Hanoi (VNA) - Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, not onlypeople’s trust in the Party and State has been enhanced but also the admirationof people and the international community for the country’s health sector, VicePresident Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh said on April 24.

In a visit to the Ministry of Health in Hanoi, she saidVietnam has basically managed to control the pandemic and protect people’slives and health while maintaining production and business and ensuring socialsecurity.

In response to appeals from Party General Secretary and StatePresident Nguyen Phu Trong, calls from the Presidium of the Vietnam FatherlandFront Central Committee, and directives from the Prime Minister, the entirepolitical system and the population have adopted an attitude of “fighting thepandemic is like fighting an enemy”. The health sector’s “white-blousedsoldiers” have constantly stood firmly in the frontlines, she added.

Vietnam gained initial success in curbing the spread ofCOVID-19, the Vice President believes.

As at the morning of April 24, the global total of COVID-19cases surpassed 2.7 million, including over 190,000 fatalities. 

Meanwhile, Vietnam had just 268 patients, 224, or 84 percent,of whom have fully recovered. Most notably, it has not recorded any fatalities,and the country’s severe cases have improved on a daily basis, she said. 

The Vice President lauded the around-the-clock efforts by theNational Hospital for Tropical Diseases, which she said greatly contributed tothe 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 theirhealth has improved.

A new battle, however, is approaching, she said, voicing abelief that the health sector must continue to actively treat remaining casesand monitor those moved into quarantine as more Vietnamese return from overseasand foreign experts arrive in the country.

With vigilance sustained and complacency avoided, VicePresident Thinh believes the country won’t record any deaths or infectionsamong health workers.

She expressed a hope that the health sector will weather alldifficulties and maintain its solidarity in the fight against COVID-19, thushelping bring success to Vietnam and the world.

Appreciating the Vice President’s words of encouragement,Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said the international communityholds Vietnam’s rapid and timely response to the pandemic in high regard.

The health sector, he went on, wishes to join hands with thepopulation to reap complete success in the battle against COVID-19.

Vice President Thinh also honoured the National Hospital forTropical Diseases with a third-class Labour Order for its outstandingachievements in tackling the coronavirus./.