A medical worker checks the temperature of a man in quarantine in Quảng Nam Province. Photo courtesy Quảng Nam Newspaper

CENTRAL REGION — The central province of Quảng Nam had sent 142 local people returning from HCM City to isolation sites in Tiên Phước, Quế Sơn, Thăng Bình and Núi Thành districts as of Friday.

The province said local people who had been working in COVID-19 affected areas in HCM City and Hà Nội were being checked before starting a two-week quarantine period.

Districts authorities have prepared 600 beds for more local people returning home.

The provincial health department also said five people returning home from Bạch Mai Hospital – an outbreak site in Hà Nội – had tested negative for SARS-CoV-2.

Quảng Nam had tested 930 people, including 682 foreigners, and so far 846 samples had tested negative for SARS-CoV-2.

The Chàm Islands, off the coast of Hội An, had also set up temperature check-points in markets and warned islanders to wear face masks, chairwoman of the islands Phạm Thị Thanh Hương said,

Only emergency cases or urgent business trips were allowed to travel by boat to the mainland during the two-week social distancing order issued by the Prime Minister, she said.

‘Staying at home for safety’ is the message that's been given to people on Lý Sơn Island, off the coast of Quảng Ngãi Province.

The islands People’s Committee said heath declarations and temperature check-points had been set up at ports and markets, and all islanders were told to keep a 2m distance from each other while wearing masks at all times in public places.

The islands, with a population of 22,000, suspended all cruise trips and tour services from last month, and only logistics boat trips are still traveling between mainland and the islands.

Director of Đà Nẵng’s health department Ngô Thị Kim Yến said the city had prepared a response plan for the pandemic at level four, arranging 9,000 beds at medical centres, hospitals and mass quarantine sites.

All retired doctors and nurses are on standby to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city had been treating three COVID-19 patients, who were all in good health at present, the department reported.

Thừa Thiên-Huế province has isolated 5,982 people returning from foreign countries, of whom 69 have completed their 14-day quarantine period.

Medical samples of 789 people out of 1,500 workers who returned home from Laos had tested negative for SARS-CoV-2.

To date, 1,084 samples out of the 1,990 taken were negative. — VNS