Deputy Prime Minister Vuc Duc Dam chairs the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

The spread of COVID-19 in central Da Nang city and Quang Nam province has been gradually contained and the situation is expected to be under control by late August, according to Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

At a meeting of the national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control in Hanoi on August 18, Long said the number of new infections in Da Nang and Quang Nam has fallen in recent days, from an average of 20 cases a day from August 3 to 9 to about 10 cases from August 10 to 17.

New hotspots may still appear nationwide, he warned, and he demanded that all localities remain on high alert to detect new cases in a timely manner, as the sooner infections are found the more effective efforts to stamp out the disease will be.

He pointed out that although experts have issued strong warnings, people are not sufficiently vigilant against transmission.

He called for dramatic solutions to slow down and limit transmissions, calling on all people to install the Bluezone contact tracing app and the NCOVI health declaration app on their smartphones.

Regarding the development of a vaccine, Tran Dac Phu, advisor to Vietnam’s public health emergency operations centre, said many countries have conducted COVID-19 vaccine tests on animals before conducting human trials.

If vaccines used in other countries are imported, Vietnam will not test them on animals but will do so on humans to ensure their effectiveness and safety. This process often lasts between six months and a year or even several years before widespread vaccinations, he noted.

Before effective vaccines or specialised medicine are available, people must remain on guard for a long period of time in a spirit of “safely adapting to the pandemic”, experts have urged.

They also proposed warning levels for COVID-19 be raised, especially in major cities and populous regions, while protecting medical facilities, retirement homes, and social protection centres, as well as frontline forces, from transmission.

Members of the steering committee asked the Ministry of Health to continue enhancing testing capacity and requested that localities strictly quarantine the more than 100,000 foreign experts and workers entering the country.

Asking for more technical solutions to trace high-risk people, they said that aside from encouraging people to use Bluezone and NCOVI, it is also necessary to make it compulsory for foreigners entering Vietnam or those with second- or third-hand contact with confirmed cases to install these apps.

One former COVID-19 patient dies due to serious chronic diseases

Patient 418, who had tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 four times on August 4, 10, 11 and 12, died on August 12 due to complications of chronic renal failure at the Hue Central Hospital, the Health Ministry’s special task force for COVID-19 prevention and control reported on August 18.

The 61-year-old man, residing in Thanh Binh ward, Hai Chau district, Da Nang city, had hypertension, chronic renal failure, diabetes type 2 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Doctors attributed the death to septic shocks, multi-organ failure, hypertension, diabetes type 2 and chronical obstructive pulmonary disease.

The same day, the Hue Central Hospital announced the recovery of six COVID-19 cases, including one tested negative for the virus for six times and allowed to be quarantined at home.

The other five have serious underlying chronical diseases and tested negative for the virus from three to eight times. They are scheduled to be moved to Da Nang Hospital C in the central city of Da Nang for further treatment.

Disinfectant allocated from reserves to Quang Nam, Health Ministry

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has decided to allocate disinfectant from the national reserves to help ministries, sectors and localities to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Accordingly, one tonne of Chloramin B solution will be sent to the central province of Quang Nam, one of the country’s current COVID-19 hotspots, while one tonne of Chloramin B and 7 million of Aquatabs 67mg water purification tablets will be provided for the Ministry of Health (MoH) free-of-charge.

The MoH is responsible for the collection of data as well as the management, distribution and usage of the aid in line with regulations.

As of August 19 morning, Vietnam has so far confirmed 989 infections. Of which, 649 are locally-transmitted cases, including 509 linked to the pandemic hotspot in the central city of Da Nang since July 25.

No new COVID-19 cases over 12 hours

Vietnam has reported no new coronavirus cases during the past 12 hours, keeping its tally of infections unchanged at 989, while the death toll caused by the disease remains at 26.

The Ministry of Health said the epidemic in Da Nang, the epicenter in the country’s largest outbreak, seemed to be under control as the number of confirmed infections has decreased over the past few days. 

As of 6.00hrs August 19, Vietnam has registered 649 community acquired cases, including 509 cases tied to the Da Nang outbreak. The remaining 340 cases were infected with the virus before they returned to Vietnam.

The new outbreak has spread to 15 cities and provinces since the SARS-CoV-2 virus recurred in Da Nang three weeks ago. Da Nang is the hardest hit locality, recording more than 300 cases, followed by Quang Nam, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Duong and Ha Noi.

Of the 989 cases Vietnam has confirmed since January this year, 525 cases have been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery. The remaining 464 cases are receiving treatment at medical facilities across the country with 100 cases having tested negative at least once.

The death toll caused by the disease has risen to 26 after two more fatalities were announced on August 18. Most of the fatalities were elderly people who suffered from serious illnesses such as end-stage kidney cancer, severe pneumonia, diabetes and multi-organ failure. 

Hai Duong conducts extensive COVID-19 testing as outbreak spreads

The northern province of Hai Duong has decided to conduct an extensive COVID-19 testing campaign to early detect and quarantine coronavirus cases after a new outbreak spread in the locality with 11 cases confirmed.

People who are required to have ELISA/RT-PCR tests include those who have contact with COVID-19 cases, quarantined people, patients with underlying illnesses under treatment at medical facilities, and those with virus symptoms such as a fever, a cough or shortness of breath. 

Mandatory tests also apply to those who illegally entered the province and those who returned from Da Nang, the country’s largest coronavirus outbreak, as from July 21.

The Hai Duong Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control requested local authorities at all levels to urgently set up teams to monitor the health of people in the community and oversee the implementation of preventive measures so as to early detect suspected cases.

The local governments were required to collaborate closely with the medical sector and the police to carry out the extensive COVID-19 testing campaign to ensure all people subject to testing must be sampled.  

Currently, Hai Duong has tested about 2,000 people, and it has been tracing thousands of cases for testing. It has imposed travel restrictions on Hai Duong city, its capital, to prevent the virus spread wider in the community.

The Ministry of Health has sent its leading epidemiologists to assist Hai Duong in testing and treating patients.

Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long warned the number of infections in Hai Duong may rise in the coming days as the results of genetic sequencing showed that the Hai Duong strain was similar to the one detected in Da Nang.

Health ministry launches mini game on COVID-19

The Ministry of Health on August 18 launched a mini game through its Lotus fan page, to raise public awareness about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those wanting to play need only open https://challenge.lotus.vn/viet-nam-niem-tin-chien-thang and follow the instructions.

Each player must complete ten multiple choice questions regarding the pandemic in ten minutes. The winner will receive a Kangaroo air filter and a voucher on online shopping platform Lazada worth 1 million VND (43 USD), while each of the three second-prize winners will receive hand sanitiser and a 1 million VND voucher at Lazada.

There will be 10 extra prizes of hand sanitiser and a Lazada voucher worth 200,000 VND.

Since it was officially launched on March 15, Lotus has over 11,000 followers and more than 2 million visitors.

The fan page publishes directions relating to the pandemic from the Government, the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, and the ministry, and provides updated information on the situation in Vietnam and around the world. Opening the fan page expresses the ministry’s determination to intensify communications to raise public awareness about the pandemic.

Subscribers to the official fan page must download the Lotus app from the Appstore or CH Play on mobile phones or tablets.

Two more train services suspended for virus prevention

Two trains on the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route have just been suspended as part of Covid-19 prevention efforts.

The Vietnam Railway Corporation has announced that SE5 and SE6 train services have been suspended since August 17-8 until further notice.

"Passengers who had bought tickets on these trains can contact the Hanoi or Saigon stations to have their tickets returned or changed to other trains free of charge, the corporation said.

Several trains running from Saigon to some central and coastal provinces including Danang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Nha Trang, and Phan were previously suspended for Covid-19 prevention.

After these suspensions, there are now only four trains operating daily including SE1, SE2, SE7, and SE8.

Train passengers are requested to follow virus prevention regulations including making health declarations, having body temperature checked at stations, wearing face masks, and avoiding going between carriages if unnecessary.

Additional 20 COVID-19 patients receive discharge from hospital

A total of 20 imported novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, including 18 workers who recently arrived from Equatorial Guinea, have made a full recovery from the virus, following an announcement made on the afternoon of August 18. 

According to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, a total of 219 Vietnamese workers returning from Equatorial Guinea were placed into quarantine at the hospital upon their arrival on July 29.

In addition to the 18 recovered cases on August 18, 201 of the arrivals from Equatorial Guinea have completed their quarantine period and have tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus three consecutive times.

This comes on the same day that one COVID-19 patient who had returned from Bangladesh was discharged from the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

Furthermore, a man who recently came back from Russia was also announced to have made a full recovery from COVID-19 at the General Hospital in the northern province of Hoa Binh.

All 20 recoveries have shown no symptoms of the virus, such as a fever, a cough, or shortness of breath. They must now undergo a mandatory 14-day isolation period in line with COVID-19 prevention and control regulations.

As of 6:00 a.m., the nation has recorded 983 COVID-19 patients, 645 of whom are cases of community transmission, with 25 fatalities being recorded thus far. 

Most notably, a total of 31 cases on August 18 were recorded to have made a successful recovery from the virus.

Additional 29 COVID-19 patients given all-clear

Twenty-nine more COVID-19 patients who were treated in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue and central Da Nang city were declared to be clear of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus on August 18.

The Hue Central Hospital successfully treated six patients while 23 others were discharged from the Hoa Vang COVID-19 Treatment Hospital.

Prof. Dr. Pham Nhu Hiep, Director of the Hue Central Hospital, said all those discharged have had serious health problems since admission.

As of August 15, Thua Thien-Hue had recorded no cases of community transmission.

Seventy-six COVID-19 patients in Da Nang have been declared as fully recovered.

On the same day, the health sector in central Quang Nam province reported that 11 COVID-19 patients in the locality have fully recovered. The General Hospital of northern Hoa Binh province also successfully treated one patient, who returned to Vietnam from Russia with a transit in Belarus.

Donations continue to strengthen COVID-19 fight

More donations in cash and kind have been made to support the fight against COVID-19 in the central city of Da Nang and in HCM City.

The Da Nang Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Committee on August 18 received almost 1.8 billion VND (78,000 USD) in cash and over 2.24 billion VND worth of equipment from the organisers of an online music show raising funds for the coronavirus fight.

Programme organisers said they will present the remaining donations to neighbouring Quang Nam province in the next few days.

On the same day, the Thanh nien (Young people) newspaper handed over blood filtering equipment worth 1.2 billion VND as well as a ventilator to the Da Nang Health Department. The city’s Department of Construction also sent 100 million VND to local anti-COVID-19 forces.

In HCM City, a local fund for COVID-19 prevention and control had received donations of over 230 billion VND in cash and kind as of August 17, about 116 billion VND of which was handed over to frontline forces and those facing pandemic-related difficulties.

Money and goods, including rice, protective gear, hand sanitiser, and medical face masks from the fund have been delivered to Da Nang and Quang Nam, which are hotspots for the current COVID-19 outbreak, HCM City’s health workers engaged in fighting the virus Da Nang, and border guards tasked with pandemic prevention in the northern border provinces of Ha Giang and Son La, according to President of the HCM City VFF Committee To Thi Bich Chau.

The committee is set to continue working with relevant parties to step up communications to raise more donations and distribute support to anti-COVID-19 forces and those affected in the time ahead.

Philippines begins clinical trials for anti-flu drug

The Philippine started its 90-day clinical trials for Avigan, Japan’s anti-flu drug, on August 17 to study the efficacy of the drug against COVID-19.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the clinical trials will include just four hospitals in Metro Manila initially but more will be included in the future.

Avigan is the brand name of favipiravir, an antiviral drug manufactured by a subsidiary of Japanese firm Fujifilm Holdings Corp., which is seen as a potential treatment for COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

The first set of patients will be given the existing supportive care provided at the hospitals. The second group will receive the same on top of being administered with the drug.

Fujifilm Holdings said last week that it expects to complete clinical tests in Japan of Avigan in September and seek approval.

In the Philippines, 164,474 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded as of August 17, including 2,681 deaths.

Malaysia, Singapore resume cross-border travel

Cross-border travel between Malaysia and Singapore resumed on August 17 after being shut since March to stem the coronavirus outbreak.

However, the reopening of one of the world's busiest land crossing was tightly controlled with only a maximum of about 2,060 people allowed to cross daily on both sides.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, that led to Malaysia shutting the border on March 18, more than 300,000 people travelled between the two countries daily via the two bridges connecting Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.

Out of these were some 100,000 Malaysians who commute to and from Singapore for work or study, and now many are stranded.

Malaysia and Singapore jointly formulated two sets of COVID-19 travel protocols: "Reciprocal Green Lane" and "Periodic Commuting Arrangement."

Under RGL, only 400 people are allowed per week, while for PCA, quota is 2,000 a day.

The two countries have declared the coronavirus outbreak in their respective countries as under control.

Malaysia has to date recorded over 9,200 with 125 fatalities, and Singapore has reported more than 55,000 cases and 27 deaths.

Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGT