Hieu Trang grocery store at Thanh Xa Intersection in Hai Duong City has been identified as a new COVID-19 cluster in the city after three confirmed COVID-19 cases – Patient 1016, 1021 and 1022, a father, son and grandmother, were linked to the place.

When the cases of Patient 1021 and 1022 announced on Monday morning, the Hai Duong City People’s Committee suspended non-essential services and catering services for non-essential goods.

Food services including those at restaurants and processed food/ ready-to-use food sold at markets’ stalls were also suspended.

Local authorities also asked people not to go out from 10pm to 5am except when urgent. Outdoor activities in public spaces were suspended until further notice.

The city’s Health Department called on people who visited the grocery store between July 29 and August 8 to contact local health care centres for health declaration and disease prevention and control measures.

Those with a fever, cough, sore throat or other COVID-19 symptoms should self-isolate at home and inform the commune health centre.

Also on Monday, Hai Duong Province People’s Committee decided to lockdown the residential group of Thanh Xa Hamlet including Thanh Xa intersection market area and a concrete block producing workshop in the south of Hải Dương City because the two locations directly relate to Patient 1016.

The lockdown will last 28 days.

Among 1,022 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Viet Nam so far, 20 are in Hai Duong Province, with 15 still being treated and five recovered.

Hundreds of Hanoians fined for not wearing face masks

Police raise public awareness about Covid-19 prevention

The police in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem District fined nearly 300 people for not wearing face masks in public on August 23. 

After the pedestrian streets were closed from August 21, the police in Hoan Kiem District inspected several locations such as parking lots and cafe bars and found many people violating Covid-19 prevention regulations.

Colonel Bui Van Dang, deputy head of the Hoan Kiem Police Department, said even though the weekend parking lots were closed and fewer people came to Hoan Kiem Lake, there were still many people at Vietnam-Germany Hospital and Hanoi Obstetrics Hospital so the risks remained.

On the morning of August 23, police fined 297 people for not wearing face masks in public and collected VND59.4m (USD2,500). They also issued warnings to thousands of people who were exercising, going to markets or workplaces.

The police in Hang Bong and Hang Trong wards gave free face masks to travellers in front of the Vietnam-Germany Hospital. The police in 18 wards in Hoan Kiem District have continued co-operating with the medical centres to monitor busy areas around Hoan Kiem Lake and Dong Xuan Market.

COVID-19: No new cases in five straight mornings, tally at 1,022

Vietnam has registered no new coronavirus cases during the past 12 hours, marking the fifth consecutive morning it has been safe from the disease, keeping its tally of infections at 1,022 and death toll at 27.

The Ministry of Health announced six new cases on August 24 evening, including four in Da Nang city and two in Hai Duong province, a gateway to Hanoi capital. 

Hai Duong city, the capital of Hai Duong province, scrambled to isolate another outbreak at Hieu Trang shop where new cases were detected. This is the second outbreak following the first confirmed at a restaurant in the locality more than a week ago.

Hai Duong immediately suspended all catering services and other non-essential services offering beauty make-ups, clothing, cookies, drinks, gold and gemstones, tobacco, home appliances and toys.

As of 06.00hrs August 25, Vietnam has recorded 680 locally acquired coronavirus infections, including 540 cases closely linked to Da Nang outbreak, the country’s largest so far.

Out of 1,022 cases the country has registered so far, 588 cases have been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery.

The remaining 477 cases are receiving treatment at health facilities across the country, with 146 cases having tested negative at least once.

Twenty-seven cases have died of COVID-19 and underlying illnesses such as as end-stage kidney cancer, severe pneumonia, diabetes and multi-organ failure.

Health Ministry debuts music video to mark fight against COVID-19 

“No one is left behind” is an important message that the Ministry of Health wants to deliver in a music video launched on August 24 evening to encourage people of all social strata to join hands to fight against COVID-19.

The MV Vững tin Việt Nam (literally Vietnam is confident to move forward) is a joint product made by  the Ministry of Health, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Vietnam National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health.

Through the release of the MV, the ministry calls on local people to develop habits in order to adapt to a new normal that can cope with the infectious disease and seek a pathway towards economic recovery.

The song has been composed by Pham Minh Thanh, sung by Ha Le, and mixed by Tung Tic of Sony Music Entertainment HK.

Some of the celebrities to feature in the video include football star Bui Tien Dung, adventure lover Tran Dang Dang Khoa, and handicapped individual Nguyen Thi Van.

The majority of the music video was shot in a small alley where residents assist each other in an effort to overcome difficulties faced during daily life. Locals people explain to each other the need to wear face masks, wash their hands, and maintain a two-metre distance from each other in the battle against COVID-19. 

Vietnam conducts over 1 million RT-PCR tests in hunt for COVID-19

A total of 1,009,145 samples had been taken between late January and August 24 in Vietnam for the purpose of RT-PCR testing to check for signs of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) among the local population. 

According to statistics released by the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, 11,698 samples were tested on August 24 alone.

Most notably, the daily capacity of samples for RT-PCR tests over the past month has increased by five to six times in comparison to the previous peaks between March and April.

During the initial 44-day stage from January 22 to March 5, a total of 3,094 samples were taken, while the second 47-day stage between March 6 and April 22 saw 182,109 samples tested.

Furthermore, as many as 237,815 samples were taken during the third 91-day stage from April 23 to July 23, and the fourth 30-day stage from July 24 to the present has witnessed 485,215 samples tested.

The Ministry of Health has licensed 71 laboratories nationwide to conduct RT-PCR tests, with an overall capacity of 34,000 samples per day.

Nearly 320 Vietnamese brought home from Canada

Nearly 320 Vietnamese citizens in Canada were repatriated on a flight that landed at Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh on August 24.

The flight was arranged by Vietnamese authorities, the Vietnamese Embassy in Canada, the national flag carrier Vietnamese Airlines, and relevant agencies of the North American nation.

Passengers included people under 18, the elderly, ill persons, students who finished learning courses but lacked accommodation, workers with expired visas or labour contracts, stranded tourists, and others with special disadvantages.

The Vietnamese Embassy sent staff to assist the citizens in handling boarding procedures at the Toronto international airport.

Security, safety and hygiene measures were carried out throughout the flight to protect their health and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Upon landing at Van Don Airport, those on board received health check-ups and sent to concentrated quarantine facilities.

More flights are set to be conducted in the time ahead to repatriate Vietnamese citizens with disadvantaged circumstances./

HCM City promotes economic development amidst COVID-19

Ho Chi Minh City is exerting every effort to implement the dual tasks of preventing the COVID-19 pandemic and developing the economy, according to Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong.

Addressing a meeting on COVID-19 prevention in the city on August 24, Phong said HCM City has controlled the disease; however, departments and districts should be on guard as the pandemic still develops complicatedly.

In the current situation, he said, it is necessary to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in crowded places such as religious establishments, churches, markets, hospitals, and supermarkets.

The municipal Department of Health reported that as of August 24, the city had recorded 77 COVID-19 patients, including 63 recoveries.

The local health sector has also taken samples of over 54,000 returnees from the central city of Da Nang – where the infections re-emerged in July – for testing. Of whom, six had tested positive for the virus, and the remainders negative.

Tracing drastically suspected cases and those who had close contacts with the patients is the top priority of the health sector to promptly stamp out coronavirus outbreaks.

The city will also increase testing for those from localities with a high number of infections nationwide such as central Quang Nam and Quang Ngai, Hanoi, and northern Hai Duong province./.