With Sa Đéc General Hospital in Đồng Tháp Province being locked down since July 6, free meals are being provided to patients. VNA/VNS.Photo Chương Đài

MEKONG DELTA — Many provinces and Cần Thơ City in the Mekong Delta have tightened COVID-19 preventive measures as the pandemic continues to rage.

Đồng Tháp and Long An provinces lead in the number of cases.

In Đồng Tháp, the worst hit with 478 cases as of July 9, Châu Thành District alone accounts for 240. Authorities are carrying out widespread testing in the district.  

The province has set up two teams for COVID prevention and control and has a hierarchy of health establishments for treatment: Patients without symptoms are treated in the field hospital at its Military School, those with symptoms are treated at district-level health centres and severe cases to the Lung Hospital and General Hospital.  

The province plans to set up three more field hospitals following the increase in incidence and fears of a worsening situation.

Long An Province has had 253 COVID-19 cases.

The outbreak in the province is related to clusters at PouYuen Company and HCM City’s Bình Điền and Hóc Môn wholesale markets.   

The Long An Province Department of Health has made preparations to treat as many as 2,000 patients at a time, and 5-10 per cent more severe cases.

The Đồng Tháp Mười Regional General Hospital treats patients with mild symptoms, more severe patients are treated at district health centres and field hospitals, and the worst affected at the Long An Lung Hospital and Long An General Hospital.

The province has six field hospitals and 42 mandatory quarantine facilities.  

The Department of Health has called for preventing people from COVID-hit areas in HCM City and other provinces in the Mekong Delta from travelling on roads and waterways.

The province is testing employees at companies, especially those with suspected incidence, until July 23, and mass testing in residential areas will be carried out subsequently.

Every day it carries out 15,600 rapid tests.  

The province mandated social distancing under the Government’s Directive 16 in Đức Hòa, Bến Lức, Cần Đước, and Cần Giuộc districts, and Tân An city from Thursday.

Public transport there has been halted since Friday.  

Social distancing under the less stringent Directive No 15 is in place in the province’s remaining districts.

Other Mekong Delta provinces and Cần Thơ City have also seen an increase in coronavirus incidence.

An Giang increased its tally to 99 on July 9.

It has social distancing under Directive No 16 in An Phú District’s Long Bình Town because of the high incidence there.

Vĩnh Long Province’s tally had increased to 57 as of July 8.   

Preventive measures are in place in Vĩnh Long City and the districts of Bình Tân, Long Hồ and Tam Bình.

Cà Mau Province had 12 cases as of July 8. It started halting non-essential services on the same day, eateries are prohibited from selling takeaway, and people have been told to go outside only if necessary.

Cà Mau and other delta provinces such as Tiền Giang require people from other provinces and cities to furnish coronavirus negative tests within the last three days to enter.

Bạc Liêu requires people coming from HCM City and the provinces of Bình Dương, Đồng Nai, Long An, An Giang, and Tiền Giang to go into mandatory quarantine for 21 days.     

Cần Thơ City has strengthened control at checkpoints and temporarily banned public transport vehicles coming on ferries from Vĩnh Long, Đồng Tháp and other places. VNS