Da Nang People's Committee Chairman Le Trung Chinh called for greater efforts to tighten oversight of people entering and returning to the city from COVID-19 affected areas.

The city government leader also highlighted the important role of district-level authorities, organisations, and the COVID-19 community task force in early decting arrivals and returnees from affected areas.

The functional forces must enfore regulations to have strictest penalties for giving false and misleading information to health officials, Mr Chinh directed.

Chairman Chinh urged tracers and health officials to quickly identify all close proximity contacts of new confirmed cases recorded in Da Nang on July 10 and 11, isolate and test them as soon as possible in a bid to control coronavirus transmission.

“Urgent action is needed to conduct a thorough investigation into the infected individuals’ exposure history in an attempt to identify the source for timely measures to be taken to prevent the further spread of the virus”, Mr Chinh remarked.

The city leader called for continued efforts to enable appropriate measures to be taken to reduce the risk of re-introduction or importation of SARS-CoV-2 into the city in the face of complicated and unpredictable progression of the epidemic.

Mr Chinh demanded the health agency to roll out rapid COVID-19 testing for drivers of vehicles transporting goods and essentials to Da Nang from elsewhere across the country as soon as possible to allow positive cases to be caught quickly.

“Rapid tests should be rolled out in high-risk settings across Da Nang, and such tests are going to be fundamental in helping us quickly detect COVID-19 and break chains of transmission”, Mr Chinh said.

He also called for continued vigilance against COVID-19 and warned the city, especially industrial parks, risks a resurgence of coronavirus infections.

Six new confirmed cases of COVID-19 contracted from an unknown source were reported in Da Nang on July 10 and 11, according to the Da Nang Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. Local health authorties are scrambling to find the source of these new cases.

Tracers have tracked down more than 1,300 close proximity contacts of the six new cases, and all close contacts have had their swab samples taken to test for the virus . In Da Nang Industrial Park alone, more than 420 close contacts of 2 new infected patients who are working here have been in manged isolation and got tested for COVID-19.

Da Nang has recorded a total of 98 confirmed cases after the resurgence of COVID-19 on June 18.

The city has to date quarantined 689 returnees from COVID-19 affected areas.

The task force staffing checkpoints at points of entry on July 10 conducted COVID-19 related stop checks on 40,833 vehicles entering the city, during which, 82 vehicles were denied entry into the Da Nang, along with 57,514 arrivals had their body temperature measured and were required to complete a compulsory health declaration form.

Reporting by PHAN CHUNG – Translating by H.L