Shoppers in Da Nang give entrance tickets to security guards before entering a local market yesterday. Starting yesterday, people in the city will use the tickets to go to the market every other day.

Speaking at the Government’s meeting on Wednesday with 15 localities which recorded COVID-19 infections since late July, a representative of the health ministry said although the transmission in central Da Nang City has been gradually contained with a decreasing number of new cases in recent days, there is still a high risk of infection in the community in other places.

Cases linked to Da Nang were mostly from hospitals which have been locked down since the first case was detected and from people in close contact with positive cases.

All 17 fatalities so far have had underlying medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, heart and renal failures, as well as cancer. There will be more deaths from those diseases, according to the ministry.

Chairing the meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said localities and sectors had taken prompt measures in response to the resurgence of the pandemic. Da Nang has given residents market entrance tickets to go shopping on alternate days as part of social distancing measures.

Since Wednesday, residents of central Da Nang City are given tickets that allow them to go to the market once every three days on social distancing period.

Shoppers must fill in personal information on the cards and give them to security guards before entering the markets. The information will be used to trace the source of infection if there is any new cases detected.

They must also wear face masks and sanitise their hands before entering markets.

The city has also allowed officers of local administrative centres to work from home during the social distancing period.

The Cabinet leader also praised central Quang Nam Province for establishing a quick response team and other localities for zoning off infection areas and conducting rapid tests on a large scale.

Because the next week will be an important period in the fight against COVID-19, he asked each locality to prepare an efficient economic and healthcare strategy in response to the pandemic.

It’s not necessary to lock down the whole city or district for a long time. Local authorities must assess the risks of each area and take preventive measures in areas not in lockdown, he said.

From the experience of Da Nang and Quang Nam, he urged localities to establish working teams to inspect communities and knock on each door to detect infections.

He asked the medical sector to speed up the progress of vaccine research, study a standard procedure to deal with suspected cases in order not to let them travel to many places, as well as treatment therapies to minimise the fatality rate. — VNS

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