weeks after the country declared a state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and several other densely populated areas. The total number of deaths in Japan now stands at 276 and the total number of infections at 11,137.
Japan widely sells test kits
In Japan, online technology giant Rakuten said it has started selling SARS-CoV-2 virus testing kits that cause COVID-19 to companies in Tokyo and neighboring provinces to deal with the rapidly spreading epidemic in the country. Each kit for one person costs 14,900 yen (about 138 USD) including tax. The minimum order quantity is 100 kits per order.
After collecting the samples, Genesis Healthcare will send the test results within 3 days, excluding holidays and weekends. Those who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus by this device should be confirmed and advised by a doctor.
China conducts clinical trials of two inactivated vaccines against COVID-19
The clinical trial, which began on April 12, involved 288 volunteers in the first phase and 1,108 volunteers in the second phase. All of them were healthy, with the youngest being 6 years old. They were divided into four groups: those who received a low dose of the vaccine, a medium dose, a high dose, and a placebo.
Biotec, which is developing one of the two vaccines, said the physical conditions of the people being tested for the vaccine are being closely monitored through immunological analysis, cytokine detection and neutralizing antibody monitoring. The inactivated vaccine uses a method of implanting the dead SARS-CoV-2 virus into the “memory” of immune cells in the body. Thereby, when the body is attacked by this dangerous virus strain, the cells will promptly have an immune response.
Two-way developments in Europe
French health officials announced on the evening of April 20 that the number of deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 infection in France had officially surpassed 20,000, reaching 20,265, an increase of 547 cases compared to the previous day.
Spain remains the country with the second highest number of infections in the world, at 200,012; while Italy is the country with the highest number of deaths after the US, at 24,114. However, in the past 24 hours, Spain, Italy, and Belgium recorded the lowest number of deaths in the past month. Spain recorded 399 deaths, Belgium recorded 168, while Italy recorded 433, the lowest number in the past month.
Meanwhile, the Swiss Ministry of Public Health announced that the number of deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 infection has reached 1,142, an increase of 7 cases within 24 hours. The decreasing number of infections has allowed the Swiss Government to begin easing the restrictions and blockades imposed since April 27.
Germany to pay for treatment of COVID-19 patients from EU countries
On April 20, German Health Minister Jens Spahn announced that he would cover all treatment costs for patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus from neighboring countries in the European Union (EU) as a gesture of goodwill.
Germany has successfully controlled the COVID-19 epidemic. However, many neighboring countries in the EU, including France, Italy and the Netherlands, are still facing many difficulties and have had to send some of their seriously ill patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 to Germany for treatment because their health care systems are overloaded. According to statistics from the German Foreign Ministry, there are currently 229 foreign patients, including 130 from France, 44 from Italy and 55 from the Netherlands, being treated in Germany with a total treatment cost of about 20 million euros (21.7 million USD).
Italy postpones regional elections due to COVID-19 pandemic
The Italian government has decided to postpone regional elections scheduled for May until at least September as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop complicatedly in this Southern European country.
Earlier, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that the Italian economy could gradually reopen starting May 4, a day after the extended lockdown ends. However, Mr. Conte said that any economic activity would have to include safety measures, and social distancing would be difficult to maintain while voting was taking place.
Russia falls into the group of 10 countries with the most COVID-19 cases in the world
According to Gazeta.ru on April 20, Russia has fallen into the group of 10 countries with the highest number of COVID-19 infections in the world, when the country recorded a total of 47,121 positive cases of SARS-COV-2 virus. Russia is at the bottom of this top 10 list with 47,121 cases of COVID-19 infection, of which on April 20 alone, 4,268 more cases of SARS-COV-2 infection were recorded in 76 federal subjects. It is worth noting that the number of deaths due to COVID-19 in Russia is quite low (less than 1%) compared to the world average.
Also on April 20, a field hospital specializing in treating COVID-19 patients in the suburbs of Moscow will begin accepting patients. The hospital has a scale of 800 beds, built from March 12 on an area of about 80,000 square meters.
New York has the lowest number of deaths since early April
The US state of New York on April 20 recorded the lowest number of new deaths due to COVID-19 since early April, and a similar situation was also recorded in the two neighboring states of New Jersey and Connecticut. Specifically, in New York state, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 has decreased for 5 consecutive days, with 478 cases recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 14,347 cases.
Starting April 20, New York State began an ambitious effort: Antibody testing of 3,000 randomly selected people. These tests and more are expected to give New York a full picture of the epidemic and help guide decisions about easing restrictions.
The number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Latin America exceeds 100,000 people
Official statistics from Latin American countries show that the number of COVID-19 cases in the region on April 19 exceeded 100,000 with nearly 5,000 deaths. Specifically, the number of cases is currently 100,952 with 4,924 deaths.
In Brazil alone, the country with the most COVID-19 cases in the region, the number of infections is 38,654 and 2,462 deaths. The Mexican Ministry of Health said that in the past 24 hours, the country recorded 764 new cases, bringing the total to 8,261, including 686 deaths and 10,139 suspected cases. In Peru, the government said that as of April 19, it had recorded more than 15,000 infections and about 400 deaths, the second highest in the region, as the country's economy continues to be severely affected.
Notably, on April 20, Cuba recorded more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases. With 376 cases, the capital city of Havana remains the locality most severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in all of Cuba.
