France has the third highest death toll in the world; the Covid-19 outbreak in Italy has peaked.

Vietnam implemented a nationwide lockdown from April 1, 2020.

On the morning of March 31, the Prime Minister issued Directive No. 16 on implementing social distancing nationwide for 15 days, starting from April 1, 2020.

Specifically, citizens will observe a nationwide social isolation period starting at 0:00 on April 1, 2020, based on the principle of families isolating from families, villages isolating from villages, communes isolating from communes, districts isolating from districts, provinces isolating from provinces. Factories and production facilities must ensure safe distancing, wear masks, and carry out disinfection and sterilization as required.

All citizens are required to stay at home, only going out in cases of absolute necessity such as buying food, medicine, seeking emergency medical care, working at factories, production facilities, essential service businesses that are not closed or suspended, and other emergency situations; strictly observe a minimum distance of 2 meters when communicating; and not gather in groups of more than 2 people outside of workplaces, schools, hospitals, and public places.

Two more COVID-19 patients have recovered.

On the morning of April 1st, at Ninh Thuan Provincial General Hospital, two COVID-19 patients were declared recovered after treatment, having tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus three times in a row.

Specifically, the two patients discharged were patient number 61 (male, 42 years old), admitted on March 15th; and patient number 67 (male, 36 years old), admitted on March 17th.

Indonesia declares a national state of emergency.

On March 31, Indonesian President Joko Widodo declared a national state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with measures to support low-income earners. These measures include increased social welfare benefits, food assistance, reduced electricity prices, and tax cuts.

Singapore suspends company operations if it does not allow employees to work from home.

Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo said that if authorities assess that a company is not making sufficient efforts to allow employees to work from home, it will be forced to suspend operations. Teo also stated that if the nature of the work allows for working from home, companies must do everything possible to do so.

In Thailand, with companies allowing employees to work from home and students to study remotely, mobile data will be offered free of charge to facilitate these measures.

South Korea continues to keep schools closed.

South Korea has postponed the return to school (originally scheduled for next week) and will continue online learning, while also delaying the annual university entrance exam.

Currently, the number of new coronavirus infections in South Korea is below 100 a day, but outbreaks at churches, hospitals, nursing homes, as well as imported cases, are still on the rise.

China closes tourist attractions again.

Tourist attractions that reopened in MarchThey have been asked to close in part or in full to prevent the spread of nCoV.

In Shanghai, starting March 30, local authorities closed the Huangpu Underground, a popular tourist attraction that had reopened on March 13. This move aims to prevent and control the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to a statement from the attraction's management.

Indoor attractions such as the Shanghai Farm Culture Museum and the Ceramics Art Gallery also closed on March 30th. Other attractions that were subsequently closed include Guangfulin Cultural Heritage Park, Haichang Ocean Park, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, and Shanghai Tower.

Outdoor areas such as parks will remain open but with limited visitor numbers. On average, fewer than 5,000 people will be allowed each day, half the usual daily capacity. In addition, 37 outdoor tourist attractions with indoor play areas have also been ordered to close.

Sierra Leone reports its first coronavirus infection.

The West African nation of Sierra Leone has reported its first case of Covid-19, a 37-year-old male tourist who arrived from France on March 16 and has been in isolation ever since. President Julius Maada Bio announced the news on national television, but did not announce any measures to respond to the pandemic.

The number of COVID-19 deaths in the US has surpassed that of China.

According to Reuters, 3,393 people have died in the US from Covid-19, higher than China's 3,305 and the fourth highest in the world, after Italy (11,591 cases), Spain (8,189) and France (3,523).

Health officials are urging Americans to adhere to stay-at-home orders and other measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

The US is currently the world's largest epicenter of the pandemic, with over 188,000 infections and more than 3,800 deaths, surpassing China in both the number of infections and fatalities.

New York uses refrigerated trucks as makeshift morgues.

The US has deployed 85 refrigerated trucks to New York City to serve as temporary storage locations for bodies as the number of deaths from COVID-19 rises rapidly.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deployed trucks to New York City on March 30, the area hardest hit by Covid-19. The additional trucks could double the storage capacity of the city's morgues from 3,500 to 7,000 bodies.

The number of coronavirus infections in New York has surged, with over 9,000 cases in just 24 hours. Specifically, it increased from 66,497 cases on March 30th to 75,795 cases on March 31st. The number of deaths in New York also rose from 1,218 to 1,550.

California will release 3,500 prisoners to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The California state government is authorizing the rapid release of 3,500 prisoners to reduce overcrowding amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which is beginning to spread within the state's prison system.

The Los Angeles Times reported that prisoners who are not convicted of violent crimes will begin to be released in the coming weeks. The release process for all 3,500 prisoners will take approximately 60 days, and the state has a lot of work to do to release such a large number of inmates.

According to the Los Angeles Times, California currently has COVID-19 cases in 10 of its state prisons, affecting 22 staff members and 4 inmates. California began testing prisoners for the coronavirus on March 7th.

The pandemic in Italy is peaking.

On March 31, Silvio Brusaferro, President of the Italian Higher Institute of Health, stated that, based on the Covid-19 curve, the epidemic in Italy had peaked. However, Brusaferro affirmed that this was not the end and caution was needed because the disease could flare up again if Italy stopped its containment and quarantine measures.

On the same day, the Italian Civil Protection Agency announced that the country had recorded an additional 4,023 positive cases of SARS-CoV-2, bringing the total number of cases to 105,792, including 12,428 deaths (an increase of 837). The number of patients who have successfully recovered increased by 1,109 to 15,729.

France records a record high number of deaths in a single day.

On the evening of March 31, French health officials announced that the number of deaths from Covid-19 in the country had reached 499 in the past 24 hours, the highest number to date, bringing the total number of deaths in hospitals to 3,523 since the outbreak began. Thus, France surpassed the United States and China to become the third country in the world with the highest number of Covid-19 deaths, after Italy and Spain.

The number of confirmed virus cases through testing is 52,128 patients. Of the 22,757 currently hospitalized, 5,565 are in serious condition requiring intensive care, with 34% of severely ill patients under 60 years old and 62% between 60 and 80 years old. 9,444 people have recovered and been discharged from the hospital.

The Russian government has been given the power to impose a state of emergency.

In an extraordinary session on March 31, the Russian Senate passed a bill allowing the Russian government to impose a state of emergency and a high alert regime nationwide or in specific regions.

With the new bill, the government can establish mandatory rules when imposing a state of emergency or high alert. The government can also coordinate the work of the unified state system to prevent and mitigate emergencies.

Tunisia releases 1,420 prisoners due to COVID-19.

Tunisian President Kais Saied ordered the release of 1,420 prisoners on March 31 to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The country also declared a lockdown to curb the spread. To date, Tunisia has 574 confirmed cases and 10 deaths.

Lan Oanh