Based on the speculation that Covid-19’s nature is till complicated and unpredictable, the Da Nang Party Committee has required concerted efforts from the government and residents of Da Nang to eliminate coronavirus while boosting the economy and keeping the recovery moving, ensuring national defence and security in a drastic and decisive fashion.

Importance should be attached to ensuring best practice of infection prevention and control measures recommended by the Vietnamese national and municipal governments. Although the pandemic is slowing in Da Nang, people across the city city are urged to remain on high alert against Covid-19 because the virus has not gone away. 

More plans should be rolled out to implement effectively the city's policies in an effort to drive the city's economic recovery while providing effective social protection to the local population.

For the time being, heed should be paid to carrying out the ongoing prompt yet effective testing programme under which local medical workers collect swab samples from over 71,000 local families whose members have yet to be tested for Covid-19. The result will provide a foundation for the city to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment, from which the local authorities could decide to relax social distancing measures in the coming days.

It is worth noting that any decisions on when and where to ease these requirements to pave the way for a resumption of normal life must be taken into careful and appropriate consideration in the coming days.

With regard to solutions to the city’s economic recovery, it is an urgent need to find ways to sort out any currently-existing difficulties and obstacles to the city’s socio-economic performance, with a focus on keeping production and export activities, promoting domestic consumption of locally-made products, speeding up large-scale construction projects across the city, and accelerating full disbursement of the city's public investment fund.

In fact, Covid-19 prevention is a long battle. Until there is a vaccine, we have to cohabit with the pandemic. In the time to come, relevant agencies, therefore, must widely publicise precautionary measures amongst the public across Da Nang so as to encourage them to practise healthy habits to prevent them from potential exposure to the coronavirus.

In particular, wearing face coverings on public transport, in schools, traditional markets, and other public places will become mandatory. Also, hand washing regularly with either soap and water or alcohol hand rub and a safe distance between people in public spaces must become new social norms.

Another task to be fulfilled is to secure the provision of more financial aid from the national government to those financially struggling across the city as a result of the coronavirus crisis in a timely, fair and transparent manner.

By PHAN CHUNG – Translated by A.T