HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of National Defence on Wednesday held its first drill in response to COVID-19 with the involvement of military units nationwide.

Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam, also head of the national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control, monitored the exercise. 

The drill took place with five hypothetical scenarios based on five levels of severity of the epidemic. In the most serious scenario, there were more than 30,000 confirmed cases in the country and the virus had spread to several military units.

It also included the use of a 600-bed hospital and the quarantine of people who come to Việt Nam from disease-hit countries via airports, along with co-ordination between forces and special measures in case of emergency. 

Addressing the event, Deputy PM Đam lauded the defence ministry’s organisation of the drill, which, he said, not only responds to the epidemic but also prepares for future non-traditional security incidents. 

According to Sen Lieut Gen Phan Văn Giang, Chief of the General Staff of the Việt Nam People’s Army and Deputy Defence Minister, the army has put more than 10,000 people in quarantine, with no infections among soldiers recorded so far. — VNS