Da Nang has intensified anti-Covid-19 measures to allow adaptability and flexibility in dealing with COVID-19 as its government battles to contain a surge in coronavirus infections.

Authorities at local level are asked to take more drastic measures to contain the spread of the virus in line with the current direction from national and municipal governments along with health bodies.

Local leaders are asked to fight the virus with the motto “Adopting infection prevention and control strategies on a long-term basis”, “Putting the health, safety and security of people first in times of crisis”, “Local residents have a vital role to play in the city’s fight against COVID-19”, “Ensuring safety in manufacturing facilities”.

The focus is on continuing to promote strengths and active participation of both the political system and local people in the battle against the deadly disease.

The heed is paid on recognizing the important role the COVID-19 Community Taskforce play in helping authorities at local level keep a close watch on people returning to Da Nang from other parts of the country, and those who are self-isolating at home, along with in-home quarantine patients who are isolated at home with specific instructions.

The city’s COVID-19 control strategies are included within the three pillars to curb the spread of the virus. Included are quarantine on the narrowest possible scale with the strictest and fastest measures, goals and roadmaps for appropriate and effective solutions, and ending the time for quarantine and areas under lockdown as soon as possible. In addition, special attention must be given to ramping up testing capacity for the virus in order to effectively contain the coronavirus in line with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, as well as providing effective treatment for COVID-19 patients in a bid to reduce mortality in critically ill patients.

Authorities at local level must generate accurate risk assessment to enable appropriate interventions to be taken to manage local outbreaks and reduce community spread of the virus. In addition, tracers must conduct comprehensive contract tracing in order to find all contacts of confirmed cases to break the chains of transmission.

The Da Nang government will develop COVID-19 response scenarios for 2022 and the following years in line with the direction from national government.

All necessary measures will be adopted to support successful implementation of the city’s two goals of effectively controlling the spread of COVID-19 while driving economic growth.

Authorities at local level must educate their locals to strictly observe the 5K recommendations of the Ministry of Health in order to protect themselves and their wider communities, with a focus on ensuring compliance and best practices of health declaration and QR code check-in rules.

In addition, the city will ramp up its vaccination programme for children aged 12 years and over, and continue to offer second vaccine doses to people who got first shots. In addition, the heed will be paid on encouraging anyone who has yet to receive a vaccine to get jabbed to protect themselves, their friends and family. The city will also develop a plan for the administration of third jabs for its eligible population after receiving instructions from national government.

Healthcare facilities are asked to prepare themselves for possible rising hospitalized cases in order to provide the best possible care for them to reduce mortality rates.

Authorities at local level must take action to ensure successful implementation of the city’s pilot scheme for COVID-19 patients who have mild or no symptoms to recover at home in line with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, as part of the city’s gradual shift towards living with the disease. It is important to maintain supplies of drugs and oxygen to medical stations at district and communal levels to help them provide the best possible care for COVID-19 patients in their homes.

The heed must be paid on enhancing compliance monitoring and enforcement of COVID-19 rules in such crowded places as manufacturing facilities, supermarkets and wet markets, as well as taking action against violations of the rules.

The schools across the city must take precautionary measures in a bid to maintain the environment that are as safe as possible for its teachers and students in the wake of COVID-19 after resuming in-person instruction.

The city will prepare an action plan to fight the new COVID-19 Omicron variant although no cases of the new coronavirus variant have been confirmed in Viet Nam.

Reporting by XUAN DUNG – translating by H.L