Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has seen positive signs in the fight againstthe acute respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19), hearda meeting of the national steering committee for prevention and control of thedisease on February 17.

According to thesteering committee, the disease has been controlled well in Vietnam, with nonew cases detected since February 13.

Deputy Minister of HealthDo Xuan Tuyen said that the COVID-19 outbreak was declared in the northernprovince of Vinh Phuc and the central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Khanh Hoa sofar.

However, Khanh Hoa andThanh Hoa can be soon declared to be free from the disease, as no new caseshave been reported in Khanh Hoa in the past 30 days, and in Thanh Hoa in 23days.

Meanwhile, in VinhPhuc province where 11 infection cases were discovered, quarantine andpreventive measures have been taken.

Regarding the diseasetreatment, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said that among the 16 infection cases, seven were discharged from the hospital, while the remaindershave been making good recovery.

At present, 38 peopleare quarantined, and the health of 602 others who had close contact withinfection cases has been closely supervised.

Although the diseasehas been well controlled, the steering committee still requested localities toseriously take preventive measures, apply quarantine measures as regulated, andstrictly conduct entry-exit procedures at border gates./.