Health workers at National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hà Nội spray disinfectants on a group of Vietnamese workers returning to Việt Nam from Equatorial Guinea on a rescue flight with 120 suspected COVID-19 cases on board in July 29. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

HÀ NỘI — The Asian Development Bank announced it has provided US$600,000 in material aid to help Việt Nam fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aid, sourced from ADB Technical Assistance Special Funds, comprises $500,000 worth of personal protective equipment for the National Lung Hospital in Hà Nội (under the management of the Ministry of Health), who would be in charge of distributing the equipment to all hospitals across the country.

The aid is expected to help frontline medical staff protect themselves against exposure to the coronavirus, a vital need in the fight against the pandemic, according to the ADB.

It also includes an additional $100,000 to help upgrade machinery and equipment for Việt Nam Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC), which belongs to the Ministry of Health’s Steering Committee for Disease Prevention and Control, which the ADB expects to boost the coordination and operations of the centre in suppressing local COVID-19 outbreaks.

Andrew Jefferies, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Việt Nam, commended the Vietnamese Government’s swift and effective response against COVID-19.

Under the determined leadership of the Government and the discipline of the people, Việt Nam was one of the rare countries in the world that had kept coronavirus under control domestically, he added.

Nguyễn Thanh Long, Minister of Health of Việt Nam, during the handover ceremony on Thursday, said the country had entered a ‘new normal’ with the resumption of most socio-economic and cultural activities, including commercial flights for selected groups of eligible entries into Việt Nam, and the authorities were committed to strictly implement prevention measures to avoid the spread of the virus in the community.

Long added that Việt Nam was also robustly pursuing its own locally made COVID-19 vaccine, which hopefully would not just fulfil domestic demands but could also be exported.

He thanked ADB for the valuable aid for the health sector of Việt Nam, and asked ADB to continue to prioritise health issues in its future support.

Việt Nam as of Friday currently logs a total of 1,385 COVID-19 cases, with the majority being imported ones.

Previously in April 2020, ADB approved $20 billion in quick-disbursing loan package for developing member countries in Asia to deal with COVID-19. — VNS