A soldier sterilises a motobike leaving from Hạ Lôi Ward on Thursday.— VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on Thursday called for strict social distancing as some people have begun leaving their homes, especially in Hà Nội and HCM City.

The Government predicted more community infections over the next few days which are related to cases with complicated travelling histories as well as zoned outbreaks at Bạch Mai Hospital in Hà Nội and Buddha Bar in HCM City.

To keep the virus at bay, people are being urged to stay at home to help prevent community transmission.

As of Thursday afternoon, Việt Nam confirmed four new COVID-19 cases, taking the total to 255.

Two of these patients came into close contact with the 243rd patient, a 47-year-old Vietnamese man from Mê Linh Commune, Mê Linh District in Hà Nội who took his wife to Bạch Mai Hospital for a health examination on March 12 and returned home the same day.

COVID-19 steering committee member Trần Đắc Phu, a former head of the General Department of Preventive Medicine, on Wednesday said that in this case, the source of infection remained unclear as his test results showed he had just recently contracted the virus. Meanwhile, the patient was reported to have visited different places before testing positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Responding to the case, the national steering committee on COVID-19 control and prevention has traced and monitored 456 people who came in contact with the patient with 331 of them currently kept in isolation, taken 90 blood samples and quarantined the entire area of Mê Linh District's Hạ Lôi Ward where the patient lives along with 457 households and 1,825 residents

In the first week of social distance order, from April 1 to 7, 31 new infections were confirmed in Việt Nam, including 22 patients who tested positive to the virus while being quarantined, accounting for 71 per cent. The number of new cases reduced by 58 per cent compared to the previous week from March 25 to 31, showing the efficiency of social distancing and centralised quarantining measures in preventing further spreading of the disease.

The Ministry of Health is also collaborating with the Ministry of Information and Communications and IT companies to pilot the online health consultation service at appointed hospitals from April 16 and implement it nationwide from April 18.

Two patients treated at Cần Giờ COVID-19 Treatment Hospital in HCM City were given the all clear on Thursday, bringing the total number of recoveries to 128. — VNS