Medical staff and those related to the COVID-19 patients in Nam Trà My District, in the central province of Quàng Nam.— Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — All schools in two communes, Trà Mai and Trà Tập, Nam Trà My District, in Quảng Nam Province have temporarily closed their doors after 20 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded between October 24 and 26.

By Tuesday afternoon, rapid testing has returned positive results for 112 people, mainly students. These people are now waiting for the results of the real-time polymerase chain (RT-PCR) tests to confirm the rapid-test results. 

Of the 112 people, 92 attend the Nam Trà My Ethnic Minority Boarding High School, three go to Trà Mai Secondary School and two are in Kim Đồng Primary School.

Võ Đăng Thuận, head of the district’s Education and Training Office, said the district administration has ordered all schools in the communes to close their doors as of Tuesday afternoon.

The students that returned positive results have been taken to hospitals for treatment. Students over 16 years old that had close contact with the infected cases have been sent to quarantined areas for the next 14 days. Younger students are allowed to self-monitor at home, he said.

The other students will continue their studies online, he added.

Mai Văn Mười, Director of the provincial Health Department, said the outbreak in the district is complex.

The provincial Health Department is working with other local authorities to speed up testing and tracing related people.

As a result of these investigations, the district administration decided to lock down several households in Trà Mai Commune for 14 days. 

The administration also decided to suspend a number of non-essential activities to focus on COVID-19 prevention and control in the two communes. Food and beverage services are only sold online. — VNS