Vice President Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh presents the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases with a third-class Labour Order for its outstanding achievements in tackling the coronavirus. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

HÀ NỘI — Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s trust in the Party and State has been enhanced while citizens and the international community have expressed admiration for the country’s health sector, Vice President Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh said on Friday.
In a visit to the Ministry of Health in Hà Nội, she said Việt Nam had basically managed to control the pandemic and protect people’s lives and health while maintaining production and business and ensuring social security.
In response to appeals from Party General Secretary and State President Nguyễn Phú Trọng, calls from the Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, and directives from Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, the entire political system and population had adopted an attitude of “fighting the pandemic is like fighting an enemy”. The health sector’s “white-bloused soldiers” had stood firmly in the frontlines, she added.
Việt Nam gained initial success in curbing the spread of COVID-19, the Vice President said.
As of the morning of April 24, the global total of COVID-19 cases surpassed 2.7 million, including more than 190,000 fatalities. 
Meanwhile, Việt Nam had just 268 patients, 225 of whom have recovered. Most notably, it had not recorded any fatalities, she said. 
The Vice President lauded the round-the-clock efforts by the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, which she said greatly contributed to the treatment and prevention of the coronavirus.
The hospital treated more than half of all cases nationwide. Five of the six severe cases in the country were in the hospital, and their health has improved.
A new battle, however, was approaching, she said, voicing a belief that the health sector must continue to actively treat remaining cases and monitor those moved into quarantine as more Vietnamese return from overseas and foreign experts arrive in the country.
With vigilance sustained and complacency avoided, Vice President Thịnh said she believed the country wouldn't record any deaths or infections among health workers.
She expressed hope that the health sector would weather all difficulties and maintain solidarity in the fight against COVID-19, helping bring success to Việt Nam and the world.
Appreciating the Vice President’s words of encouragement, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyễn Thanh Long said the international community held Việt Nam’s rapid and timely response to the pandemic in high regard.
The health sector, he went on, wanted to work with the population to reap complete success in the battle against COVID-19.
Vice President Thịnh also honoured the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases with a third-class Labour Order for its outstanding achievements in tackling the coronavirus. — VNS