President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc visits the Đà Nẵng Hospital for Lung Diseases on Friday.VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

ĐÀ NẴNG – President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc inspected anti-COVID-19 efforts in the central city of Đà Nẵng on Friday, requesting the entire health sector to maximise efforts to maintain the obtained achievements in the coronavirus combat.

Reporting to the State President and officials from the health ministry and the city, leaders of the Đà Nẵng Hospital for Lung Diseases said the hospital has done a good job of treating COVID-19 patients, noting that it is currently providing treatment for 58 patients, 14 of whom have tested negative for the virus thrice.

Secretary of the Đà Nẵng Party Committee Nguyễn Văn Quang said the city will upgrade this hospital so as to better meet the need for medical examination and treatment, including for COVID-19 patients.

President Phúc pointed out very high risks of coronavirus transmission since the pandemic is developing complicatedly around the globe while Việt Nam shares a long borderline with some countries hit hard by the pandemic, and it is also intensively integrating into the world.

Applauding Đà Nẵng’s anti-COVID-19 measures, he stressed that as it is a major tourism hub with a large number of visitors and hundreds of fully booked flights, the city as well as big municipalities like Hà Nội, HCM City, Hải Phòng, and Cần Thơ must stay ready to take actions if there are any new cases.

He repeated the spirit of “fighting the pandemic is like fighting an enemy” and told the Ministry of Health and Đà Nẵng to combat the disease in the strongest manner like what have been done in the recent past.

That the health sector must stay ready in any circumstance and exert all-out efforts to maintain the obtained achievements and prevent the disease from returning, the leader said, warning that a health crisis would lead to an economic crisis.

The President also demanded expanding the vaccination to more groups while continuing to import vaccines so as to proactively prevent new outbreaks.

In Hà Nội, after two people having direct contact with Patient 2911, who works at Thăng Long Industrial Park and was confirmed on late Thursday, tested positive for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 once, local authorities have been taking prompt actions.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Chử Xuân Dũng on Friday asked leaders of Đông Anh District and Thăng Long Industrial Park to swiftly trace contacts of the two suspected cases, and that if these suspected cases are confirmed, contract tracing must be completed by 5pm on Friday.

He demanded relevant sector and ĐôngAnh District make drastic efforts to curb the transmission, increase examination, and fine any person ignoring disease prevention and control measures.

Patient 2911 earlier had close contact with Patient 2899, who finished his quarantine period after arriving in Việt Nam and returned home in northern Hà Nam Province but then was found to be positive for the virus.

Meanwhile, HCM decided to temporarily close bars, karaoke parlours, and discos from 6pm on Friday after one case of COVID-19 was recorded in Bình Tân District.

The new patient in HCM City, No 2910, was confirmed on Thursday afternoon. Earlier, this patient also met Patient 2899.

As of Friday morning, Hà Nam Province had recorded two more COVID-19 infections and one suspected case linked with the hotbed in Đạo Lý commune of Lý Nhân District, raising the total cases there to seven.

During the night of Thursday, local authorities collected samples for COVID-19 testing from the 1,068 residents in Quan Nhân hamlet of Đạo Lý commune, where Patient 2899 resides.

The health ministry also sent experts from the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to help the province with testing and contact tracing. VNS