A Chinese family expressed their gratitude to doctors in Vietnam for saving them from coronavirus.
Deputy Minister of Health, Nguyen Truong Son presents flowers to Chinese patient Li Ding after he is discharged from Cho Ray Hospital in HCM City on February 12.
Speaking at a ceremony held before he was discharged from Ho Chi Minh City-based Cho Ray Hospital on February 12, Li Ding, 66, offered his sincere thanks to local doctors for helping him reunite with his family.
"I was lucky to receive the treatment for the disease here in Vietnam," Li said. "I couldn't walk when I was admitted to the hospital 20 days ago. I was totally depressed and frightened when both my son and I tested positive for coronavirus which was killing many people in my Wuhan hometown. But we have been saved by the best and kindest doctors in Vietnam."
Deputy Minister of Health, Nguyen Truong Son and Director of Cho Ray Hospital came to congratulate the Chinese family.
Speaking at the ceremony, the deputy minister said that Vietnam will always share the tough times with China during the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.
"Vietnamese doctors treat all patients equally, no matter who they are or what their race, skin colour or ethnic background," the health official said. "We just try to save patients with all our efforts."
Director of Cho Ray Hospital, Nguyen Tri Thuc, said that the successful treatment would contribute to the global efforts to fight against the coronavirus.
"We had faced tough challenges when treating these two very first cases in Vietnam," the doctor said. "The patient had other health problems which needed co-operation from doctors in various fields. And thanks to close monitoring and instructions from the Ministry of Health, we finally won it."
The Chinese family pose for a photo with doctors at Cho Ray Hospital on February 12
The Chinese man and his 28-year-old son Li Zichao were admitted to Cho Ray Hospital on January 22 after being found infected by the virus.
The son was already discharged on February 4 after recovering from the disease.
Their cases were the first two coronavirus cases detected in Vietnam.
Li Ding had travelled from Wuhan to Hanoi with his wife on January 13 before heading to Nha Trang. His son Li Zichao, who had been in Long An for the past four months, then went to Nha Trang in order to meet his parents.
Following this, the whole family then continued their journey by travelling to Ho Chi Minh City and Long An. By January 17, the father was showing signs of a fever, with his son also displaying similar symptoms on January 20 before the pair were admitted to Cho Ray Hospital on the evening of January 22.
Li Ding has become the seventh patient to recover in Vietnam so far.
The country had reported 15 cases by February 11.
