During his meeting with members of the Da Nang COVID-19 Monitoring Committee on Thursday afternoon, the municipal Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Quang remarked that the city meets six of the seven benchmarks related to coronavirus.

Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Quang (left) delivers his instructions at the Thursday’s meeting. Photo: PHAN CHUNG

Mr Quang highlighted huge efforts the Da Nang government and relevant agencies have made to effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic with the introduction of strict and decisive measures.

The Da Nang top leader affirmed that the city remains confident in moving the right direction in the fight against COVID-19 in line with the current direction in order to eliminate the coronavirus with strong determination and active involvement of officials and local citizens.

Mr Quang said the Da Nang government will soon introduce new measures for the city’s transition to the new normal as the city is ready for the safe and sustainable reopening of its economy and society in an attempt to help local residents get back to normal life.

He highlighted the importance of mobile applications, especially QR Codes, to full replacement of all necessary administrative procedures for local citizens either in resurgence in COVID-19 outbreak or the new situation. Mr Quang, therefore, asked the municipal Department of Information and Communications to encourage the use of mobile applications in health declaration and other coronavirus-related activities among the general public.

Municipal People's Committee Vice Chairwoman Ngo Thi Kim Yen addressing the meeting of the Da Nang COVID-19 Monitoring Committee on Thursday afternoon. Photo: PHAN CHUNG

Da Nang People's Committee Chairman Le Trung Chinh said that the city will allow the reopening of certain basic activities and services with proper precautions in place when transitioning to the new normal.

Municipal People's Committee Vice Chairwoman Ngo Thi Kim Yen said that unprecedented strong measures which have been adopted in Da Nang since July 28, especially in the peak period from August 16 to September 16, have been effective in curbing the spread of the virus.

As a result, the daily average in COVID-19 cases reduced from 120-140 in August to 20-30 in September. The city has recorded 2-5 new cases from September 13-19, its lowest daily tally since resurgence of COVID-19 in August. A total of 39 communes and wards across Da Nang have marked 14 days without any community transmission and have been classified as green zones.

From May 3 to September 22, the city has conducted COVID-19 testing for over 4.6 million people. Particularly, from August 16 to September 16, the city has rolled out seven rounds of mass testing for a total of more than 2.5 million people.

Mrs Yen said that Da Nang is the closest to meeting all the criteria, meeting six of the seven benchmarks as stipulated in the Ministry of Health’s Directive dated August 18, 2021.

Reporting by PHAN CHUNG – Translating by H.L