The Ministry of Health holds a meeting with representatives of the World Health Organisation and other related agencies in Hà Nội on January 7.—Photo zing.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese Ministry of Health on Sunday warned people to limit contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections.

If in contact with them, people should wear a medical mask and keep their distance. People are advised to keep warm, ensure personal hygiene, wash their hands with soap and gargle antiseptic mouth wash to prevent pneumonia, the ministry said.

The ministry also recommended people to cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, preferably with a cloth or handkerchief to reduce the spread of respiratory secretions as well as limit close contact with animals or wildlife.

The move came after the ministry said China’s Wuhan City – the capital of Hubei province – recorded 59 people admitted to hospital with an unidentified form of pneumonia, including one fatality as of January 10.

One of Wuhan’s largest meat and seafood markets was pinpointed as the centre of the outbreak and was shut down on January 1. The man who died was a customer at that market.

All cases have been recorded in Wuhan City. There is no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission so far and there have been no recorded cases of medical workers falling ill.

The ministry also told that people who have returned from Wuhan City, or had close contact with a person with pneumonia, in the city in the last 14 days to visit the nearest health centre for examination and treatment if they show signs of fever, coughing or shortness of breath.

To handle the pneumonia caused by a new strain of coronavirus in Wuhan City, the Vietnamese health ministry has organised meetings to discuss measures to prevent the disease in Việt Nam. Việt Nam has not recorded any cases of the disease so far. — VNS