Residents wearing protective masks wait for coronavirus testing at a makeshift rapid testing center in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 31, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

HANOI - Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a decree on Wednesday to declare COVID-19 a nationwide epidemic in Vietnam, according to the government website.

The COVID-19 is spreading nationwide as it was classified as a Class A contagious disease, and defined as a group of "extremely dangerous infectious diseases that can transmit very rapidly and spread widely with high mortality rates", according to the prime minister.

The decree came after the total confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 212 on Wednesday morning in Vietnam.

Vietnam on Tuesday ordered a 15-day nationwide social distancing against COVID-19 starting from Wednesday, requiring people to stay at home, keep a distance of at least two meters from each other and avoid gatherings of more than two people.