On the spotlight of an online national meeting chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Nguyen Xuan Phuc on 2 August were discussions about even more urgent and drastic solutions to quickly stamp out the current novel coronavirus hotbeds and prevent the possible second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic from occurring on a large scale.

Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Truong Quang Nghia (left) and municipal People's Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho (right) attending the online meeting

Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Truong Quang Nghia and municipal People's Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho were among the participants in Da Nang.

Every family is identified as an anti-pandemic fortress

PM Phuc underscored an urgent need to act fast and resolutely, seize every hour, every minute to trace and monitor all suspected cases.

Mr Phuc also urged each citizen in Viet Nam to be a frontline soldier, and each house, hamlet and residential area to be a fortress in our tough fight against the pandemic.

At the event, Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said the pandemic in Da Nang is relatively complicated because the source of infection (F0) remains unclear.

The novel coronavirus responsible for the city’s new community transmission cases belongs to a new, more contagious strain of foreign origin, genetic analysis revealed.  As a result, it is expected to take longer time to cope with this outbreak as compared with the previous ones, as it is taking place more rapidly and complicatedly.

In reality, apart from imported cases, the majority of new community transmission cases of coronavirus in Da Nang and other localities nationwide  are linked to the Da Nang General Hospital. 

Addressing the meeting, Da Nang People's Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho, all testing, tracing, isolation, and quarantine measures are put in place across Da Nang in the battle against the pandemic.

Chairman Tho also affirmed the fact that his locality remains in need of more support from Vietnamese national government and the Ministry of Health, especially its high demand for even more professional assistance, medical equipment, biologicals, chemicals and highly- skilled staff from other capable localities nationwide.

Da Nang to increase its daily testing capacity up to 10,000 samples

A member from the Da Nang Disease Control Centre analysing a sample for Covid-19 testing

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health, over recent days, has provided huge support to Da Nang, with a focus on enhancing the latter’s Covid-19 treatment, tracing and testing capacity.

Currently, Covid-19 testing can be conducted in the Da Nang Disease Control Centre, and the Da Nang General and Lung hospitals.  In addition, two other testing labs are being hastily installed at the 199 and C17 hospital under the ministries of Public Security, and Defence, respectively.  Once these labs are completed, Da Nang will increase the number of samples daily taken for Covid-19 testing up to 10,000.

Currently, all local key construction projects across Da Nang have their operations suspended to prevent the pandemic, including the construction of a bridge spanning the Co Co River in Ngu Hanh Son District’s Hoa Hai Ward, the riverside Tuyen Son-Tuy Loan route project, and the e-arrangement of traffic at the western end of the Tran Thi Ly Bridge.

The drainage system under the Da Nang Sustainable Development Project has been suspended

Strictly handling violations of pandemic control regulations

In related news, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Head of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control has stressed that those who fail to make health declarations and follow quarantine regulations must be handled strictly.

In particular, he urged all people to use Bluezone, a Bluetooth-based app that helps determine if a person has come into contact with a Covid-19 patient, and the nCOVI app for health declaration and monitoring.

By PHAN CHUNG – Translated by ANH THU