COVID-19: 7 new cases reported, virus spreads to third locality

Four new cases were detected in Da Nang city, a coronavirus hotpot in the central region, and three of them are patients of Da Nang Hospital, the ministry said in its July 28 afternoon update.

Da Nang hospital has been locked down since July 27 to prevent the possible spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the community.  

Three other cases live in different places in Quang Nam province. One of them, a 63-year-old woman, visited For You Place wedding centre in Da Nang city where the first coronavirus infection was confirmed several days ago.

Another resident of Quang Nam province, a 67-year-old woman, took care of her husband given treatment at Da Nang hospital.

With three newly-detected cases, Quang Nam province is the third locality in central Vietnam that has reported locally transmitted infections. Previously, Da Nang city and Quang Ngai province had confirmed 15 infections, including 14 in Da Nang.

The seven new cases have brought the country’s tally of coronavirus infections to 438. No deaths have been reported.

Also on July 28, three COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospital after making a full recovery. To date a total of 369 COVID-19 patients have fully recovered from the disease, making up 84.2%.

Not panic, be highly vigilant

Dr Tran Duc Phu, senior advisor to the Ministry of Health, said he was not surprised when locally transmitted infections have been detected in Vietnam after 99 days, as the novel coronavirus pandemic remains revolving in a complex manner in the region and the world.

Dr Tran Dac Phu advises local residents not to panic, but to strictly follow medical recommendations, including wearing face masks, washing hands with sanitizer...

However, he raised concerns about the source of infection which is still unknown in Vietnam.

“Preliminary reports show the first 15 cases are closely linked to 3 hospitals in Da Nang, namely Hospital C, Da Nang Hospital and Da Nang Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Hospital. Apparently, there is cross-transmission in hospital,” said Phu, who is also former head of the Preventive Medicine Department.

According to the expert, the number of infection cases may keep rising in the coming days, and Da Nang should step up testing on a large scale, in order to early identify cases and then localize and stamp out the outbreak.

“Local residents should not panic, but be highly vigilant against the recurrence of the virus,” Phu gave the advice. “They all must wear masks when going out in public, make medical declarations, wash hands with soap or sanitizer frequently, and strictly implement the social distancing order.”