Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Quang on Sunday afternoon urged health officials and contact tracers to promptly identify all contacts of new cases, isolate and test them. In addition, functional forces were required to make greater efforts to improve checkpoint capacity and efficiency at points of entry to the city.

Da Nang Party Central Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Quang (left) delivers his instructions at the Sunday meeting to discuss measures to contain the spread of the virus amid a resurgence of Covid-19 infections. Photo: PHAN CHUNG

The city Party chief stressed the need for tracers to track down and isolate all contacts of 34 introduced cases after the city has experienced a resurgence of COVID-19 cases since June 18.

Mr Quang also said: "Da Nang’s COVID-19 resurgence forces us to take more drastic measures to contain the spread of the virus."

Secretary Quang demanded the municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control to check the performance of COVID-19 checkpoints at points of entry to the city to enhance their capacity and efficiency in order to make sure that checks on those who are at higher risk of spreading the virus arriving in the city from COVID-19-hit areas are not missing.

The city top leader also directed relevant agencies to provide additional resources such as tents, fans, surveillance cameras, personnel, along with extra support for staff at COVID-19 checkpoints to help them optimise their capacity and fulfill their assigned tasks amid scorching heat.

Municipal People’s Committee Chairman Le Trung Chinh asked health staff and contact tracers to quickly identify primary and secondary contacts of new cases, isolate and test them.

Mr Chinh highlighted the significance of increasing the role of COVID-19 community task forces in timely detecting new arrivals and vehicles entering the city from other Vietnamese localities, especially affected areas, but fail to declare their health status in order to enable effective responses to these cases.

 “Leaders of departments, agencies, businesses and districts must bear full responsibility for compliance, monitoring, and enforcement of infection prevention and control protocols in the workplace, including the 5K recommendations of the Ministry of Health. They shall be responsible for oversight of their visitors or new arrivals from COVID-19 hit areas,” Mr Chinh emphasised.

Chairman Chinh encouraged departments, agencies, businesses and districts to shift from in-person to virtual gatherings in order to save money, time, and effort as well as prevent the spread of the virus.

According to data released by the municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on June 20, medical workers have taken swab samples of more than 3,300 contacts of the 59-year- old security guard who tested positive for the virus on June 18, to test for COVID-19, of whom, 33 were found to be positive for the virus. All the new cases were detected in Thanh Khe District.

Authorities in Thanh Khe District have already imposed a lockdown order on a section linking with Le Duan-Ly Thai To-Hung Vuong-Hoang Hoa Tham streets after 33 new cases were detected.

Those who have been to specific exposure locations included in the announced list since June 10 are urged to contact authorities or medical facilities in their places of residence for what to do.

Reporting by PHAN CHUNG – Transalting by H.L