Hanoi (VNS/VNA) -The Vietnam Public Health Emergency Operation Centre said it was developingresponse plans and preparing for worst-case scenarios following an outbreak ofpneumonia in China.

Although no cases of the virus have been detected in Vietnam so far, there wasa high risk that the coronavirus would enter the country due to growing numbersof people travelling for the Lunar New Year, it said.

The centre, which comes under the Ministry of Health’s Preventive MedicineDepartment, said it would work closely with the World Health Organisation andinternational health organisations to monitor the development of the new strainof coronavirus.

Inspections at border gates would be enhanced, including monitoring the healthof all passengers travelling to and from Wuhan in central China.

Le Tan Phung, deputy director of Khanh Hoa province’s Department of Health,told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the department, in cooperationwith the Vietnam Public Health Emergency Operation Centre and Cam RanhInternational Airport, had increased screenings of arrivals at the airport.

Five remote body temperature scanners have been installed to monitor tourists,and a separate counter has been set up for those arriving from Wuhan.

Khanh Hoa province is a popular destination among Chinese tourists. It led theway by welcoming two million Chinese tourists in the first nine months of lastyear, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism estimated.

The Ministry of Health on January 12 released advice for people on how toprotect themselves from the virus by warning them to limit contact with peoplesuffering from acute respiratory infections.

If necessary, people should wear a surgical mask and keep their distance.

People were also advised to keep warm, maintain personal hygiene, wash theirhands with soap and gargle with antiseptic mouthwash to prevent pneumonia, theministry said.

The ministry also recommended people cover their mouths and noses when coughingor sneezing, preferably with a cloth or handkerchief, to reduce the spread ofrespiratory secretions, as well as limit close contact with animals orwildlife.

The move came after the ministry said that Wuhan – the capital of HubeiProvince – had admitted 59 people to hospital with an unidentified form ofpneumonia, including one fatality, as of January 10.

One of Wuhan’s largest meat and seafood markets was pinpointed as the centre ofthe outbreak and was shut down on January 1. The man who died was a customerthere.

All cases have been recorded in Wuhan. There is no clear evidence ofhuman-to-human transmission so far and there have been no recorded cases ofmedical workers falling ill.

The ministry also said that people who had returned from Wuhan, or had closecontact with a person with pneumonia, in the city in the last 14 days shouldvisit the nearest health centre for examination and treatment if they showedsigns of fever, coughing or shortness of breath./.