Da Nang authorities have issued a range of measures to prevent community transmission of Covid-19 after two residents have been confirmed positive for the virus over the past two days. 

The Municipal Department of Health was tasked to conduct massive testing to early detect infection sources and high-risk cases

Accordingly, residents are requested to:

- Wash hands regularly with soap or sanitizer;

- Wear facemask when staying outdoor;

- Keep safe distance of at least one meter.

- A crowd of more than 30 people is not allowed at public places, or outside public agencies, schools, hospitals.

The Municipal People's Committee also decided to temporarily suspend festivals, religious rituals, sports events, as well as operation of non-essential services like karaoke, massage, and discos.

Wholesale, retail sale, lottery services, hotels, restaurants, accommodation facilities, tourist sites, and passengers are allowed to operate provided that preventive measures are implemented.

Schools must be disinfected while number of students must be reduced in each classroom and online learning should be introduced.

The city's Department of Health was asked to promptly organize epidemiological investigation, contact-tracing in areas related to the confirmed Covid-19 cases, and massive testing to early detect infection sources and high-risk cases.

These rules will take effect until further notice.

Another COVID-19 case confirmed in Da Nang

Another case of COVID-19 was recorded in the central city of Da Nang, raising the total of coronavirus infections in the country to 418, said the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on July 26 morning.

The 61-year-old man, who resides in Thanh Binh ward of Hai Chau district, was confirmed positive for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 on July 25 night. He is now under intensive treatment at Da Nang Hospital, with the aid of a ventilator.

Da Nang is implementing epidemiological investigation, contact tracing and quarantine measures to prevent the spread of the virus. The Health Ministry has set up three special working teams to support the city’s pandemic prevention and control.

Of the total 418 cases in Vietnam, 276 cases are imported and quarantined right after their arrival.

As many as 365 patients or 87.3 percent have been given the all-clear of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 which causes the pandemic, while the rest are being treated at medical establishments across the country, with eight tested negative for the virus once or twice. No deaths have been recorded so far.

There are currently 11,187 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients or entering Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions being quarantined, including 220 at hospitals, 10,193 at other facilities, and 774 at home.

Travel history of latest COVID-19 patient announced

The latest patient to be infected with COVID-19 through a community transmission has not travelled out of his home city for a month, and has had no contact with any foreigners.

The information was released Sunday by the Đà Nẵng Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control who were investigating the movements of the 61-year-old before he tested positive for coronavirus.

The man, who lives in Thanh Bình Ward, Hải Châu District with his wife and daughter, visited the same café near his house every morning after breakfast, his family told officials.

He also visited the Intensive Care Unit of Đà Nẵng Hospital on July 5 where his father was being treated.

A little under a week after visited his father, he began to feel unwell, started coughing and developed a fever. He also started to lose weight.

He asked his son-in-law to drive him for a check-up at a private clinic on Đinh Tiên Hoàng Road in Hải Châu District.  Two days later, on July 17, he didn’t feel any better and went to the Hải Châu District Hospital’s Emergency Department.

Then he went to the emergency department of Đà Nẵng Hospital by himself and was hospitalised at the Respiratory Department, room 506 and diagnosed with pneumonia.

On July 23, he was moved to the ICU of Đà Nẵng Hospital.

He is currently on ventilator and in a severe conditions. Health officials are working with local authorities to investigate further his travel history and anyone he had contact with.

All the places he had visited have since been closed, and are being monitored.

Meanwhile, the health of patient 416, a 57-year-old man also from Đà Nẵng who tested positive on Saturday, has deteriorated.

Doctors at the Đà Nẵng Hospital are treating him using Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) and filtering his blood. 

Of all the people who have contracted the virus so far, 365 have been given the all-clear, accounting for 87.3 per cent and no fatalities have been reported.

At present, 11,187 people are placed under medical surveillance, of whom 220 are at hospitals, 10,193 centralised quarantine camps, and 774 at places of residence.

Social distancing for Đà Nẵng City

Earlier Sunday morning, Đà Nẵng City’s People’s Committee announced a number of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The city asked its residents to wear masks when going out, wash their hands with soaps, keep a safe distance when in contact with others, and not gather in a crowd of more than 30 people.

The Steering Committee is also proposing that all local residents must inform the authorities if they are planning to leave the central city.

All ceremonies, including religious ceremonies and sporting events as well as events with many people in a public place will be temporarily suspended.

Non-essential business activities like entertainment centres, beauty salons and spas, karaoke, massage and discotheques will be temporarily closed.

For other service businesses, strict measures to prevent the virus must be implemented like taking temperatures of customers and providing sufficient hygiene materials.

The number of students in a classroom has to be reduced to make sure not too many students are gathered in the same place and online education can be put in place.

For social-economic or politic events that need to be organised, local authorities have to ensure strict infection control measures.

Three special working groups set up to stamp out coronavirus in Da Nang

The Ministry of Health has urgently established three special working groups to deal with the possible recurrence of COVID-19 outbreak in Da Nang city, central Vietnam.

The groups are comprised of specialists and experienced doctors of leading medical institutions such as the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi and Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. 

They are tasked with providing technical support for the local Da Nang healthcare sector in carrying out epidemiological investigations, localizing the virus, and conducting extensive testing, among others.

Some group members took part in COVID-19 prevention campaigns at virus hotspots like one in Hanoi’s Ha Loi village of Me Linh district or another at Bach Mai hospital. Doctors from Cho Ray Hospital got experience in treating Stephen Cameron, the British pilot who was the most severe coronavirus case in Vietnam.

Vietnam confirmed on July 25 a local resident of Da Nang City has been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, ending a 99-day long streak in which no new locally transmitted infections have been recorded.

The patient, suffering respiratory failure, is in critical condition and is undergoing the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life support machine, in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Da Nang Hospital.

Another local resident of Da Nang tested positive midnight July 25, and this patient is on a ventilator in the ICU of Da Nang Hospital.  

Vietnam has so far recorded 418 coronavirus cases, with 365 cases having fully recovered from the disease. No deaths have been reported.

226 Vietnamese workers to be repatriated from Uzbekistan

Around 226 Vietnamese workers stranded in Uzbekistan due to the Covid-19 pandemic will be repatriated soon, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Vietnamese people check in for a repatriation flight at the airport in Moscow on May 12.

The ministry on July 24 worked with concerned ministries, agencies and the company that sent Vietnamese workers to Uzbekistan on the workers' call for help to return home.

The 226 workers who are working for China Petroleum Jili Chemical Engineering and Construction Co.,Ltd (JCC) in Karshi city, Uzbekistan, recently sent a letter to the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia to seek for help.

In the letter, the workers said they were facing difficulties in daily life, at work, and in Covid-19 prevention and control, therefore they called for help from the embassy to return to Vietnam soon.

"After hearing about the situation, the Consular Department under the Foreign Ministry coordinated with the embassy and the company that sent the workers to Uzbekistan to clarify the case," the ministry said.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam has co-ordinated with airlines to conduct more than 60 flights repatriating nearly 16,000 Vietnamese citizens from almost 50 countries and territories due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said Dinh Viet Thang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam in an interview on July 22 with the Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper.

Thang said that from now to the end of August, the aviation sector will continue working with diplomatic and military agencies to conduct 50 more flights to bring some 13,000 Vietnamese citizens home.

"The demand is huge while the capacity of the aviation sector and quarantine centres is limited," he said. "Agencies have to give priority to children under 18, the elderly, pregnant women, people with health problems, workers with expired labour contracts and no accommodation, students without residence due to dormitory disclosure and others in especially difficult circumstances."

Over 190 Vietnamese citizens brought home from Japan

Relevant agencies of Vietnam, the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, and the Vietnam Airlines on July 25 coordinated with Japan’s competent agencies to bring home more than 190 Vietnamese citizens from the country.

Passengers on the flight included the elderly, pregnant women, people with illnesses, stranded tourists, workers with expired labour contracts, and students without accommodations due to school closure.

To ensure the safety of the passengers and crew members and prevent the spread of COVID-19, the carrier strictly implemented security, safety, and hygiene measures during the flight.

Right after landing in the Noi Bai International Airport, all the passengers and crew members had their health checked and were taken to a concentrated quarantine centre, in line with the country’s regulations.

Implementing Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s directions, relevant domestic agencies and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad are building plans to bring Vietnamese citizens home when domestic quarantine capacity permits.

COVID-19: Two more cases raise Vietnam’s tally to 417

Vietnam on July 25 confirmed two more coronavirus cases, including a five-year-old girl, bringing the country’s total number of COVID-19 infections to 417, according to the Ministry of Health.

One of the two cases, a 57-year-old man in Da Nang City, has five times tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The infection marks the recurrence of the virus in the community 99 days after it was brought under the control.

Da Nang authorities moved to quarantine the place where he lives, lock down Hospital C where he visited for medical check-ups, track down those who had close and direct contact with the patient, and conduct extensive testing.

Local officials said a total of 103 people who had contact with the patient had tested negative for the virus.

The patient was transferred to Da Nang hospital for medical observation and treatment. He is on a ventilator due to respiratory failure.

Doctors are considering using the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life support machine, if the mechanical ventilation therapy does not help.

The other case is a five-year-old girl, living in Thai Binh province. She was among passengers boarding Vietnam Airlines’ VN5062 aircraft on a repatriation flight from Russia to Vietnam on July 9.

She twice tested negative for the virus but the third test came back positive on July 25.

The child is being treated at the Bac Lieu provincial General Hospital in the Mekong Delta.

With two more patients confirmed on July 25, Vietnam has so far recorded a total number of 417 COVID-19 cases. No deaths have been reported.

Except for 365 patients who have fully recovered, the remaining 52 cases are closely being monitored at health facilities across the country. Eight of them have tested negative at least once. 

COVID-19: Critically ill patient in Da Nang on ECMO life support

A local resident of Da Nang city who tested the SARS-CoV-2 virus has undergone the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life support machine, after suffering critical respiratory failure, said doctors.

The patient, dubbed patient 416, is in critical condition and at high risk of death, said the treatment sub-committee under the Ministry of Health, adding he will be on a ventilator and an ECMO machine for a long time. 

The 57-year-old man is currently staying in the intensive care unit of Da Nang Hospital, taking in sedatives and undergoing constant dialysis to maintain his kidney function.

This is the third coronavirus patient in Vietnam who has required ECMO life support. One of the two other patient was Stephen Cameron, a British citizen who was the most severe coronavirus case in Vietnam.

Doctors from Cho Ray hospital that had treated the British patient arrived at Da Nang Hospital to support their colleagues.

The ECMO machine, considered the ‘last-ditch’ intervention for a coronavirus patient, is used when all other conventional treatments fail.

The man was confirmed on July 25 to have carried the virus after five COVID-19 tests. The infection ended the 99-day long streak that Vietnam had recorded no new locally transmitted cases.

The source of infection is still unknown. The Prime Minister has directed the healthcare sector to save his life. 

By July 25 afternoon, the Da Nang Department of Health identified 1,079 people who had contact with the patient. Of the total, 288 people in direct contact with the patient were placed in quarantine for medical surveillance.

The Danang Center for Disease Control (CDC) collected 175 samples for testing with 107 of them coming back negative.

Vietnam Airlines brings home over 190 Vietnamese citizens from Japan

Vietnam Airlines on July 25 conducted a special flight, bringing home more than 190 Vietnamese citizens stranded in Japan due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The flight was arranged by relevant Vietnamese agencies, the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan and relevant agencies of the host country, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.   

Passengers on board the repatriation flight were elderly people, pregnant women, sick people, holidaymakers, workers with expired labour contracts, students who had completed the academic year without accommodation, and others in specially difficult circumstances.

Vietnam Airlines strictly implemented security, safety and epidemiology measures during the flight, in order to protect the passengers’ health and prevent the spread of the virus.

After landing at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, all the passengers and crew members underwent medical check-ups and were transferred to quarantine facilities according to regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control.

Under the Prime Minister’s instructions, Vietnamese agencies, Vietnamese representative agencies abroad and domestic airlines will continue to conduct similar flights to bring overseas Vietnamese back to Vietnam.

Six held for organising illegal entry

Police in the northwestern province of Quang Ninh said on July 25 that they have detained and started legal procedures against six people from Mong Cai city for organising illegal entries into Vietnam.

The six are all residents of the province. They admitted working with a Chinese man via the Wechat messaging and social media app to conduct illegal entries to Mong Cai city for Chinese people from Dongxing. They used rafts to ferry the Chinese across the river at the border and motorcycles to drive the illegal migrants to the city’s centre and other areas inside Vietnam.

The group was paid CNY4,000 (US$570) for each illegal migrants. On June 10, they were caught red handed while serving four Chinese.

Cambodia suspends flights from Indonesia, Malaysia

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on July 25 approved the Ministry of Health’s proposal to temporarily ban all flights from Malaysia and Indonesia to curb the spread of COVID-19 from August 1.

In an announcement released on late July 25, the ministry said it had noticed a spike in the number of imported COVID-19 cases over the past week, especially from the two countries.

Of the 108 passengers who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after arriving in Cambodia via Malaysia and Indonesia, 55 took Malaysia flights.

The announcement came the same day Cambodia confirmed eight more cases of COVID-19 among passengers on two separate flights from Indonesia.

Cambodia on July 25 confirmed 23 new imported COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 225, the ministry said.