Da Nang registered 23 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, all of whom had previously come into close contact with an infected male security guard in Thanh Khe District.

Da Nang medical staff take swab samples from residents in Thanh Khe District for COVID-19 testing. Photo: PHAN CHUNG

The 59-year-old man, who works as a security guard at the Duy Tan Plastics Company at 145 Dien Bien Phu, Chinh Gian Ward, Thanh Khe District, tested positive for the deadly virus on Friday afternoon, becoming the city’s first locally transmitted case after over 30 days of registering no infections in the community.

In detail, on Saturday morning, 5 people, namely a friend of his, and his wife, children and grandchildren, were confirmed contracting the virus.

In the afternoon of the same day, the 10-pool testing method showed 18 more positive cases linked to the aforementioned security guard.

All of the 24 patients, including the security guard, reside in Thanh Khe District, the Da Nang authorities confirmed.

Till date, 4 residential settings have been identified as COVID-19 “hotspots” in Thac Gian and Chinh Gian wards, where the security man reside and work respectively.

The Da Nang Centre for Disease Control (CDC Da Nang) has sent the patients’ samples to competent bodies for gene sequencing in order to find the strains of the coronavirus.

Reporting by PHAN CHUNG – Translating by A.T