Both Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Quang and municipal People's Committee Chairman Le Trung Chinh demanded a more robust enforcement of the current restrictions in place to fight the coronavirus during an on meeting of the municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 prevention and control on Thursday afternoon.

Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Quang (left) and municipal People's Committee Chairman Le Trung Chinh (middle) co-chaired an on meeting of the municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 prevention and control on Thursday afternoon. Photo: PHAN CHUNG

Mr Quang briefed the participants on the recent rise in cases citywide, which is being driven by a significant increase in cases in some narrow alleys.

He said a large portion of those cases is from many narrow alleys and local lockdown areas and stated that substantial community spread is happening because people are not abiding by social distancing and health safety measures.

Now, he's calling for stronger enforcement of current restrictions in order to head off the spread of the virus.

He directed authorities at local level to pay special attention to raising awareness and educating the public about self-quarantine and social distancing in line with the current direction from the municipal government. More drastic action is needed to make sure that each individual is sticking to the recommended COVID-19 control measures or face stiff penalties for non-compliance, Mr Quang remarked.  

The Da Nang top leader urged the health agency to develop COVID-19 testing plans that set specific targets in each district to combat the spread of the virus.

Municipal Party Committee Deputy Secretary Luong Nguyen Minh Triet directed authorities at local level to take proactive action to ensure the supply of food and essentials for local residents while they are under strict stay-at-home orders. Photo: PHAN CHUNG

Mr Luong Nguyen Minh Triet, the Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee and Chairman of the municipal People's Council stressed the need for authorities at local level to take the initiative and seek innovations in order to ensure food security for residents in their local areas during the city’s stay-at-home orders.

Municipal People's Committee Chairman Le Trung Chinh affirmed that the city is taking the right measures to control COVID-19 with effective rollout of mass testing across the city to find many cases, and beefing up tracing and isolating all contacts.

Mr Chinh said that Da Nang is expected to see a steady decline in cases active in the community but a significant rise in active primary close contacts, and cases detected in local lockdown areas in the coming days.

The city government leader underscored the necessity for authorities at local level to increase public awareness of COVID-19, and require people with suspected COVID-19 symptoms to immediately contact their nearest medical facilities for what to do.

Chairman Chinh highlighted the importance of maximizing the role of local forces and the COVID-19 community task force in all alleys to ensuring stringent compliance with all health protocols and social distancing measures to prevent the spread of the virus among local residents there.

Doctor Ton That Thanh, the Director of the municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said more than 1,500 cases have been detected in scope of the city-wide ‘one door- one test’ campaign from more than 1 million samples over 10 days of tougher COVID-19 cubs.

All areas in the city have been classified as red, yellow and green for COVID-19, and each zone has varying levels of restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the virus. The Da Nang government has moved to a zone-wise classification as the city enters another phase of its battle against the deadly disease.

Mass testing for COVID-19 for people without symptoms will continue to be available in Da Nang until September 5 as the city looks to keep on top of the virus. All people in red zones will get tested for the virus every 3 days, while the ‘one door – one test’ campaign will be launched in green and yellow zones.

The results from this round of mass testing will be the basis for the city to identify next steps in the battle against COVID-19, Director Thanh said.

Reporting by PHAN CHUNG – translating by H.L