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The South-Central Province of Khanh Hoa authority decided to close bars and dance clubs and non-essential services from August 10. 

Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Dac Tai has signed a decision for Covid-19 prevention. Under the decision, the provincial authority ordered to temporarily close karaoke salons, bars, pubs, discotheques as well as stop all festivals, religious ceremonies, wedding parties and gathers of crowd in public places except hospitals and schools.

Other business establishments are allowed to open but they have to apply preventative measures including providing protective costumes for employees, screening customers’ temperature, hand sanitizers. All employees must wear facemask and ensure safe distance.

The province encouraged residents not to go out when unnecessary. Anyone who want to go out must wear facemasks and strictly adhere to the Covid-19 prevention regulations.

Director of the provincial Department of Health Dr. Bui Xuan Minh said that from July 25 to now, four Covid-19 cases have been recorded including three people from foreign countries who were isolated right after landing in the country .

First four patients in Da Nang hotspot recover from COVID-19

The Da Nang Hospital for Lung Diseases announced on August 10 that it has discharged an additional four novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients after making a successful recovery from the disease. 

Of the discharged cases, three of the patients are residents of Da Nang, whilst the other hails from the central province of Quang Ngai.

At present each of the patients is in a stable health condition and are showing no symptoms of the virus such as a high temperature, a cough, or shortness of breath.

Moving forward, the group will be placed into quarantine for a period of 14 days in line with regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control.

Da Nang has become the epicentre of the latest coronavirus outbreak which occured in late July. It has since registered a total of 242 cases, including 184 at a field hospital in Hoa Vang district, in addition to 58 at the Da Nang Hospital for Lung Diseases. Most notably, the majority of them have since gone on to test negative between one and four times for SARS-CoV-2.

As of August 10, the nation has recorded a total of 841 COVID-19 cases. Of the figure, there have been 13 fatalities, with the majority of the deceased suffering from multiple underlying health issues and chronic diseases. 

Social distancing orders strengthened in Da Nang

Authorities in Đà Nẵng are implementing strict social distancing measures for markets, meaning households will receive tickets for odd or even days to limit crowds.

Sellers will have to stockpile enough goods for two days and shoppers will be able to visit the stalls twice a week.

The city’s department of industry and trade said all supermarkets will provide door-to-door delivery services for online and call orders from customers.

Health declarations and body temperature checks are mandatory for everyone visiting traditional markets and supermarkets in the city.

The central city’s information and communications department has launched a COVID-19 map at http://covidmaps.danang.gov.vn – that helps users see quarantine centres, lockdown zones, living quarters and itineraries of COVID-19 patients.

Earlier, the department also started a COVID-19 database for local people at http://congdulieu.vn and opendata.danang.gov.vn, providing information related to COVID-19.

A daily COVID-19 bulletin is available on Zalo or 1022 switchboard.

The city’s health department said two locked down hospitals – the General Hospital and the hospital for Rehabilitation and Orthopaedics – would reopen on August 11 after a two-week closure, while barriers blocking streets (Hải Phòng, Quang Trung and Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai) surrounding the hospitals would be removed the same day.

The department said medical samples of all doctors, nurses and residents at the lockdown zones had tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 twice. The C Hospital, which is included in the lockdown zone, reopened last Saturday. 

Ministry sets up five mission teams for inspecting Covid-19 prevention task

Acting Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long yesterday signed decisions to set up five mission teams for inspecting  Covid-19 prevention task.

Five mission teams will inspect Covid-19 prevention task in localities. The acting Minister has assigned the Department of Health Examination and Treatment and leaders of the mission teams to announce inspection schedule to hospitals.

On the same day, the Ministry issued a guidance document on testing applied in medical clinics and infirmaries countrywide. The document guided to reduce chemical quantity and improve testing quality.
The Ministry requested the institutes of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Pasteur institutes nationwide to be responsible for training of local administrators and health workers.

The steering boards for Covid-19 prevention and control in cities and provinces are responsible for directing testing based on facilities of health institutions.

Presently, there are 121 testing labs which can perform tests of SARS-CoV-2 with RT-PCR technique. So far, these establishments have tested more than 537,000 samples.

Also yesterday, acting Health Minister Thanh Long and the Ministry’s mission team worked with the Steering Board of Covid-19 Prevention and Control in Hanoi with the participation of Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung.

The acting Health Minister agreed that Hanoi should raise alert to higher level in risk areas stressing the significance of testing as key factor in preventing the pandemic; so far, labs in Hanoi have tested 70,000 samples.

The Ministry leader expected Hanoi-based infirmaries to carry out tests on suspected cases and health workers in high risk places. Director of the Department of Health in Hanoi Nguyen Khac Hien said that around 96,579 people returned to the capital city from the Central City of Da Nang; therefore, medical clinics must work relentlessly to test all samples.

Two more COVID-19 fatalities reported, death toll at 13

Two more COVID-19 patients died early August 10, raising the country’s total death toll to 13, said Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son later the same day.

Both are women residing in the central city of Da Nang who had been suffering from end-stage chronic kidney failure.

One of the latest fatalities was Patient No.430 who also had history of heart failure, high blood pressure and sepsis. The cause of her death were diagnosed as COVID-19-related acute pneumonia, multi-organ dysfunction, septic shock on end-stage chronic kidney failure and heart failure.

The other was 47-year-old patient No.737, who had record of heart problems and hypertension. She died of heart problems, end-stage chronic kidney failure and COVID-19.

Vietnam reported no new coronavirus cases between 6 pm August 9 to 6 am August 10, keeping the national count at 841, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Of the total cases, there are 317 imported ones who were quarantined right upon arrival.

Meanwhile, the number of patients related to the Da Nang outbreak since July 25, the current pandemic hotspot, has amounted to 384. 

Three hotels in Hue to operate as quarantine facilities

As part of the efforts of the local government to better control the coronavirus outbreak and help guests feel more comfortable, three establishments in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue have been given the green light to operate as paid quarantine centers for guests in need, according to information unveiled by the provincial Department of Tourism after the meeting by the Provincial Steering Committee for Covid-19 Epidemic Prevention yesterday, August 8.

Accordingly, the committee assigned the Department of Tourism with coordinating with the Department of Health to complete procedures so the hotels can immediately begin operations. The hotels comprise Sun and Sea Resort (near Thuan An beach, Phu Vang District), the Dien Bien Hotel (7 Dien Bien Phu Street, Hue City) and the Nursing Center for People with Merits (Lang Co Town).

The tariff ranges from VND1 to 1.8 million/room/night depending on the kind of room, while the F&B service is priced from VND250,000 to 500,000 a person. Meanwhile, quarantined guests can pay from VND500,000 to VND1 million/room/night to stay at the Dien Bien Hotel and from VND600,000 to VND1 million/room/night at the nursing center.

According to Nguyen Van Phuc, deputy director of the Thua Thien-Hue Tourism Department, part of Sun and Sea Resort had been used as a quarantine center before, so it was allowed to welcome one Dutch and two Vietnamese guests who needed to be quarantined some days ago. The two other hotels will welcome guests next weekend following final inspections.

Phuc said people in need can send requirement letters to the steering committee for approval. They must first get a negative result from the SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test, a  mandatory condition to be allowed to stay at the three hotels.

Meanwhile, service staff at these three hotels must also stay at the hotels and be assisted by medical staff to monitor their health.

At the meeting, Phan Ngoc Tho, Chairman of Thua Thien-Hue Provincial People's Committee, emphasized the need for teamwork to fight the pandemic.

Tho suggested that all locals with smartphones must immediately install the Bluezone application to detect close contact with Covid-19-infected people.

Passengers on flight and coach with Covid-19 patients tracked

All passengers who boarded a Vietjet Air flight from Hanoi to Nha Trang and a coach from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City that carried Covid-19 infection cases are being asked to contact authorities for health monitoring.

The Ministry of Health on Sunday evening announced that passengers on flight VJ770 from Hanoi to Nha Trang on July 30 and on coach Ngoc Sang BKS 51B-23417 from Hanoi's Nuoc Ngam Station to Ho Chi Minh City on August 5 must immediately contact local healthcare centres for guidance and viral testing as part of Covid-19 prevention efforts.

The passengers were also requested to call one of the phone numbers including the ministry's hotline at 1900.9095, CDC HCM City at 0869.577.133, CDC Hanoi at 0969.082.115 or 0949.396.115, and CDC Khanh Hoa at 0911.662.233 to provide phone numbers of people who have contacted with them.

Passengers are also asked to make online health declarations at https://tokhaiyte.vn or download the NCOVI app from the website https://ncovi.vn and constantly update their health status.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Health confirmed no new Covid-19 patients on Monday morning, marking the first morning without new infections announced since July 25 when the Danang outbreak started.

According to the Ministry of Health, by 6 am on August 10, Vietnam registered 841 Covid-19 cases, including 317 from abroad and 395 released from hospital for their full recovery.

Since July 25, the pandemic has spread to 15 cities and provinces in Vietnam with up to 384 community infection cases.

Traffic safety must be ensured in face of COVID-19: PM Phuc

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered relevant ministries, authorities and heads of the provincial and centrally-run cities to exert efforts so as to ensure traffic safety in face of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

In a document, the leader ordered them to ensure traffic safety and seriously implement provisions on the fight and control of the pandemic for students taking the two-day 2020 high-school graduation exam.

On August 9, nearly 867,000 throughout the country started their first day of the exam. The preparation and holding of the exam were ensured to facilitate them and prevent the spread of the pandemic.

The PM said authorities must prepare suitable transport plans to ensure the need for travel as well as for pandemic prevention in the coming National Day (September 2) and the start of the new school year which will come only days after that.

Transport service providers must absolutely abide by legal provisions on this work, he said, adding localities must deal with problems on key roads prone to accidents in the days to come.

Besides, local authorities need to intensify the communications work on traffic safety and pandemic fight to help improve the people’s awareness on this matter, PM Phuc said.

343 Vietnamese nationals repatriated from South Korea

A flight transporting 343 Vietnamese people from South Korea for Covid-19 prevention landed at HCM City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport on Sunday.

Upon arrival, the people, including six children aged below one and eight pregnant women, were taken to a quarantine centre of the People's Police Higher School in the southern province of Dong Nai. Sterilisation and health declarations were then carried out.  

The first Covid-19 tests will be conducted for the newly-arrived today, August 10. Anyone who tested positive for the virus will be sent to Lung Dong Nai Hospital to be monitored.

This is the third time the school has received a large number of repatriated Vietnamese nationals.

Earlier, the school welcomed people coming back from the UK and Taiwan.

Vietnam sees no fresh coronavirus cases for first time in more than two weeks

The country reported no new cases of COVID-19 for the first time in more than two weeks, with the overall number of coronavirus infections standing at 841, the Ministry of Health said on August 10 morning.

One day earlier, Vietnam confirmed the 11th COVID-19 fatality being a 55-year-old Da Nang resident. She died of the COVID-19-related complication of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multiorgan dysfunction syndrome, and gastrointestinal bleeding.As many as 395 of the total active patients have given the all-clear, reaching a recovery rate of 47%. Among those treatment, nine have tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 that causes the disease once, and 37 others at least twice.

Among the total in treatment, more than 182,260 are being put into isolation for health monitoring. According to the Ministry of Health, the biggest coronavirus epicentre is currently Da Nang General Hospital, the outbreak that has a fast spreading rate with 186 infections and secondary cases within the community.

Since July 23, the nation has confirmed 397 cases of COVID-19, of which 42 were imported ones, and 355 were locally-transmitted infections across 15 provinces and cities.

Meanwhile, at a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control held in Hanoi on August 9, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the committee, ordered all citizens to raise their vigilance and take responsibility in the COVID-19 fight while suggesting every one should use the Bluezone app as a way of helping find and track the people of infection risks, thus delaying the virus spread to the wider community.

By August 10 morning, Vietnam has recorded a total of 841 COVID-19 cases, including 435 in treatment, and 384 cases found in the community following the resurface of the novel coronavirus in central Da Nang city on July 25.

There have been 11 fatalities to date, with all of them suffering from multiple comorbidities, including heart failure, cancer, diabetes and hypertension.

Vietnam confirms 29 new COVID-19 cases 

Vietnam reported another 29 COVID-19 cases on August 9 afternoon, taking the national count to 841, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

People returning from Da Nang - the outbreak of COVID-19 - register for testing

All of the new patients are related to the central city of Da Nang, the current pandemic hotspot.

Of the total cases, 317 are imported who were quarantined right after their arrival

There are currently 178,695 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients or entering Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions are being quarantined nationwide, including 5,252 at hospitals, 27,798 at other concentrated quarantine facilities, and 145,645 at home.

As many as 395 of the total patients have made full recovery. Among those under treatment, nine have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 that causes the disease once, and 37 others at least twice. 

Vietnam confirms 11th COVID-19-related death

A 55-year-old woman in the central city of Da Nang died on August 9, becoming the 11th fatality from COVID-19 in Vietnam, according to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son.

She died of the COVID-19-related complication of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multiorgan dysfunction syndrome, and gastrointestinal bleeding.

All the COVID-19 fatalities in the country so far have either been residents of the city or the nearby Quang Nam province, and had suffered from serious chronic diseases such as cancer, renal failure, and diabetes prior to becoming infected./.

Foreign experts value Vietnam’s response to latest COVID-19 outbreak

Foreign experts have highly evaluated Vietnam’s response to the recurrent outbreak of COVID-19.

In a BBC article published on August 8, Prof Michael Toole, an epidemiologist and principal research fellow at the Burnet Institute in Melbourne (Australia), said: “Like in the first wave, Vietnam has responded quickly and forcefully” when talking about the sudden resurgence of the coronavirus in Da Nang.

This central city sealed itself off from visitors and retreated into full lockdown after Patient 416, the first case of local infection after 99 days without community transmission in Vietnam.

Each resident is set to be tested for the virus, and a field hospital has been erected as every resource is thrown at slowing the spread of the disease, according to the article.

Meanwhile, Hanoi has closed down bars and karaoke parlours as an extra precaution, and several cities, including the capital and Ho Chi Minh City, have made face masks compulsory again in public places.

Prof Rogier van Doorn, director of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit noted: “What was successful before is being done again. I'm again impressed.”

Dr Justin Beardsley, a senior lecturer in infectious diseases at Australia’s University of Sydney, told BBC that Vietnam showed exceptionally strong community engagement when it came to curbing spread of the virus.

"There was big national pride about controlling the pandemic,” he added.

For her part, Dr Huong Le Thu, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the new deaths reported shows that there is transparency in reporting COVID-19 in Vietnam and that previous 'no deaths' should have not been questioned in the first place.

All the fatalities so far have been older patients with co-morbidities.

Everyone must stay on guard against COVID-19 outbreaks: Deputy PM

The risks of further coronavirus outbreaks remain ever-present and everyone must absolutely stay on guard, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said.

While the recent explosion in locally infected cases recorded in Vietnam can mainly be traced back to Da Nang, especially the three hospitals in the city, the risks of virus spread in the community remains significant, Dam said, requiring all localities and the public to be cautious.

He was addressing an emergency meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control held in Hanoi on August 9.

“No one can tell for certain that the coronavirus has been completely eliminated in the community,” he said.

The vigilant spirit must be held high at all times, or a resurgence of the virus could appear like it did recently after months of relaxed measures with no new locally transmitted cases, Dam continued.

He added that if the country continues to well implement anti-pandemic measures, which have been tightened in the last two weeks since the discovery of the first case in Da Nang’s outbreak, "we have the confidence that the outbreak will not explode on a wider scale.”

Not only in the current epicentres of the outbreak like Da Nang or Quang Nam, all protocols are in all localities – with health workers and public security officers at the forefront – have been restarted and been constantly active, Dam said.

Recently, the health ministry sent five inspection teams to local level to assess the readiness, he said.

Assoc. Prof. Tran Dac Phu, former Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, said anti-pandemic measures have been carried out aggressively and effectively in Da Nang, which is now under lockdown.

At this point, it could be said that the outbreak in Da Nang is under control, Phu said.

Le Quang Cuong, former Deputy Minister of Health, asked that information campaigns be enhanced in the future so that public awareness and community-minded spirit would be raised, and everyone would not let their guards down, maintain proper hygiene to protect themselves, their family, and the community in the new normal.

Regarding tests, the steering committee said capacity has been improving a lot compared to previous outbreaks, including the production of test kits and diagnostic machines.

In Da Nang, with the massive number of people needed to be tested in the community, the health ministry decided they would implement ‘pool testing’, where specimens collected from five people would be combined and tested via a single test, said Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

If the test’s results return positive, then all those five people will be tested again individually, Long said.

This will significantly speed up population-level screening, especially in the high-risk groups, the minister said.

“However, no matter how much we raise our testing capacity, we could never be able to conduct testing of all people, even in just a province, in a short timeframe,” Dam said.

“Therefore, the most important and effective measure is to identify cases, fast trace and focus testing on high-risk groups.”

In Da Nang, health workers are processing about 8,000-9,000 specimens a day.

Dam said through the practical lessons and experience obtained in Da Nang recently, guidelines need to be compiled so that other localities could quickly deploy necessary measures when community cases are discovered.

He also urged people to install health declaration and contact tracing apps like NCOVI and Bluezone to better identify potential cases.

Over 310 Vietnamese citizens in RoK brought home

A Vietnam Airlines flight brought home 313 Vietnamese citizens from the Republic of Korea on August 9.

The onboard citizens included under-18-year-old children, the elderly, sick people, labourers having expired contracts, students without accommodation due to the closure of schools’ campus, and people facing other difficulties.

The Vietnamese Embassy in the RoK sent officials to support the citizens at the airport in the RoK.

As part of efforts to prevent COVID-19 pandemic from spreading, security, safety and hygiene measures were strictly implemented throughout the flight.

Right after landing on Tan Son Nhat International Airport, all passengers and crew members received health checks and were sent to quarantine areas.

Laos strengthens COVID-19 prevention measures

The Lao Government has decided to tighten COVID-19 prevention measures in the face of transmission risks.

The Lao Prime Minister’s Office on August 7 issued an urgent announcement of the enhancement of some measures against COVID-19 amid this country’s relaxation of virus containment actions.

The announcement noted that facing the risk of a resurgence of COVID-19 amid the disease’s complex developments in the region and the world, the Lao Government decided to strengthen the enforcement of prevention measures.

In particular, relevant agencies were asked to enhance examination of those exiting from or entering the country so as to detect any illegal entry cases, monitor entertainment venues and karaoke parlours which had been ordered to close temporarily, and deal with any violations of the government’s directives.

Notably, the Foreign Ministry of Laos was assigned to coordinate with the country’s national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control and relevant agencies to prepare for the implementation of “green lane” (fast procedure handling) for Vietnam and China.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, Laos has recorded 20 cases, and the only patient still under treatment is a national of the Republic of Korea who was confirmed positive for the coronavirus on July 23. The remaining 19 patients have been discharged from hospital.

Over 270 Vietnamese citizens brought home from Cyprus, Saudi Arabia

The Vietnamese embassy in Italy, which is also in charge of the Republic of Cyprus, along with the Vietnamese Embassy in Saudi Arabia and the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines coordinated with the hosts’ relevant agencies to bring home over 270 Vietnamese citizens from Cyprus and Saudi Arabia on August 8-9.

Passengers included children under 18 years of age, pregnant women, the elderly, sick people and those facing other special difficulties.

Vietnamese representative agencies abroad worked with counterparts in these countries to facilitate the movement of Vietnamese citizens to the airports as well as support them in the completion of all necessary procedures before boarding.

Security, safety and hygiene measures were seriously implemented during the flight. After landing in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, all passengers and crew members had to undergo medical check-ups and were brought to concentrated quarantine establishments as regulated.

Laos strengthens COVID-19 prevention measures

The Lao Government has decided to tighten COVID-19 prevention measures in the face of transmission risks.

The Lao Prime Minister’s Office on August 7 issued an urgent announcement of the enhancement of some measures against COVID-19 amid this country’s relaxation of virus containment actions.

The announcement noted that facing the risk of a resurgence of COVID-19 amid the disease’s complex developments in the region and the world, the Lao Government decided to strengthen the enforcement of prevention measures.

In particular, relevant agencies were asked to enhance examination of those exiting from or entering the country so as to detect any illegal entry cases, monitor entertainment venues and karaoke parlours which had been ordered to close temporarily, and deal with any violations of the government’s directives.

Notably, the Foreign Ministry of Laos was assigned to coordinate with the country’s national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control and relevant agencies to prepare for the implementation of “green lane” (fast procedure handling) for Vietnam and China.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, Laos has recorded 20 cases, and the only patient still under treatment is a national of the Republic of Korea who was confirmed positive for the coronavirus on July 23. The remaining 19 patients have been discharged from hospital.

More Vietnamese citizens brought home from Canada, RoK

More than 300 Vietnamese citizens were brought home from Canada and the Republic of Korea (RoK) on August 9 and 10, on a flight of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines.

Passengers include children aged under 18, the elderly, the ill, workers with expired visas and labour contracts, students without accommodations, stranded tourists, and those in disadvantaged circumstances.

The Vietnamese Embassies in the two countries sent their staff to assist the citizens to complete all required procedures before boarding the flights.

Strict security, safety and hygiene measures were carried out during the flights to protect the passengers’ health and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

After landing at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, all passengers and crew members were given health checks and quarantined in line with regulations.

Previously, 300 Vietnamese citizens were flown home from Canada and the RoK on August 2 and 3./.