If no new infection is detected in the upcoming week, the country would declare end of the Covid-19 epidemic, Thanh Nien Online quoted Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam as saying at an anti-coronavirus rehearsal held by the Ministry of Defense on March 4.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam speaks at the rehearsal. Photo: Thanhnien

The deputy PM said that the epidemic prevention and control drill was conducted not only for Covid-19 epidemic prevention, but also for responding to non-traditional security incidents in the future.

From the beginning Vietnam has contemplated measures to deal with five scenarios in anticipation of the disease evolution and is currently adopting actions for the third one, Dam said.

The fourth scenario envisages one thousand people infected with nCoV and authorities would prepare hospitals for 3,000 patients. The fifth scenario sees over 30,000 infected cases. With newly-established field hospitals, Vietnam can provide treatment for 40,000 - 50,000 people, the deputy PM said.

He added that up to now, Vietnam has met all five requirements: no epidemic spread, no cross-infection, no death from the disease, no panic, and no adverse impacts on the country’s socioeconomic development and international cooperation.

“So far, it’s been 21 days that Vietnam has not detected any new infections of Covid-19 and all 16 patients have been discharged from hospital,” Dam said, adding that Vietnam's reputation for preventing the Covid-19 epidemic has been enhanced.

The World Health Organization and the US’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lauded Vietnam’s success in dealing with the epidemic.