Hanoi (VNA) – The recent detection of new local infections ofCOVID-19 has proved the efficiency of Vietnam’s communicable diseasesurveillance system, according to WHO Representative in the country KidongPark.

With a good surveillance system, it will not bea surprise that more cases of community transmission will be recorded in thetime ahead, he said during a meeting between the National Steering Committee forCOVID-19 Prevention and Control and international organisations in Hanoi onJuly 27.

He spoke highly of Vietnam’s system forcoronavirus prevention and control, which has swiftly quarantined, monitoredand traced confirmed cases, suggesting the application of social distancing,public health measures and restriction of mass gatherings for a long period oftime.

Park also valued the national steering committeeand the local health sector’s transparency and timeliness in sharinginformation, which have built and enhanced people’s trust in the COVID-19fight.

The WHO Representative also said he respects thedecision to repatriate Vietnamese citizens from pandemic-hit regions, includinga flight to bring home 200 citizens from Equatorial Guinea with about 120 ofthem positive for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and another with over 100infection cases from Uzbekistan, adding that the move demonstrates thehumanitarian policy and timely attention of the Vietnamese Government.

The number of infections may surge in the timeahead, but it will not affect the country’s previous achievements in thepandemic prevention and control, according to him.

He also expressed his confidence in Vietnam’sresponse plans in case of widespread transmission, saying the WHO will continuestanding side by side with the country to deal with challenges caused by thispandemic.

At the meeting, other internationalorganisations hoped Vietnam to continue sharing information about mutations ofSARS-CoV-2, the use of test kits and its treatment regimens.

Appreciating their support for the coronaviruscombat, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the national steeringcommittee, called on international organisations to keep assisting the countryin the production of test kits and vaccines and the updating of gene mutationsand new strains of the virus.

He stressed that Vietnam will continue workingclosely with WHO and other international organisations in the COVID-19 fight.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam nowstands at 431, including 11 new locally infected cases reported on July 27evening. A patient confirmed in central Da Nang city on July 25 was the firstlocal infection of the coronavirus after 99 straight days without communitytransmission in the country./.