Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Quang on Saturday afternoon said that the municipal government is determined to take the most drastic measures to tackle the virus amid the complicated and unpredictable developments of the COVID-19 pandemic. Da Nang has announced tougher COVID-19 curbs for 7 days with all movement and activities banned. The new stricter restrictions will come into force from 8am on August 16-23.   

Secretary Quang (left) said on Saturday’s meeting that Da Nang is determined to take the most drastic action to tackle rising cases fueled by the highly contagious delta variant. August 14. Photo: LE HUNG

The Da Nang Party Chief called for concerted efforts from the health agency, relevant units and authorities at local level to bring the COVID-19 situation under control within 7 days with strong determination.

Mr Quang urged the health agency and district authorities to take more drastic action and the most appropriate measures to quickly detect positive cases, trace, test and isolate all contacts in a bid to break the chains of transmission in the city.

Secretary Quang called on leaders of authorities at local level and relevant agencies to play their key part in the fight against the deadly disease. Military and police have been given the power to enforce tougher restrictions on local residents, and take action against anyone who breaks new rules from 8am on August 16.

He also asked the municipal Department of Information and Communications to focus on raising public awareness of new rules to make sure that everyone across the city is practicing stricter stay-at-home orders or face hash penalties for non-adherence.

Municipal People's Committee Chairman Le Trung Chinh called on officials to enhance surveillance of crowded residential settings and small alleys, as well as impose strict local lockdown order on high-risk areas during 7 days of the imposition of tougher restrictions.

Chairman Chinh demanded the health agency to roll out asymptomatic COVID-19 screening programme across the city in the most effective way to allow positive cases caught in the efforts to bring the COVID-19 outbreak under control on August 23.

The city government leader is urging each individual across Da Nang to have a part to play in the fight against COVID-19, and take action to protect the health of themselves, their families and their wider communities.

Fines of more than VND 154 million on Saturday, August 14, were imposed on 25 people for breaking the city’s COVID-19 rules. In total, close to VND 2.4 billion worth of fines have been levied on 848 violators of the city’s COVID-19 restrictions since June 18, according to latest figures released by the Office of the municipal People’s Committee.

Also on Saturday, municipal People's Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh chaired a press conference to announce the imposition of tougher restrictions on Da Nang people in response to COVID-19.

Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh chaired a press conference to announce new restrictions which will start to come into force in Da Nang at 8am on August 16. Photo: LE HUNG

Doctor Ngo Thi Kim Yen, the Director of the municipal Department of Health, said that the ‘one-door one test’ campaign will be launched across the city during 7 days of the imposition of stricter travel restrictions. Accordingly, more than 600,000 people in Da Nang are expected to get tested for COVID-19 twice a week.

Director Yen said that the health agency will beef up COVID-19 testing capacities to reach about 100,000 people a day with the adoption of sample pooling strategies, and nine accredited testing lab facilities will attend the city’s mass testing program.

Da Nang now has an about 2,000- bed field hospital for COVID-19 patients while Hoa Vang District Medical Centre can accommodate 200 beds for pregnant, child and dialysis patients with COVID-19. In addition, the Lung Hospital now has 100 resuscitation beds, and it is able to provide extra 120 beds for COVID-19 patients. Besides, patient transport maximises the availability of emergency ambulances to response to genuine, time-critical medical emergencies.

The health agency continues to implement comprehensive vaccination coverage in the city, and to give vaccinations to eligible people during the 7 days of the imposition of new restrictions.

Vice Chairman Minh affirmed that all necessary measures have been taken to ensure smooth supply of food items across the city when Da Nang people face stricter travel restrictions. In addition, 30,000 gifts will go to help local poor families before the city enters toughest measures to fight COVID-19.

Reporting by LE HUNG – translating by H.L