Da Nang has been highly hailed by the national government for its continuously arduous efforts in gradually gaining control of the Covid-19 outbreak over the past days. However, in light of the still-raging, complicated and unpredictable virus, high vigilance against the deadly virus should be kept in place in the time ahead, whilst more proactive actions should be taken in line with the national and municipal governments’s infection and control prevention measures in a bid to eliminate the coronavirus in Da Nang.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son handing hospital discharge papers to people recovered from Covid-19 who were discharged from the Hoa Vang field hospital on Thursday morning.

The statement was confirmed by Da Nang Party Committee Deputy Secretary Nguyen Van Quang at the Thursday meeting on responding to the Covid-19 outbreak.

According to the recent statistics released by the local health sector, up to now, 38 areas across the city have been identified as Covid-19 hotspots.

Based on this concerning fact, the Da Nang Centre of Disease Control (CDC Da Nang) proposed that the municipal Steering Committee for the Covid-19 Prevention and Control promptly zone off outbreak areas, carry out quick testing on a large scale, take isolation measures and set up more checkpoints across the city.

In particular, as long as a F0 (the infected case) is reported, a large-scale test of the surrounding areas is required to be conducted in immediately.

According to doctor Ngo Thi Kim Yen, the Director of the municipal Department of Health, in tandem with racing against time to save the lives of the Covid-19 patients, the traceability of those having links with patients and their caretakers in the once-to-be-hotspot Da Nang General Hospital, especially those who had visited here between 15 and 26 July, has basically been completed.

Da Nang Party Committee Deputy Secretary Nguyen Van Quang (left) and municipal People's Committee People's Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho co-chairing the Thursday meeting on responding to the Covid-19 outbreak.

In his remark on this concerning issue, municipal People's Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho highly appraised all competent local forces for racing against time to trace any close contacts of laboratory-confirmed cases in this hospital.  However, F1 contacts might occur in the community for the time being.  Based this objective prediction, it is very urgent right now to speed up contact tracing, and update information about suspected cases on a daily basis, in the coming time.

During his Thursday inspection visits to Industrial Parks (IPs) in Da Nang, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son underlined a must do for IPs to put in place drastic measures in a prompt fashion to fulfill their ‘dual missions’ of preventing the spread of infection and maintaining production for sake of the city’s socio-economic progress, in an active response to a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son (left) inspecting a kitchen area in the Foster Electronics Company Limited located in Hoa Cam IP

In a more supportive move, the Ministry of Health has sent 3 more nationally leading professors to Da Nang and other pandemic-hit localities in Central Viet Nam to support the treament of Covid-19 patients  here, especially critically ill patients, especially those who already have a pre-existing medical condition. 

In positive related news, the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC) in Nha Trang City, partnering with New York City-based Icahn School of Medicine and the global health non-profit organisation PATH, expects to conduct testing on small groups of volunteers in October-December this year.  First phase of human trials on a made-in-Viet Nam Covid-19 vaccine could begin as early as this October.  Phase 2, comprising larger groups of people, and Phase 3, comprising up to thousands, will be conducted at the beginning of 2021.  By October 2021, the vaccine could be distributed to the general population.

By PHAN CHUNG – Translated by A.T