Vietnam has had the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic under control, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said on Tuesday as all of the country’s 16 infections have recovered and no new case has been reported since February 13.

Dam made the statement as he chaired an online meeting between the Ministry of Health and 700 local agencies concerned with fighting the COVID-19 epidemic in Vietnam.

Comparisons have been drawn about how “Vietnam has done better” than other countries with regard to fighting the disease, he said.

“As Vietnamese people are inherently humble, we rarely mention [such comparisons],” the deputy PM said.

“But as of now, it can be said that Vietnam has had the [COVID-19] epidemic under control.”

Vietnam has so far confirmed 16 cases of the viral infection, including 13 Vietnamese, one Vietnamese American, and two Chinese.

All of them have fully recovered and 15 have been discharged from the hospital as of Tuesday. The other patient remains hospitalized but is eligible for release after testing negative for the virus several times.

The country has recorded no new infection since February 13.

Information transparency and the participation of every citizen were key to Vietnam’s successful containment of the disease, Deputy PM Dam said.

“This is a rehearsal for anti-epidemic situations. Despite being a country with [shared] road and maritime borders [with China] where cross-border traffic is busy and exposed to the highest risk of infection, Vietnam has reported only 16 cases testing positive [for the novel coronavirus] and has cured 16 out of the 16 patients,” he remarked.

“We have had the epidemic under control,” he said, adding that Vietnam remains on high alert and is prepared for more anti-epidemic campaigns.

The COVID-19 has killed 2,702 people and infected over 80,100 globally since it first hit the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, according to the South China Morning Post.

The World Health Organization said on Monday the coronavirus outbreak can still be beaten, insisting it was premature to declare it a pandemic even though it had the potential to reach that level, Reuters reported.

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