Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and delegates visit an exhibition on COVID-19 prevention. — Photo VGP

 HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has stressed that the great, direct and multi-faceted contribution of the country's media and press agencies had made an important contribution to the victory over COVID-19 in Việt Nam.

Speaking at a meeting to review the information and communications work during the pandemic, the Prime Minister said in every revolution, the role of information communication was very important.

Phúc called the people working in the media a force with many "army troops", playing an important role in COVID-19 prevention and control campaign.

According to a report of the Ministry of Information and Communications, from the beginning of February to the end of May 2020, the press agencies nationwide published 560,000 news articles on COVID-19 pandemic.

In particular, positive news accounted for nearly 42 per cent, more than 35 per cent of neutral information and just over 22 per cent of negative news articles.

By the end of May, there were more than 10,000 news and articles about the COVID-19 pandemic that were broadcast on five essential national television channels, including Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s VNews.

Presenting at the conference, VNA’s Deputy General Director Vũ Việt Trang highlighted the results of a team of journalists, reporters from units, newspapers and television stations of the agency, resident agencies in Việt Nam and abroad as one of the "assault forces on the information front against the COVID-19 enemy."

VNA has developed a website specialising in information on prevention and control of COVID-19 and many categories such as "Decoding COVID-19", "Việt Nam responds to COVID-19", "Understanding social distancing”; and "Diary of COVID-19", Trang said.

This information was published on many platforms, and were welcomed by many domestic and foreign press agencies, localities, industries and the public, she said.

As of Tuesday, 325 out of 334 COVID-19 patients in Việt Nam have recovered. Among nine active cases being treated at six healthcare facilities nationwide, two tested negative once; three tested negative at least twice.

The British pilot, Việt Nam’s 91st COVID-19 patient, is able to stand and is undergoing physical therapy with the support of medical workers, according to HCM City’s Chợ Rẫy Hospital.

The development is a miracle, said doctors from the hospital on Tuesday.

Several days ago, the patient, Stephen Cameron, could sit up in a wheelchair and enjoy the fresh air on the balcony of the hospital. He could move his hands and legs, press key on a keyboard, and use a mobile phone.

Doctors said he still needed time to regain use of his leg muscles.

The 91st patient has been treated at hospitals for 89 days. He was moved from the Hospital of Tropical Diseases to the Intensive Care Unit of Chợ Rẫy Hospital on May 22 with severely damaged lungs.

He was the most critical COVID-19 patient in Việt Nam and tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 at least six times.

One more imported case

One imported COVID-19 case was confirmed in Việt Nam on Wednesday morning, bringing the total to 335, said the Ministry of Health.

The male patient, 24, is from northern Thái Nguyên Province's Đại Từ District.

He returned to Việt Nam from Kuwait on Tuesday onboard Bamboo Airways flight H9092 via Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City.

He was tested positive for the virus on Tuesday and is being treated at the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases. 

As of June 17, Việt Nam records 195 imported COVID-19 cases and no community transmission for 62 days.

More than 7,200 people are under quarantine at hospitals, medical stations and at home.

Landing home

During the last two days, hundreds of Vietnamese citizens returned home from abroad thanks to co-ordination between Vietnamese representative offices and local agencies.

About 266 Vietnamese citizens in Kuwait, Qatar and Egypt were repatriated to Việt Nam on Monday and Tuesday and quarantined upon arrival. The Bamboo Airways flight bringing them back home safely landed at Tân Sơn Nhất Airport in HCM City.

A Vietnam Airlines flight has brought 343 Vietnamese citizens back to Việt Nam from Canada thanks to co-ordination between Vietnamese and Canadian agencies.

Immediately after the flight landed at Nội Bài, Hà Nội on Tuesday, all passengers and crew members were given health checks and quarantined in line with regulations.

On the same day, as many as 69 Vietnamese citizens have returned home on a repatriation flight from African countries on June 15 and 16.

The flight was arranged by Vietnamese embassies in South Africa and Mozambique, the authorised agencies of South Africa, Mozambique, and Eswatini and SSA South Africa Airways. It landed at Hà Nội-based Nội Bài International Airport on Tuesday afternoon. — VNS