The latest case, a 63-year-old man from Bac Tu Liem district was announced on August 9. He is a Pizza delivery man who had close contact with a COVID-19 patient at the same restaurant.

Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung says the extensive testing campaign must be completed before August 20.

The Pizza courier had tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus twice before he was confirmed in the third test.

The man got secondary infection from a coronavirus patient returning from Da Nang City, and this means it has put the community at risk, according to an official of the Hanoi Centre of Disease Control.

Hanoi has stepped up contact tracing to quarantine and test those who returned from Da Nang, the epicenter of the country’s latest coronavirus outbreak, and those who had close contact with COVID-19 patients.

The city had recently conducted extensive testing for all returnees from Da Nang using quick test kits, but the results did not meet expectations. It is now launching another extensive testing campaign, using the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction that produces better results than quick tests.

Latest statistics show nearly 75,000 people will be subject to RT-PCR tests this time. The testing campaign started on August 8 and is expected to last for several days. The Ministry of Health pledged to assist the capital in completing the campaign.

Hanoi will be at the height of the fight against COVID-19 next week (August 10-16), and more efforts should be made to identify those who had contacts with coronavirus patients in an attempt to prevent the virus spreading far and wide in the community, said Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung.

He asked relevant forces to give fines to those who pay no heed to regulations on wearing face masks in public places.

Hanoi has reported seven coronavirus cases, mostly returning from Da Nang, since the outbreak occurred in the central city two weeks ago.

VOV

COVID-19: Vietnam reports 29 new cases, another fatality

Vietnam has confirmed 29 new coronavirus cases and another fatality of the disease, all closely tied to Da Nang outbreak, the Ministry of Health said in its August 9 update at 18.00hrs.