VIETNAM has gone through 48 consecutive days with no new Covid-19 infections as at 6pm yesterday, leaving the national tally at 328 cases, of which 188 were imported and sent to quarantine centres upon arrival, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

The country’s most critically ill Covid-19 patient, a British pilot, has also come off life support, said Luong Ngoc Khue, deputy head of the treatment sub-committee under the National Steering Commitee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control.

Over the past two days, doctors gradually lowered his extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) settings, a system that acts as an artificial heart-lung system, deeming it safe to switch off the machine this morning.

Khue said while the patient was off ECMO at the moment, his condition remains serious and he will be closely monitored, especially his lung infections and drug resistance.

The patient will need several weeks to be completely independent of life support and gradually restore his motor functions, he said.

In the afternoon, four more Covid-19 patients were given the all-clear and discharged from Thai Binh General Hospital, bringing the total number of recoveries to 302.

They are now in stable health condition without fever, cough or breathing difficulties. They will continue staying in quarantine for health monitoring for the next 14 days.

A total of 8,169 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or entered Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions are being quarantined across the country, including 103 at hospitals, 7,104 at quarantine centres and 962 at home. – Bernama, June 4, 2020.