Nation braces for fight against COVID-19

On the afternoon of August 4, Acting Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long assigned the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Hanoi Medical University and Bach Mai Hospital to support the Hanoi medical sector in COVID-19 testing, with a focus on returnees from Da Nang – the current hotbed for COVID-19 in Vietnam – and suspected cases.

* The same afternoon, the Treatment Sub-Committee under the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control conducted the seventh consultation session on treatment for COVID-19 patients. Experts made recommendations for each seriously ill patient to better their treatment.

From July 25 until now, Vietnam recorded nearly 260 COVID-19 infections. Within this figure, eight deaths have been reported, with patients with the SARS-CoV-2 virus having multiple underlying conditions and most of them being elderly.

According to Nguyen Trung Cap, Deputy Director of the Hanoi-based National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the outbreak in Da Nang mostly spreads among the groups of patients with chronic kidney failure, those undergoing cancer treatment and those in intensive care for many years.

In these patients, the risk of death is always a potential due to their weak resistance, regardless of COVID-19 infection or not. The addition of COVID-19 is like the “final straw”, causing the death rate to rise abnormally. Therefore, according to Cap, these deaths do not reflect public health or virulence of the corona virus.

Previously, Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long reported that the virus found among patients in the Da Nang outbreak was a new strain, with a higher rate of transmission but its virulence has not increased.

* To support Da Nang in bracing the new outbreaks, Hai Phong City has decided to send a medical team of eight doctors and 25 nurses to the central coastal city this week. At the same time, Hai Phong will support Da Nang and Quang Nam Province with 200,000 medical masks and VND5 billion each.

* On August 4, Thanh Hoa Province reported that four local people returning from Da Nang have showed signs of fever and cough and they have been hospitalised and isolated for testing.

A medical workers is spraying disinfectants at a local isolation camp in Quang Nam Province. (Photo: NDO/Tan Nguyen)

* On the same day, Vice Chairman of Quang Nam People's Committee Tran Van Tan signed a decision to blockade and quarantine a residential area at high risk from Covid-19 in Que Son District for 14 days, from 0:00 on August 5, to strengthen prevention and control of Covid-19 epidemic.

* Also on August 4, Vice Chairman of Quang Nam People's Committee Tran Van Tan signed a decision to blockade and quarantine two residential areas at high risk of COVID-19 infection in Dong Phu Town, Que Son District, for 14 days from 0:00 on August 5. There are two COVID-19 cases and more than 100 related contacts from the areas being isolated and under medical supervision.

* On the same day, Soc Trang Province reported that the 140 Vietnamese citizens repatriated from Canada being isolated at the provincial Military School are in stable health.

Quang Ninh provincial leaders inspect the preparation of the national high school graduation exams in the province. (Photo: NDO/Quang Tho)

* The Ministry of Education and Training has sent a dispatch to the local authorities across the nation on the organising of the national high school graduation exams 2020 amid the new outbreaks of the pandemic. Accordingly, localities under strict social distancing, such as Da Nang and some locales in Quang Nam Province, can delay the organisation of exams, while the remaining localities should organised the exams according to the set plan from August 8 to 10, with serious implementation of measures to prevent and control the epidemic under the guidance from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Training.

* That day, the Minister of Health requested the Departments of Health in provinces and cities across the nation to closely coordinate with the Departments of Education and Training to deploy measures to ensure safety for the high school graduation exams.

* Two flights are scheduled to departure from Da Nang this morning to bring tourists who have been trapped in the city amid the current lockdown back to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as announced by the Da Nang Tourism Department. Airfares are paid by the travellers.

* Thua Thien Hue Province announced that, as of 18:30 on August 4, the whole province had tested 21,156 people returning from COVID-19-hit areas and 14,732 samples were negative for the coronavirus.

Conducting COVID-19 PCR test at Hue Central Hospital. (Photo: NDO/Cong Hau)

* On the same day, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Thua Thien Hue decided to provide over VND1.82 billion from the local COVID-19 fund to support the anti-epidemic work of the Centre for Disease Control and the Steering Committee for Medical Isolation in the province.

* Also that day, the Han River Mutant Orchid Club presented Da Nang Hospital with five Puritan Bennett ventilators worth a total VND2.75 billion.

* On the morning of August 5, the Cong An Nhan Dan (People's Police) Newspaper coordinated with Ngoc Dung Beauty Salon system to donate 7,000 medical protective suits to seven hospitals in Da Nang (each hospital receiving 1,000 medical protective suits), valuing over VND700 million in total.