Between 21 and 25 August, Da Nang is scaling up its Covid-19 testing programme to provide tests for about 2,198 stranded foreign tourists, and expats who are working and living in Son Tra District in an effort to early detect new community transmission cases of coronavirus in the expat community in Da Nang.

As of 22 August, staff of the Son Tra District Medical Centre have taken swab and blood serum samples of 362 foreigners in An Hai Dong and Man Thai wards, 188 in An Hai Tay Ward and 113 in Nai Hien Dong Ward for Covid-19 tests.

Dr Ngo Van Dinh Hoai, the Deputy Director of the Son Tra District Medical Centre, said his staff faced some difficulties in taking samples of foreigners for Covid-19 testing due to the language barriers. The majority of them came from  English, Chinese, South Korean, and Spanish-speaking countries.

Dr Ngo Van Dinh Hoai remarked that the district government has timely arranged some interpreters to help assure effective communication between local healthcare workers and foreigners, hereby stepping up Covid-19 testing efforts.

Below are some photos, captured by our reporter Xuan Son, about the taking samples of foreigners in some wards in Son Tra District for Covid-19 testing.

Foreigners sitting far apart and wearing face coverings while waiting for their turn to be taken their samples for Covid-19 testing in Nai Hien Dong Ward

About 2,198 foreigners in the deadly virus-hit Son Tra District will have their swab and blood serum samples taken for Covid-19 group testing

A medical worker helping a foreigner to get his samples for testing

Both real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) …

…and Elisa tests are being done.

Mr Simon Hyde from the UK residing in Nai Hien Dong ward has been a STEM teacher in Da Nang for 5 years. He commended Da Nang government for its efforts in scaling up the city's Covid-19 testing programme to provide tests for foreigners to curb the spread of the virus. Like other local residents, he has had higher level of private self-awareness in practising the city's social distancing rules and Covid-19 preventive measures, Mr Simon Hyde said.

In the coming days, the Covid-19 testing will continue to be conducted in the remaining wards of Phuoc My, Tho Quang and An Hai Bac.

By XUAN SON - Translated by M.D