Bringing nearly 300 Vietnamese citizens back home from Thailand
On May 18, 2020, Vietnamese authorities, the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand, Vietnam Airlines and Thai authorities coordinated to carry out a flight carrying nearly 300 Vietnamese citizens from Thailand back to Vietnam, landing safely in Vietnam. After landing, all participants in the flight were medically examined and quarantined in accordance with regulations.
Implementing the Prime Minister's direction, in the coming time, based on the domestic and international epidemic developments, citizens' wishes to return home and quarantine capacity in localities, Vietnamese authorities, Vietnamese representative agencies abroad and domestic airlines will continue to operate flights to bring citizens home.
33 days without community transmission
Reports from the Centers for Disease Control of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi City said that four more cases tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, including two flight attendants of Vietnam Airlines on flight VN0062 from Russia to Van Don on May 13 and two passengers on flight VN001 from the US to Noi Bai International Airport on May 16. All of the above positive cases were quarantined after entering the country and there was no risk of spreading the disease to the community.
The National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control said that from 6:00 a.m. on April 16 to 6:00 a.m. on May 19, Vietnam has had no community transmission cases for 33 days.
Automatic extension of temporary residence for foreigners in Vietnam
According to the announcement on May 18 of the Immigration Department (Ministry of Public Security), foreign citizens entering the country under visa exemption, entering with e-visa or tourist visa from March 1, 2020 to now will have their temporary residence "automatically extended" until June 30, 2020. These people can exit the country during the above period without having to apply for temporary residence extension.
In case of entry before March 1, 2020, if it can be proven that they were stranded due to the Covid-19 epidemic, confirmed by a diplomatic note (with Vietnamese translation) or a written confirmation from a competent Vietnamese authority about being quarantined, treated for Covid-19 or other force majeure reasons... they will also be considered for "automatic extension of temporary residence" until June 30, 2020.
Nearly 4.9 million people infected with COVID-19 worldwide
According to data from the website worldometers.info, as of 10:00 a.m. on May 19, the world recorded 4,891,330 cases of Covid-19 acute respiratory infection, including more than 320,000 deaths and 1,907,422 recoveries.
The US is still the country with the most patients in the world with more than 1.5 million cases and more than 91,000 deaths.
Nearly 90% of COVID-19 patients in South Korea have recovered
Statistics from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) show that as of the morning of May 19, South Korea recorded only 13 new cases of Covid-19, the fourth consecutive day with the number of cases below 20. Currently, South Korea has a total of 11,078 cases of the disease, of which 9,938 people have recovered (accounting for 89.7%).
Due to concerns about a second outbreak of Covid-19, since mid-April, Korean authorities have tightened quarantine monitoring regulations for patients. However, according to the results of epidemiological investigations of reinfection cases and contacts, there have been no cases of infection from these cases.
More than 100 million Chinese people are locked down again.
About 108 million people in northeastern China have been placed under lockdown again due to the risk of a second wave of Covid-19, Bloomberg reported on May 18. The government of Shulan city in Jilin province also announced on the same day that it would impose the strictest lockdown measures to control the virus.
As of May 18, the total number of people infected with the virus in Jilin province is 127.
Chinese health officials still do not know how the new outbreak started, but they suspect that the infected cases may have come into contact with people returning from Russia, one of Europe's Covid-19 hotspots.
South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar tests positive for Covid-19
On May 18, South Sudan’s First Vice President and former rebel leader Riek Machar tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Machar’s wife, who is also the Minister of Defense, Angelina Teny, and several office staff and bodyguards were also infected.
Vice President Machar announced that he will self-isolate at home for the next 14 days.
To date, South Sudan has recorded 339 cases of Covid-19, of which 6 have died. Although the number of infected people is low compared to other countries in the region, public opinion believes that the actual number of infected people may be higher, due to the lack of conditions to detect the epidemic in South Sudan - when only 3,908 tests have been performed.
UK updates official symptoms of COVID-19
In a recent statement, the UK's top health officials said that from May 18, all individuals must self-isolate if they develop a persistent cough or fever or a new loss of smell. The statement said that anosmia is a loss or change in the normal ability to smell, which can affect taste as the two senses are closely related.
A study by the University of London, published last week, found that people who tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus were three times more likely to lose their sense of smell and taste than those who tested negative.
According to statistics site worldometers.info, to date, the UK has recorded 243,695 cases of Covid-19, including 34,636 deaths.
European Medicines Agency gives green light to use remdesivir
On May 18, Director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Guido Rasi said that in the coming days, the agency may initially authorize the use of the antiviral drug Remdesivir of the American pharmaceutical company Gilead in the treatment of patients with acute respiratory infections Covid-19.
Speaking at a session of the European Parliament in Brussels, Mr. Rasi left open the possibility that in the next few days the EMA will license the drug to be put on the market, but with conditions attached.
This drug was originally developed to treat the Ebola virus.
So far, two countries have approved the use of Remdesivir for severe Covid-19 cases: the US and Japan. Remdesivir is an injectable drug and is one of the first experimental drugs in the treatment regimen for Covid-19 patients.
"Promising results" in COVID-19 vaccine trials in the US
Boston-based biotechnology company Moderna said its experimental Covid-19 vaccine has shown "great promise" in early trials.
In a May 18 announcement, Moderna said that since mid-March, experts have conducted the first clinical trial with a vaccine called mRNA-1273. In the phase 1 study, participants were injected with the vaccine three times with different doses. The results showed that increasing the dose led to an increase in antigenicity, that is, the ability to create an immune response in the body. The vaccine was also determined to be safe and well tolerated. The company plans to put mRNA-1273 into phase two trials from next July.
On March 15, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Solidarity Fund, which brings together international clinical trials to help find effective treatments. To date, more than 90 companies and research organizations around the world have joined the fund, with at least four vaccine trials already underway on animals, including Moderna's mRNA-1273 vaccine.
