The northern province of Quang Ninh is considering placing Dong Trieu town, where a large number of residents had close contact with new COVID-19 cases in neighbouring Hai Duong province, under lockdown, an online meeting on the evening of January 28 heard.

Secretary of the Quang Ninh Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council Nguyen Xuan Ky (standing) chairs an urgent meeting to urgently respond to the fresh COVID-19 outbreak in the province. (Photo: VNA)

Chaired by Secretary of the Quang Ninh Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council Nguyen Xuan Ky, the meeting gathered authorities from provincial to communal levels to urgently respond to the fresh COVID-19 outbreak in the province.

Quang Ninh is fully capable of controling the situation, Ky said, ordering relevant authorities to keep a close watch on the virus’s development in the province and nearby areas and give the highest priority to contact tracing. All employees of the Viet Nam Poyun Electronics Co., Ltd. and from Hai Duong, as well as their close contacts, must be put under quarantine, he demanded.

He especially raised concern over Dong Trieu town, which shares a border with Hai Duong’s Chi Linh city, one of the two latest COVID-19 hotspots.

Reports indicate that 119 residents in the town who work for the Hai Duong-based Viet Nam Poyun Electronics company are being quarantined. Eight villages in Dong Trieu’s Binh Duong and An Sinh communes have imposed social distancing measures after eight new infections were identified. The town now has 43 F1 and 900 F2 cases, having direct and indirect contact, respectively, with new COVID-19 patients.

The secretary further requested the urgent procurement of extra coronavirus testing equipment, allowing the province to maximise its testing efforts. Local departments and agencies must prevent goods shortages during the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, minimise the effects of COVID-19 on people, particularly the vulnerable, and tighten control and surveillance along the border and coastline to prevent illegal entries, he added.

As of 6pm on January 28, Quang Ninh had detected 13 new COVID-19 cases.

In Hanoi, authorities have also been on high alert after new infections in the capital were found to be linked to the fresh outbreaks in Quang Ninh and Hai Duong.

In an urgent meeting on the evening of the same day, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue demanded swifter and more drastic actions to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Contact tracing of F1, F2, and F3 cases must be completed in three days, Hue said, stressing the city’s determination to once again come out victorious against COVID-19.

Director of the municipal Department of Health Nguyen Khac Hien voiced his concern over the current complex situation, saying the virus could break out in other cities and provinces and Hanoi is not immune.

As the Tet holiday, which is a time of family reunion, is just around the corner, Hien said that traditionally people want to go home for the holiday so there will be a greater risk of transmission from imported cases.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh, meanwhile, said the city will trigger a higher alert level against the virus and soon issue an official dispatch on combating the new variants.

Source: VNA