Quang binh tourism

>>> Vietnam outperforms in people’s satisfaction with gov’t response to COVID-19

>>> Tracing accelerated as more locally-transmitted cases discovered among medical staff

Bac Ninh authorities hosted an urgent meeting to deploy immediate response as the northern province reported nine more cases of COVID-19 linked with a pandemic cluster at the Hanoi-based National Hospital for Tropical Diseases on May 6.

The health sector of Bac Ninh Province has tested over 900 samples and put more than 100 people in isolation.

At the conference, Chairperson of Bac Ninh Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Huong Giang suggested that local departments and agencies should strengthen epidemic prevention and control while accelerating the tracing, localising and stamping out of outbreaks, as well as building plans to ensure safety for the upcoming national election.

Meanwhile, nine cases of COVID-19 associated with the pandemic cluster at the Hanoi-based National Hospital for Tropical Diseases were reported on the morning of May 6.

On the day, the health department of northern Thai Binh Province also reported five new cases linked with the hospital’s pandemic cluster.

Thai Binh has decided to impose social distancing across the province from 12:00 on May 6, while activating anti-COVID-19 groups. Local preschools and students at all levels must remain home from school until further notice.

The two other cases were recorded in the northern province of Hung Yen.

The localities have quickly conducted contract tracing and rolled out measures to seal off pandemic-hit areas.

Located in Hanoi’s outlying district of Dong Anh, the hospital was the frontline facility in the COVID-19 fight. On May 4, a doctor of the hospital was confirmed positive for the coronavirus.

Today, soldiers from the Vietnamese army’s chemical division disinfected the hospital which has been a COVID-19 hotspot in the latest outbreak.

The hospital has been put under 14-day lockdown, starting May 5. About 400 employees of the hospital are being quarantined there. During the lockdown, the hospital will only admit new COVID-19 patients.

A doctor of the Military Hospital 105 has also tested positive for coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19.

The 43-year-old doctor had participated in a training course at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi’s Dong Anh District before the hospital was put under lockdown.

The Military Hospital 105 has defined 22 people who had close contact with him. It has also been taking samples from its staff for COVID-19 testing.

Facing the complicated developments of the epidemic, the People’s Committee of Quang Ninh Province issued an official letter on suspending sightseeing and tourism activities to prevent and combat the epidemic from 12 pm today.

From 0:00 on May 7, Cat Hai District in the neighbouring city of Hai Phong has stopped welcoming tourists, while all religious activities and crowded gatherings in public areas and beaches are also required to halt.

On the May 6, the central city of Da Nang confirmed a new case, a staff member of the New Phuong Dong nightclub. The apartment where the patient lives has been blocked. On May 4, a staff of the nightclub was confirmed positive for the virus.

Locals residing in the 12T3 apartment building provide samples for testing on the morning of May 6, 2021. (Photo: Anh Dao)

Also on May 6, the health sector in the neighbouring province of Quang Ngai announced a new case in Quang Ngai City’s Tinh Ky Commune linked with a pandemic outbreak at the New Phuong Dong nightclub.

Following the detection, local authorities immediately ordered the temporary closure of schools in the commune and a ban on entry of vessels to the area in a bid to curb the spread of the disease.

On the same day, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training required education institutions to adjust their plans to end the second semester tests for local students before May 9.

In the face of complicated developments of COVID-19, high schools in Ha Tinh Province will push the early finish for the second semester exams to before May 8.

Local schools were asked to continue to tighten epidemic prevention and control to ensure safety for students when going to school.

Nghi Xuan High School (Ha Tinh Province) plans to end the second semester exams before May 8 for students in grades 10 and 11. (Photo: NDO/Ngo Tuan)

>>> Vietnam reports 26 new COVID-19 cases on May 5 evening

>>> Measures stepped up against the spread of COVID-19

As of this morning, the country’s caseload stood at 3,030, including 1,634 domestically-transmitted cases, according to the Ministry of Health.

Sixty-four cases have been recorded since the latest outbreak hit the country on April 27. The National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi’s Dong Anh District, the frontline facility in the COVID-19 fight, has recorded 22 cases in the new outbreak.

As many as 2,560 patients have been given the all-clear. Among the patients under treatment, 24 have tested negative for the coronavirus once, 12 twice and 38 thrice.

A total of 40,736 people are under medical monitoring nationwide, with 560 at hospitals, 21,733 at State-designed quarantine establishments, and 18,443 at home or residences.

The ministry said additional 90,417 people were given COVID-19 vaccine shots on May 5, raising the total number of vaccinated people to 675,956.

The Health Ministry has directed placing the second facility of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Kim Chung under lockdown from 8 am on May 5, while stepping up tracing and testing of staff members and patients in the hospital.

The Health Ministry has instructed that only severe cases of COVID-19 should be moved to the Kim Chung facility, while patients who received treatment at the facility within the past 14 days must be traced and put under quarantine.

On the afternoon of May 5, Chu Ngoc Anh, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Hanoi, checked the medical isolation and COVID-19 prevention and control at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases Base 2, Me Linh Field Hospital and some other facilities in the capital city. The chairman affirmed that Hanoi is ready to provide maximum support and supplies for the hospital during the medical isolation.

Hanoi City People’s Committee Chairman Chu Ngoc Anh inspects the Me Linh field hospital. (Photo: NDO/Duy Linh)

To control and avoid spreading the epidemic to the community, Hanoi authorities suggested the hospital provide a list of patients who went to the hospital from April 20 for active tracing and coordinate with other provinces and cities in monitoring them after quarantine. In the immediate future, to ensure the medical examination and treatment for patients when the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases Base 2 is blocked, Hanoi will convert some other hospitals into COVID-19 dedicated treatment facilities, while ready to activate and put Me Linh Field Hospital into operation and turning Bac Thang Long Hospital to become a treatment facility for COVID-19 cases. On the afternoon of May 5, Dong Anh District supported the hospital with essential necessities.

Also on May 5, Chairman Chu Ngoc Anh ordered drastic implementation of COVID-19 prevention and control measures amid the complex and unexpected developments of the pandemic.

Since the new outbreak hit Vietnam on April 27, the capital city has detected 27 cases, including 22 in the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in the outskirts district of Dong Anh.

In a directive issued on May 5, Anh asked local administrations at all levels to consider the COVID-19 fight an important, urgent and top priority task in the time ahead, stressing vigilance must be maintained.

The official urged stepping the communication work and promoting the role of community-based anti-COVID-19 groups to encourage the public to join the pandemic combat.

Health declaration and mask wearing are mandatory, Anh said, adding that large gatherings at public places are banned and the physical distancing of at least 1m must be maintained.

Anh urged localities to draw up plans in order to ensure safety at medical facilities and make greater efforts in contact tracing, testing and quarantine, and suggested conducting tests at high-risk areas like industrial parks and areas where many foreign experts are living.

The official also ordered tightening the management at concentrated quarantine establishments, particularly hotels, to prevent cross-infections and pandemic spread among the community.

Meanwhile, along with tracing cases related to newly-detected COVID-19 patients in the community, localities are accelerating the testing of close contacts to them.

Many more localities including Vinh Phuc, Ca Mau, Dak Lak, Thai Binh, Quang Ninh and Kon Tum have suspended unnecessary activities to focus on COVID-19 prevention and halted non-essential businesses to limit the spread of the epidemic. Vinh Phuc Province has suspended the work of four officers related to outbreaks at Hoa Sen Health Care Centre and Sunny bar, while continuing to clarify the responsibilities of collectives and individuals in the COVID-19 prevention and control work.

Functional forces coordinate in COVID-19 prevention and control in Tien Yen District, Quang Ninh Province. (NDO/Quang Tho)

Compulsory quarantine period extended to 21 days

On May 5, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control sent an urgent dispatch to the relevant agencies and localities regarding the extending of compulsory concentrated COVID-19 quarantine period in Vietnam to 21 days.

The mandatory concentrated quarantine for those enter Vietnam from abroad or had close contact with confirmed COVID-19 cases will be officially extended from the current 14 days to 21 days.

Local health departments and centres for disease control are urged to strictly comply with concentrated quarantine protocols to avoid cross-infection within quarantine facilities and transfer people who have completed concentrated quarantine to the authorities in their residence.

The follow-up medical observation period at home for those who have completed concentrated quarantine will be reduced from two weeks to seven days.

People who return from quarantine facilities should make daily health declarations with local medical workers. If they show any signs of fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, tiredness or loss of taste, they must go to the closest health clinic for guidance.

They are not allowed to leave their houses or places of residence. If they need to go out for work or other necessary purposes, they must report to local police and medical staff and strictly follow basic prevention measures.

Authorities of Sa Pa Town inspect COVID-19 prevention and control in O Quy Ho Ward, Sa Pa Town, May 5, 2021. (Photo: NDO/Quoc Hong)

On May 5, the Hanoi Railway Transport JSC said that it has decided to suspend the operation of trains on the Hanoi – Yen Bai route from May 8 due to the epidemic. In addition, the railway industry also stopped running HP1/LP2 trains on the Hanoi – Hai Phong route (running on weekends like Yen Bai trains) from May 8.

On the same day, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam said that the agency has sent an official dispatch to relevant agencies and units on further strengthening COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control at local airports.

The Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control of Quang Nam province said that the People’s Committee of Quang Nam province issued a document on May 5 allowing preschool children and local students across the province, except Hoi An City, to return to school from May 6, with full implementation of COVID-19 preventive measures.

The 40 domestic infections were recorded in Hanoi with 24 cases, Da Nang (five), Hung Yen (four), Hai Duong, Dien Bien, Ha Nam, Nghe An, Nam Dinh, Phu Tho and Vinh Phuc with one each.

In Hanoi, the 24 patients are either linked to the infected Chinese experts in Yen Bai Province, or the Covid-19 cases confirmed at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases or the K cancer hospital in Tan Trieu Commune, both coronavirus hotspots in Hanoi.

The 24 patients are being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Dong Anh District.

The five patients in Da Nang are linked to the outbreak at the New Phuong Dong Bar in the central city. They are being treated at the Da Nang Lung Hospital.

In Hung Yen, the four patients are related to the cases in the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

The case in Hai Duong is one who was in contact with a previous case here.

The case in Dien Bien is a person who traveled from Da Nang to Hanoi on flight VN160 of Vietnam Airlines on April 29. On May 2, after acknowledging that she was in the same flight with a Covid-19 case, the woman went for a health declaration and was quarantined in Dien Bien.

The case in Ha Nam is linked to the outbreak in this northern province.

The patient in Nghe An is one who had direct contact with an infected person in the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases 2. The same goes for the new cases in Phu Tho and Nam Dinh.

The case in Vinh Phuc is a person who works at a karaoke parlor in Phuc Yen Town of the province.

The six imported cases were detected in HCMC, Da Nang, Quang Tri and Binh Thuan.

Nationwide, Vietnam has recorded 161 Covid-19 community transmission cases in 19 localities since January 27.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long on Friday described the current outbreak as “very alarming”.

He said the outbreak is complicated with many hotspots, diverse sources of infection and different virus variants having higher infection speed, as compared with the previous outbreaks.

“The control of the outbreak might even be more difficult in the coming time, with possible new hotspots and unknown sources of infection,” he added.

In a meeting on Covid-19 fighting on Friday, Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam said a major reason behind this outbreak is the inadequate management on people entering Vietnam at centralized quarantine facilities, including hotels.

Some people who finished their 14-day centralized quarantine and still needed to be monitored for another 14 days at home but they failed to follow regulations and were not monitored properly, he noted. “Some even went to parties and karaoke parlors, that’s unacceptable.”