Localities tighten COVID-19 prevention measures

As of this morning (January 29), Vietnam recorded nine more new community infections of COVID-19, bringing the total number of patients to 1,651, with 93 local infections detected within just two days.

After almost two months without any locally transmitted cases, a new surge of positive patients emerged in northern Vietnam on January 28.

Chi Linh City (in Hai Duong Province), home to more than 200,000 people, has been locked down and flights in and out of Van Don Airport in Quang Ninh Province have been suspended.

Social distancing was introduced in Chi Linh from midday on January 28, following the detection of 73 cases of community transmission of the coronavirus in the locality yesterday.

Nguyen Van Kien, Chairman of the city’s People’s Committee, said Kim Dien Village in Hung Dao Commune and Vietnam Poyun Electronics, where a female patient is employed, have been put under lock down.

Hai Duong is taking drastic measures to contain the outbreak, especially in contract tracing and testing, and has reactivated the local COVID-19 taskforce.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Duong Thai asked cities, towns, and districts to promptly roll out preventive measures at the highest level, saying the provincial health department stands ready to coordinate with Chi Linh in preparing the building of a field hospital.

The Ministry of Health has sent a working team to Hai Duong to assist in the fight. With this support, relevant local agencies are swiftly collecting samples from all workers at Vietnam Poyun Electronics and the villagers of Kim Dien.

As part of preventive measures, the province has told students not to attend school from January 29 until further notice.

After two cases of community transmission were confirmed late on January 27, an additional 82 more COVID-19 cases were detected in the northern provinces of Hai Duong and Quang Ninh on the morning of January 28, 72 of which are in Hai Duong.

A medical control post at Van Don 1 Bridge, Van Don, Quang Ninh Province. (Photo: NDO)

The Ministry of Transport on January 28 decided to close down the Van Don international airport in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh for 15 days after many locally-transmitted cases of COVID-19 was confirmed on the same day. The closure will last from 12 pm on January 29 to 12 pm on February 13.

Earlier, in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the Northern Airport Authority imposed a 24-hour shutdown on the airport starting at 12 pm on January 28.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has sent an urgent dispatch to airports, directing them to strictly follow COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

The CAAV asked airports to continue calling on staff and passengers to wear masks at terminals and on all means of transport, have their temperatures checked, and wash their hands with soap or sanitiser with at least 60 percent alcohol.

Airports must quickly identify any passengers exhibiting abnormal symptoms and report these to health authorities, as well as regularly spray disinfectant on equipment and in high-risk areas to mitigate the spread of the virus.

The CAAV also ordered airports to ask passengers to strictly follow prevention and control measures before and during flights, in particular wearing masks onboard, and for flight crews to follow regulations on quarantine in accordance with guidelines from the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control and the Ministry of Health.

On January 28, Hanoi’s Department of Transport ordered the suspension of passenger transport by road between the capital city and Quang Ninh. The order took effect right from the issuance date.

At the same time, the department asked all transport service suppliers to strictly apply measures to prevent the spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic, by requesting drivers and passengers to wear face masks throughout their trips and providing hand sanitisers.

On the evening of January 28, Politburo member and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue, chaired an online meeting of the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Response in Hanoi, in which he urged for more drastic and active measures to against the spread of the coronavirus.

Ho Chi Minh City has called for tighter measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Speaking at an online meeting on January 28, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan said the city’s authorities have ordered all of its districts and Thu Duc City to limit the organisation of festivals or events and mass gatherings of people in high-risk areas such as supermarkets, train and bus stations, airports, schools, businesses and factories. Gatherings of people must comply with the requirements and guidance of the health ministry.

From 6 pm on January 28, Hai Phong City decided to suspend local service business establishments and stop all bus routes and ferry terminals from Hai Phong to Quang Ninh, Hai Duong and vice versa. From 7 pm yesterday, eight COVID-19 control posts on the arterial roads connecting Hai Phong with Quang Ninh and Hai Duong were established and started to operate.

Authorities in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Kan, Vinh Phuc, Hung Yen, Son La, Thai Binh and Thanh Hoa have quarantined cases who have had close contact with several newly-detected infections and took samples for testing, while requesting local functional forces to reactivate the entire epidemic prevention and control systems, prepare sufficient medical supplies and equipment for the epidemic response work and require local people to wear face masks, limit crowded gatherings. Local agencies and offices are urged to strictly control people entering and leaving their units.