Da Nang People's Committee Vice Chairwoman Ngo Thi Kim Yen on Thursday afternoon stated that over recent days, Da Nang has witnessed an upward trend in the number of daily COVID-19 cases with the daily count of nearly 1,000 cases, thereby urging authorities at local level to continue to follow the city’s COVID-19 guidelines and take all precautions to tackle the pandemic.

Vice Chairwoman Ngo Thi Kim Yen delivers her address at Thursday’s meeting of the municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. Photo: PHAN CHUNG

Mrs Yen said that a range of measures are being introduced to speed up the COVID-19 booster programme, providing an extra layer of protection against COVID-19 and its variants. Healthcare workers were tasked to continue to go 'door-to-door' in bid to reach the unvaccinated who find it challenging to visit a vaccination site. Heed must be paid on making sure that all eligible adults aged 18 and over across Da Nang get a COVID-19 booster jab in the first quarter of 2022, she added.

Vice Chairwoman Ngo Thi Kim Yen warned of the potential COVID-19 transmission risk in supermarkets, wet markets and retail stores due to growing shopping demand for Tet goods as the biggest national public holiday is nearing. Therefore, strict observance of the 5K recommendations of the Ministry of Health is recommended for shoppers at such venues in a bid to protect themselves and others.

She highlighted the need to put in place strict health and safe protocols at wet markets to control the spread of the virus. In addition, the heed must be paid on adopting the most effective measures to contain new outbreaks at such venues while ensuring continuity of their operations, Mrs Yen emphasized.

Mrs Yen also asked the health agency and authorities at level to classify COVID-19 hospitalisations in line with the Ministry of Health’s guidelines in order to ensure optimal utilisation of resources to provide care to COVID-19 patients amid a rise in cases as well as reduce the pressure on local healthcare systems.  

Severe cases of COVID-19 are eligible for hospital admissions while patients with mild symptoms and asymptomatic patients remain in their home with an intensive monitoring protocol.

Reporting by PHAN CHUNG – Translating by H.L