Vietnam sends health workers to Laos to help contain virus outbreak

A TOTAL of 35 Vietnamese health workers arrived in Laos on a flight from Hanoi in a bid to help the neighbouring country deal with its ongoing wave of Covid-19 infections.

Medical supplies for the effort were handed over at a ceremony held at Wattay International Airport in the country’s capital Vientiane yesterday morning.

The support consisted of US$500,000 (RM2mil) in financial aid and medical supplies, including two million medical face masks, 200 ventilators and 10 tonnes of Chloramine B disinfectant.

The Vietnam-Laos Cooperation Committee and the Government Office of Vietnam also presented Laos with medical masks.

Laos confirmed 60 new cases of Covid-19 yesterday, according to the Laotian Times newspaper.

At the handover ceremony, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dong expressed Vietnam;s sympathy for the difficulties faced by Laos in Covid-19 prevention and control.

He said Vietnam believed that under the leadership of the Lao Party and State and with the resolve of agencies and people, Laos would contain the outbreak.

According to Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son, who accompanied Dong, the group’s mission was to support coronavirus testing and treatment, building of treatment hospitals and training for the use of Vietnamesefunded medical equipment.

They are expected to stay in Laos for 15 to 17 days. The expenses of their working trip are sourced from the State budget.

The Vietnamese delegation would undergo Covid-19 tests upon arrival in Laos and then will begin their mission without quarantine.

At a meeting on Monday, Vietnamese health minister Nguyen Thanh Long said experts would guide Lao doctors and nurses on treatment methods.