A 67-year-old woman in the central city of Da Nang died on August 5, becoming the 10th fatality from COVID-19 in Vietnam, according to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son.

She died of malignant myeloma, diabetes, sepsis, and COVID-19, he said.

The woman was taken to Da Nang Hospital on August 3 and quarantined, as she was suspected of carrying SARS-CoV-2.

She first tested positive at the hospital on August 4.

She was pronounced dead late in the afternoon on August 5 after doctors failed to resuscitate her.

The Da Nang Centre for Disease Prevention and Control confirmed her positive result on the morning of August 6.

Earlier on the same day another 67-year-old woman in Quang Nam province, which borders Da Nang, was confirmed as the ninth fatality in Vietnam.

All fatalities in the country so far have either been residents of Da Nang or Quang Nam and had suffered from serious chronic diseases such as cancer, renal failure, and diabetes prior to becoming infected.

Some 1,700 visitors register to leave Danang, accept quarantine requirements

Some 961 visitors stranded in Danang City have registered to leave for Hanoi so far, while 734 others want to go to HCMC.

These tourists have to pay for their own airfares and spend 14 days in quarantine in accordance with the current regulations. The city supports bringing them to the airport.

“Currently, we are continuing to look for those who are stranded in Danang City,” Nguyen Xuan Binh, deputy director of Danang City Tourism Department, told The Saigon Times today, August 6.

The department will arrange flights to take all passengers to Hanoi and HCMC and ensure their safety.

According to Binh, the move is in response to the Prime Minister’s prior instruction over transporting guests stranded in Danang City to their hometowns.

In order to ascertain the specific number of people who want to leave Danang, the Danang Tourist Support Center had posted information through various channels calling for registration.

Hanoi to quarantine 1,000 people returning from Danang

Hanoi needs to prepare facilities to quarantine around 1,000 people returning from the central city of Danang which is struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.

The instruction was made by Hanoi People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung at the city’s meeting on Covid-19 prevention and control on Wednesday afternoon.  

Nguyen Khac Hien, Director of the municipal Department of Health, said that Hanoi would receive between 800 and 1,000 returnees from Danang in the days to come.

They include people who had stayed in Danang for a long time, posing a higher risk of infection. The Health Department proposed the people’s committee to put them under quarantine upon arrival, Hien added.

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung asked the Department of Health and Hanoi Capital City Special High Command of the Vietnam People's Army to make careful preparations for the quarantine of the people from Danang.

He urged to resume the operation of quarantine sites used for the city’s Covid-19 outbreak in the first six months, including military areas and schools.

People who have returned from Danang and Quang Nam Province for less than 14 days have to isolate themselves at home under the supervision of local authorities.

Chung emphasised that by Wednesday morning, Hanoi had monitored nearly 94,000 people returning from Danang and Quang Nam since July 8. This figure is expected to rise in the coming time.

Recovered Covid-19 patients asked to make plasma donations for treatment 

Doctors from the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi are calling for plasma donations from recovered Covid-19 patients for treatment of the virus.

A Covid-19 patient in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Health has held many meetings on the latest treatment regimens for Covid-19, including the use of blood plasma infusions from people who have recovered from the coronavirus to treat those still battling the infection.  

Doctors said that amid the complicated developments of the pandemic, while there has not been a definitive drug to treat the virus, such plasma may be a new potential treatment method. However, it is important to select donors and ensure the safety in the plasma usage to prevent infections of medical staff and patients.

The National Hospital for Tropical Diseases is contacting recovered Covid-19 patients to ask them to donate plasma. If they agree, they will be invited to the hospital. Plasma extraction will be carried out in a separate area which conforms to medical safety regulations.

Prof. Dr Nguyen Van Kinh, former head of the hospital, said that the current Covid-19 strain ravaging the central city of Danang is a new virus mutation which has a higher infection rate than the strain experienced in the first six months of this year.

Under the Ministry of Health’s treatment guidelines, all people suspected to contract the virus need to be tested early.

Hanoi, HCM City and many other localities are speeding up the Covid-19 quick test for prevention.

Vietnam has registered an eighth death related to Covid-19 to date.

Deputy Health Minister: anti-body testing to discover infections

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son said on August 5 that the current goal is to step up anti-body testing to discover COVID-19 infection cases in the community.

Son said the health sector is carrying out Real-time – PRC and anti-body tests.

The central city of Da Nang has raised its testing capacity to 8,000-10,000 samples per day.

While the Da Nang Centre for Disease Control and Prevention is tracing down patients in the community, the Health Ministry sent a team of experts from the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to the city to help with quarantine and tracing of suspect cases, he said.

After the Da Nang Hospital, Da Nang C Hospital and the Ho Chi Minh City Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Hospital are sterilised, Son said they will be assessed based on the ministry’s safety criteria for COVID-19 prevention and control, including building a process to classify patients, and closely controlling patients with respiratory symptoms to prevent community infections.

347 Vietnamese citizens repatriated home from Houston

Relevant Vietnamese agencies, the Vietnamese Consulate General in the US, and Vietnam Airlines coordinated efforts with US agencies on August 4 to bring home 347 Vietnamese citizens from Houston in the US state of Texas. 

The majority of passengers on board the flight were people under 18, including a four-month-old child, elderly people, people suffering from various illnesses, and those in challenging circumstances.

Ahead of the repatriation flight’s departure, Vietnamese Consul General Luong Quoc Huy went directly to the airport to support citizens with all necessary procedures.

To prevent the possible spread of the novel coronavirus, a range of disease prevention measures were conducted throughout the duration of the flight.

All members of the flight crew and passengers underwent heath examinations upon arriving in the country, before being immediately transferred to concentrated quarantine facilities in line with regulations.

Under directions issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, domestic authorities and Vietnamese overseas representative offices are putting plans in place to bring home more Vietnamese nationals based on their needs and the country’s current quarantine capacity.

Special train transports 56 Chinese experts to Quang Ngai

A special train has been organised to take 56 Chinese experts from Dong Dang railway station in Lang Son province to Dung Quat industrial park in Quang Ngai, with a range of strict novel coronavirus prevention and control measures being applied throughout the journey.

The move comes after Hanoi Railway Transport Joint Stock Company sent a telegram to relevant units, detailing a plan to prepare a train specifically for the purpose of transporting 56 Chinese experts to Quang Ngai on August 5. 

The scheme saw the train transport medical workers and other relevant forces alongside the foreign experts, with three carriages being specifically arranged for the Chinese nationals.

Two staff have been placed in charge of these carriages, with each of them being required to wear protective suits. Indeed, they will be immediately quarantined by the Quang Ngai Department of Health upon their arrival in the province in line with regulations.

Moreover, the railway sector has requested that relevant locations, including stations in Dong Dang, Hanoi, Nghia Binh, and Quang Ngai, devise plans aimed at receiving and guiding passengers to designated places while the entirety of the reception area is blockaded.

Earlier on June 11, the railway sector carried 150 experts by car from Dong Dang railway station to the Lang Son border gate before transporting them by train to continue the journey from Hanoi to Quang Ngai.

Upon their arrival at Quang Ngai station, each of the passengers were placed into quarantine for 14 days in line with COVID-19 regulations.

47 Vietnamese trainees test positive for COVID-19 in Japan

A group of 47 Vietnamese trainees working at Ariake shipyard in Nagasu town of Kumamoto Prefecture (Japan) have been confirmed to be carrying the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to the Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka.

The individuals are among a total of 245 Vietnamese trainees who are currently working at the shipyard in the Japanese town. They are currently in isolation at Ariake healthcare station.

Some other trainees who tested negative for the virus have started to display symptoms such as a fever and shortness of breath, said the Consulate General, adding that 86 others remain waiting for tests till the end of August 6.

Nguyen Xuan Hai, leader of the Vietnamese trainee group, said the group have since received encouragement and advices from the Consulate General along with support, sufficient meals, and other essential items from Ariake shipyard. 

At present, both the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan and the Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka are closely monitoring the situation, taking citizen protection measures and working with the local medical agency to provide treatment for infected cases.

Vietnam confirms ninth COVID-19-related death

A 67-year-old woman who tested positive for COVID-19 linked with the outbreak in the central city of Da Nang has been confirmed dead, marking the ninth COVID-19-related fatality in Vietnam so far.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son on August 6 said the patient is a resident in Quang Nam province that borders Da Nang city.

The patient had been suffering from chronic kidney disease, lupus, diabetes and fungal blood infection. She was brought to the Da Nang Hospital for emergency aid on July 18, according to Son.

Later she was transferred to the Family Hospital in Da Nang and stayed there until July 31.

On August 2, she tested positive for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and was sent back to the Da Nang Hospital.

The next day, she lost consciousness, suffered ulceration at her arm and leg along with slight difficulty breathing.

On August 4, she was put on a ventilator.

On August 6, she fell into deep coma and gradually lost heartbeat. She eventually died at 1:30.

The woman was diagnosed to die of pneumonia, respiratory failure in patients with chronic adrenal insufficiency, Type 2 diabetes and COVID-19, according to the health official.

The previous eight fatalities are aged between 53 and 86. All of them are either residents in Quang Nam or Da Nang and had suffered chronic diseases such as cancer, chronic renal failure and diabetes before getting infected.

Over 200 hotels to provide paid quarantine services

As many as 207 hotels with nearly 23,250 beds in 25 cities and provinces across the country have registered to provide paid quarantine services by July 30, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Special quarantine area

This is part of the efforts to partly help the hospitality industry survive the impacts of the pandemic that has seen travel restrictions and border closures.

Of the accommodations, 41 in the central city of Da Nang where the COVID-19 pandemic has broke out, six in the capital city of Hanoi, nine in the southern largest economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City and 15 hotels in southern Dong Nai.

Other localities where paid quarantine is available now include Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Binh, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Quảng Ngai, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Phu Yen, Lam Dong, Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Can Tho and Kien Giang.

Deputy Director of HCM City’s Tourism Department Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa said the department worked with the city’s Centre for Diseases Control and other agencies to select qualified locations to provide paid quarantine.

By 6:00 pm on August 5, the country had reported 713 COVID-19 cases, including 309 imported ones that have been quarantined right after their arrival, and 264 new cases related to the central city of Da Nang since July 25.

Currently 1,565 people are being quarantined at hospitals, 20,645 at other concentrated facilities, and 97,831 others at home./.

Four more COVID-19 cases reported on August 6 morning

Vietnam on August 6 morning reported four people infected with the coronavirus, including one in Hanoi and three in the central province of Quang Nam, according to the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The three from Quang Nam, aged 42 – 45, are all F1 cases who had close contact with other COVID-19 patients.

The Hanoi patient, a 42-year-old man and bus operator, lives in Phuc Dien, Bac Tu Liem district. He was on a vacation with his family in the central city of Da Nang from July 14 – 17.

He showed signs of fever and sore throat on July 19 and was admitted to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases No.2 on the outskirts of Hanoi on August 4.

With the latest update, Vietnam’s tally now stands at 717, including 309 imported cases that were quarantined upon arrival, and 268 connected to the Da Nang outbreak as from July 25.

As many as 381 patients have recovered so far and eight died.

Among the remaining active patients, 22 have tested negative for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 once and 11 others at least twice.

A total of 170,457 people who had close contact with those infected with the virus or returned from pandemic-hit areas are being quarantined nationwide, including 6,717 at hospitals, 23,356 at State-designated quarantine facilities and 140,384 at home.

Earlier, Vietnam on August 5 afternoon recorded another 41 cases positive to the SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19, according to the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Binh Dinh, Hai Phong send medical staff to help Da Nang fight COVID-19

Vice Chairman of the Binh Dinh Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Tuan Thanh has said that a working delegation of medical staff will head to the central city of Da Nang on August 6 to help it fight COVID-19.

Thanh said on August 5 that Binh Dinh is focusing all its resources on preventing the coronavirus from entering the province, as neighbouring Quang Ngai has reported cases of infection.

In a spirit of “fighting the disease like fighting the enemy”, however, Binh Dinh will still send 25 physicians, doctors, and nurses to help Da Nang, which has recorded more than 140 cases in the last 10 days.

Meanwhile, a team of medical workers from the northern city of Hai Phong are flying to the central city on August 5.

Hai Phong has also given Da Nang and Quang Nam province 5 billion VND (216,800 USD) and 200,000 medical face masks each.

Over 220 Vietnamese citizens brought home safely from Japan

More than 220 Vietnamese citizens were brought home from Japan on a flight of budget carrier Vietjet Air on August 5.

The flight was arranged by Vietnamese authorities, the Embassy of Vietnam in Japan and the carrier, together with Japanese relevant agencies.

The passengers included children under 18, the elderly, pregnant women, the ill, workers with expired labour contracts and students without accommodations and those in extremely disadvantaged circumstances.

The Vietnamese Embassy sent its staff members to help the citizens with boarding procedures at the airport.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, disease prevention measures were carried out during the flight. Upon landing at Cam Ranh International Airport in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, the flight crew and all passengers were given heath examinations and quarantined in line with regulations.

Vietnamese authorities and overseas missions plan to arrange more flights to fly more Vietnamese citizens home, depending on their need and quarantine capacity at home.

Donors present 500 respirators to support fight against COVID-19

The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) on August 5 received 500 made-in-Vietnam respirators worth 120 billion VND (5.21 million USD) from donors to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The assistance was presented by Van Lang University, the Van Thinh Phat Group, and the Metran Company.

The VFF also received an additional 11.7 billion VND from Truong Quoc Chinh, owner of Hoa Lan Resort, together with the national association of orchid lovers.

At the handover ceremony, President of the VFF Central Committee Tran Thanh Man spoke highly of the support provided in recent times, adding that it demonstrates the patriotism and social responsibility of organisations and individuals at home and abroad in the fight against the pandemic.

Donations in excess of 2.1 trillion VND in cash and kind have been offered to the VFF and its affiliates nationwide, Man noted.

Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long underlined that the country’s health system has spared no efforts to help Da Nang and nearby Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces tackle COVID-19.

The provision of the 500 respirators also proves Vietnam’s potential in manufacturing high-tech medical equipment, he noted, vowing that the Ministry of Health will quickly send the machines to hospitals providing treatment to COVID-19 patients.

Da Nang quarantines Hai Chau district’s health clinic

Authorities of the central city of Da Nang applied a 14-day quarantine to all staff, patients and their caregivers at the Hai Chau district’s health clinic, starting at 12:00 of August 5.

The measure may be extended depending on the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier, due to complexities brought about by COVID-19, lockdown measures were introduced at the Da Nang C Hospital, the Da Nang Hospital, the Da Nang Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation Hospital, and Cam Le district’s health clinic.

From August 5, those who are in quarantine in the city need to make health declarations and travel history as well as the people having close contact with them in the past two weeks.

As of 18:00 the same day, 193 COVID-19 infections had been confirmed in Da Nang.

According to the municipal Health Department, since July 25, the city has identified 8,656 people having close contact with COVID-19 patients. Of the figure, some 4,240 people are quarantined at health establishments and 4,315 at concentrated facilities.

HCM City fines people for not wearing face masks in public from Aug. 5

All people in Ho Chi Minh City, who do not wear face masks at public places, will be fined 100,000-300,000 VND from August 4.

 Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong has recently made the request, given the fact that wearing face masks can avoid spreading the virus to others and protect users’ health.

 In late March, HCM City and many localities nationwide punished people for not wearing face masks at public places, with a popular amount of 200,000 VND. In around one month, the city fined over 4,300 cases with nearly 870 million VND.

 Units in the city have committed to ensuring enough face masks for locals

 HCM City has so far recorded 70 COVID-19 infections, including 62 having fully recovered.

Vietnam receives medicine from Cuba to fight COVID-19

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on August 5 to receive a batch of medicine from Cuba to help Vietnam fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The medicine, interferon Alfa 2B produced by Cuba, is of special importance in treating the COVID-19 heavy cases. The whole batch was immediately transferred to Da Nang and Quang Nam.

Besides, a group of Cuban health experts has been sent to Vietnam to support the fight.

Speaking at the ceremony, Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, member of the Party Central Committee and Deputy Defence Minister, expressed gratitude to the Cuban people for their special sentiment to Vietnam, especially in this difficult time, and affirmed that this is a fine tradition in the bilateral solidarity and friendship.

The official also said he hopes for coordination from offices and units in implementing cooperation activities with Cuba in the time to come.

For her part, Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys Torres Rivera said the handover of the medicine to assist Vietnam in the fight against the pandemic helps affirm the desire to boost bilateral cooperation in the medical and pharmaceutical fields with Vietnam, contributing to the bilateral relations of comprehensive cooperation.

The diplomat expressed her hope that the two sides will continue their efforts to maintain and intensify the fine traditional relations, showing to the world the strength of solidarity and cooperation in effectively fighting the common challenges of the mankind.

Drastic measures needed to prevent spread of COVID-19: Health official

Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long has urged health departments in all 63 cities and provinces of the country to take all measures possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which has become more complex with a higher speed of transmission in the community.

At a virtual meeting with directors of the health departments on August 5, Long said the ministry has for the first time sent officials, professors, and experts to the central region, in particular Da Nang and Quang Nam - the two hotspots at present - to stamp out the disease as soon as possible.

The containment of the pandemic is not only required in Da Nang and Quang Nam but in all cities and provinces throughout the country, he said, adding that more efforts are needed to win the fight.

He cited Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc as saying that “Each citizen is a soldier, and each house, hamlet, residential area is a fortress in the fight against the pandemic”.

For the health sector, Long said, each health facility is a fortress and each health worker is a soldier in the frontlines against the pandemic.

The official urged localities where there are no infections to prepare human resources and facilities in case the disease spreads widely.

The health departments in all 63 cities and provinces have been ordered to check testing facilities and encourage people to download the Bluezone contract tracing app.

Myanmar provides aid for street children during COVID-19 pandemic

Myanmar's Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement has provided aid for street children from Mandalay and Yangon region during COVID-19 pandemic under a project plan regarding preventive measures and response to COVID-19, according to a ministry's official.

U Swan Yi Ya, director of the vulnerable group section under the Rehabilitation Department, said the ministry initiated this project in 12 townships of Yangon region and six townships of Mandalay region to protect street children from the COVID-19 by cooperating with development partners.

A total of 265 street children including their families from Yangon region and 200 households which have street children from Mandalay region were provided with 14 types of basic food items, he said.

By providing basic food items to the street children and their families, it will solve the problem of living somehow, he added.

Myanmar had reported 355 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with six deaths as of August 5 morning, according to figures released by the country’s Health and Sports Ministry.

Philippines re-imposes partial lockdown on Luzon amid surge in COVID-19 cases

More than 27 million people in the Philippines' main island of Luzon, including the capital Manila, went back to a partial lockdown for weeks from August 4.

People have been told to stay home unless they need to go out for essential goods, exercise or work since the Philippines has emerged as a new coronavirus hotspot in Asia with the number of recorded infections surging past 100,000.

With only 24 hours' notice of the shutdown, many found themselves stranded in Manila and unable to get back to their hometowns after public transport and domestic flights were halted.

Commuter trains, buses and other public vehicles stayed off the main roads in the Philippine and police were again staffing checkpoints to restrict public travel.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that goverments and citizens should focus on what are known to work – testing, contact tracing, maintaining physical distance and wearing a mask.

Cambodia removes COVID-19 testing requirement for some schools

The Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) has confirmed that several schools will no longer require their staff and students to conduct COVID-19 tests when they are allowed to reopen this month.

The Khmer Times quoted the MoEYS spokesman Ros Soveachea said the ministry and the Ministry of Health agreed that if students, their parents, or staff members of 20 education institutions in the first phase of school re-opening returned from an oversea trip before early June, or have not travelled outside of Cambodia, they do not need to undergo COVID-19 tests.

This proposal was approved by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

However, the MoEYS has yet to confirm which 20 schools will be opened in the coming days, despite many staff already returning to campuses and the schools’ names widely circulated online.

The official noted the ministry is continuing to discuss technical details of “Schools Re-opening Phase One” with the approved 20 schools, which also have to discuss further details with students’ parents for mutual agreement.

The ministry previously said that the approved 20 schools would need to follow the health measures set by the Health Ministry and the World Health Organisation.

The schools must keep their environment clean. Each class must not have more than 15 students while social distancing must be strictly enforced.

As of August 4 morning, Cambodia recorded 241 COVID-19 cases, including 200 recoveries.

Lang Son detects 27 people attempting to illegally enter Vietnam

Border guards operating in Lang Son province have successfully seized 27 Vietnamese citizens after detecting them attempting to illegally enter the country from China.

The main group, made up of 25 Vietnamese nationals, were caught at 20:30 on August 4 at national border in Na Han village of Tan Thanh commune, in addition to another location at national border in Kho Da village of Tan My commune in Van Lang district. At the time of their arrest the party was in the process of attempting to illegally enter the country. 

The arrested people include 14 men and 11 women from across the north of the nation, including Bak Kan, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, and Thanh Hoa.

Upon being questioned by police, the Vietnamese nationals admitted to illegally leaving the country from 2019 through the northern border in order to work in Guangdong and Fujian provinces in China.

In addition to these arrests, a woman and her child were also apprehended on August 5 by police as they were trying to illegally enter the nation at national border milestone in Kho Da village.

Following their detection, each individual has undergone a heath examination before being immediately transferred to concentrated quarantine facilities in line with regulations.