Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on January 23 dispatched an urgency note, requiring ministries to keep strict watch on arrivals at border gates and quarantine people suspected of carrying the disease.

The city's leader requires the health sector to be well-prepared for the worse situation.

The suspension was in response to the request of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to stop flights from and to epidemic-stricken areas.

This is the right timing for Vietnam to restructure economic sectors, said Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh.

In Vietnam, demand for medical face masks and hand sanitizers has increased sharply on fears of potential outbreak of the new coronavirus (nCoV).