As of the end of February 5, Ha Long city in northern Quang Ninh province, one of the two localities where the new outbreak began, had collected more than 8,000 samples from four high-risk wards, Ha Khau, Gieng Day, Bai Chay, and Hung Thang, which are all related to five COVID-19 cases in Ha Khau.
    |
 |
|
The healthcare centre of Dien Bien Phu city, Dien Bien province, has been designated as a temporary hospital for COVID-19 treatment |
Apart from testing local residents, Ha Long also prioritises giving tests for all medical staff, inpatients and outpatients in all hospitals, high-risk workers in healthcare establishments, people coming from outbreak-hit areas and those with close contact with them, personnel working in the frontlines, sellers in markets, drivers from outbreak-hit areas, and the ones guarding markets and shopping centres.
The city plans to complete widespread testing before February 8 so as to identify safe areas for Lunar New Year celebrations.
Quang Ninh province has recorded 46 local infections of COVID-19 in the latest outbreak since January 27.
In the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, 4,134 samples had been taken for testing as of 5pm on February 5. They include 18 positive for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and 3,270 others negative while the remaining 846 are still waiting for testing results.
Nguyen Thi Thanh Lich, Vice Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee and deputy head of the Gia Lai steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control, said efforts have been boosted on February 6 to collect samples from all residents in Ayun Pa township and Ia Pa district, two hotbeds in Gia Lai, in order to contain the outbreak as soon as possible.
In the northwestern province of Dien Bien, which has registered three locally-infected cases, the healthcare centre of Dien Bien Phu city has been chosen to become a temporary hospital for COVID-19 treatment.
Dao Xuan Co, Deputy Director of the Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital, told local authorities at a meeting on February 6 that his hospital has sent personnel and equipment to support the newly designated establishment.
A delegation from the Hanoi-based National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology also came to Dien Bien on February 6 to help the province improve testing capacity.
As of February 6 morning, Vietnam had reported 1,976 cases of COVID-19. They include 1,087 cases of community transmission, with 394 posted since January 27, when the new outbreak started.
As many as 1,465 patients have recovered while the number of related deaths stays unchanged, at 35, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.
Source: VNA