The coronavirus outbreak in Danang is being held down after SARS-CoV-2 resurfaced in the beach city on July 25, Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long has announced.

Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long. Photo: VGP

Measures applied to cope with the outbreaks in Danang and the neighboring province of Quang Nam have proved effective, resulting in a decrease in new infections over the past days, Mr. Long said Tuesday. 

Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, and several central provinces are intensifying contact tracing, testing, and examining risk to impose proper preventive measures, he noted. 

Comprehensive support

Shortly after the detection of the community transmission in Danang, several hospitals in the city have been closed off in an attempt to contain the disease. Almost the entire city was put under lockdown, no flights to and from Danang were allowed from July 28.

Health workers in Binh Ding head to Danang. Photo: Tienphong

In a quickest move, a task force of leading health professionals led by a deputy health minister was sent to this beach city to make best and prompt decisions in testing and treatment. 

Elite doctors and nurses from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have been deployed there to support the treatment of Covid-19 patients, mostly those in critical conditions.  

Days onward, health troops from Haiphong, Phu Tho, Thua Thien-Hue, and Binh Dinh were heading toward Danang to share burden with the city’s health sector as a large number of local health workers were quarantined after the virus remerged in hospitals. 

In the very first days of the outbreak, Danang enhanced the testing capacity with around 10,000 units per day. Two field hospitals were quickly built to support the treatment of Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms.

Vietnam’s leading private conglomerate Vingroup has donated lots of medical equipment and hundreds of ventilators it produced for the makeshift hospitals. Other businesses also joined hands.

At present, Danang remains the largest hot spot with 359 cases (out of 989 nationwide) and 22 deaths.